The Body

Dear Dhananjay,

I write to you with much anticipation following your last answer, which helped clear many doubts and steady my mind. I have a few additional points that I contemplated in my intellectual inquiry (although in the long run I am aware that all answers will come through enlightenment, but I do not know when that will be!). I know some of these questions may be trivial for an advanced yogi but kindly help me as I live in a world where young men are subjected to onslaught of the senses at every turn.

1) My mind has recently become unsettled by two things. One is a fear called "tryphophobia" of worms/larvae infesting the skin in multiple circular holes. The other is ancient torture, such as impalement, being boiled alive, having limbs broken one by one, chinese death by 1,000 cuts, and so forth.

The mind grows weak and depressed when such thoughts come.

Will an enlightened soul, if subject to such miseries, feel pain? I know as you have said that body consciousness has vacated in such a being and he moves in and out like a person occupying a house, but in the real world, does it not take time to go from worldly living to being in the state where you lose body consciousness? Swami Sivananda, for example, manufactured an ego to interact with worldly beings and he had body consciousness at the time. Would a realized sage in such a worldly state not feel fear, pain, etc. at such thoughts as outlined above?

3) With regards to the enlightened being, the merging of the ego in the soul alleviates fears as you have mentioned. However, are there not biological components of the body which react automatically? For example, amygdala in brain instinctively creates fear when we look at spiders and snakes. Will such functions be turned off in the enlightened being?

4) The process of the jiva going adding samskara is said to fuel the cycle of birth and death. At the beginning of time, when HE alone was present, suppose He created the first human beings. In the process of time, the world has gone from a few thousand organisms to billions of humans, animals, etc. How were so many souls "created"?

5) Is the process of samskara compatible with our human evolution? For instance, as Sivananda says, the sight of a pretty young woman causes intoxication/stupefaction (sthamba) in the average man. If this is instinctive, isn't it because evolutionarily, only those with high carnal desire procreated, leading to current beings being highly lust-driven? As such, how does His plan work here?

6) My life and practice are miserable due to my poor digestion. I have IBS. Fats and oils are not digested. My stool is thick, sticky, and incompletely evacuated, causing bodily illness. Please suggest the proper medications that should be taken-I know you mentioned to another aspirant to take food that agrees with the system but I really don't have any options. At this point, I fear I will end up like Swami Vivekananda, with persistent lifelong illness which is incurable. I am 21. I cannot function, my gut is unclean, and my brain and memory are both worsening due to my gut issues.

7) Thousands on this forum love you. You are a guiding light in a dark time. You saved my life. Will I ever be able to see you in the flesh? I know the real guru is within, but I want to see the human form that the Lord manifested in who is gracing the earth with this portal. I would do anything to be able to speak with you and learn from your advice.

Thank you,
Dhananjay