Ramana Maharshi

If we do not enter into the spiritual life, if we do not pay attention to the inner life, then the body is bound to act like a mad elephant, trampling down everything around us. This very body, however, really wants to respect its superiors, the heart and the soul. This body wants to be the perfect instrument. When we use the body for the sake of enjoyment, sense-pleasure, only to covet, to enjoy, we are misusing the body. We are giving no importance to the soul. At this point we can well think of the great spiritual Master named Ramana Maharshi, a great yogi. "Why do you pay so much attention to the body? Take it as a banana leaf. Eat your meal, which is placed on the banana leaf, and then after you have eaten, just throw away the banana leaf. It has played its part." Again, if we observe the Truth from another angle, we see that if we discard the body as a banana leaf, seeing it only as a covering for the soul, then how can manifestation take place here on earth?

From:Sri Chinmoy,India, my India. Mother India's summit-prides, Agni Press, 1997
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