Magazine - Year 2010 - Version 1
Media: TEXT
Language: ENGLISH
Language: ENGLISH
We Should Learn Harmony through the Functioning of Human Body
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When God created human beings, endowed them with wisdom and intellect, he hoped that peace and good administration would be established on earth. For a long time at the start of human evolution, human beings continued to develop in the same pattern as of intellectually deficient creatures. They were endowed with energy, brains for acquiring knowledge and organs for doing work; but as they had not developed their intellectual powers; they acted arbitrarily, killing and eating each other. The one who was the strongest used to be the head of the society and justice was based on his sweet will. The ruling authority was thus vested in one who had the most physical power which was misused very often. If that had continued any longer then this world would still be in medieval ages and we would have continued our animal-like existence.
Whatever unrest, chaos or disharmony is present in the world today, can be easily transformed into peace, orderliness and harmony if we try to follow and imbibe God’s divine message. He has presented an excellent example and a subtle hint for the human beings. We have our body as an example to realize the importance of cooperation and unity. The anatomy and physiology of a human body very much resembles that of the society.
A human body is similar to a social institution in which people of different qualities and nature coexist. There is only one earth but the people who live on it are different. Our body is similar to earth, as cells of different kinds reside in it. In spite of the different make and functions of the cells in the body, they live in perfect harmony. As long as all the cells work in accordance with the principle of cooperation and unity, the entire body remains in a healthy condition. If the cells were driven with exclusive selfishness then the existence of man would become impossible. The stronger cells would have eaten up the weaker ones and man’s body would have become lifeless in a short period of time.
All the cells of the human body, whether they belong to the brain or the feet, are born out of a single cell. This cell is formed from the union of a male cell (sperm) and a female cell (ovum) which develops into a multi-cellular organism. The cells in the human body respect their boundaries, follow principles of coexistence and depend on each other for their existence.
No cell of the human body can exist without nutrition and nourishment. Oxygen is one of the nutrients which reaches every part of the body through blood circulation and maintains life processes. The function of the heart is to purify blood and circulate it. It works throughout the life without taking a break. Similarly, a noble person continuously works to make the lives of other people better and functions like the heart of a society. If heart of the society becomes self-centered and self – aggrandizing then the society starts suffering due to lack of nourishment in the form of good deeds done by noble souls.
An important part of the human body is the brain which controls all the functions of the human body directly or indirectly. If brain is not supplied with blood then it will stop functioning, abruptly ending all bodily functions and resulting in death. Similarly, if blood supply to retinal arteries is cut off then it brings total blindness. There is no part of the body which would not suffer due to lack of blood. The nutrition required by the body should not be kept stored in one place but should be circulated. If the intestines, liver, lungs, and muscles do not receive sufficient quantity of blood then the whole body suffers. Similarly, in social life, if the basic requirements of a human being are freely met then peace, happiness and good will prevail. But if those basic requirements are not met, then like the body, the entire human race will suffer.
The supply of nutrition should be based on the type of function performed and the criticality of the function. Those body parts which are engaged in critical work deserve more consideration as compared to those which do less critical work.
While evaluating the criticality of any work performed, intellect and consciousness should always be held at a higher pedestal. There can be no order without the administrator in a system. A house cannot be kept safe without its owner. Intellect and consciousness are like administrator and the owner of the house and they deserve the greatest attention. Aorta, the greatest artery, emerges from the left ventricle and carries the purest blood to the vertebral artery. Starting from the vertebral artery and passing through the cerebral artery, the blood supplies nutrition to the entire body. If the blood reaching the brain is pure then the mind stays focused and the body stays active. This indicates that there will be peace and happiness at a place where men of wisdom are given respect and regarded highly. The intellectual and spiritual lessons of wise men keep the soul of the society healthy, alive and active.
The security of the society is another problem. Besides supplying necessities to the society, provisions must be also made to protect it from external attacks. The group of people responsible for the protection of the society is known as ‘Kshatriya’. In reference to the bodily functions for protection, the ‘Kshatriya’ is also given a higher priority for the oxygenated blood. The upper limbs that protect the body have to be comparatively more active than other parts. Priority is given based on the criticality of the activity performed by the organ.
The next in priority for the blood is lower portion of the body (stomach, liver, feet etc.) according to the necessity through the descending aorta. After the blood has undergone circulation throughout the body, it becomes deficient in oxygen and impure, although the number of white and red blood corpuscles remains unchanged. The impure blood is returned to the heart through veins. Similarly, evils from various sources are spread in the society and an attempt should be made to purify the society and maintain the equilibrium.
An ideal society is the one where the distribution of nutrition is not based on differential treatment but on the principle of necessity, where the purification of society goes on continuously like the circulation of the blood in the body and there exist peace, harmony and good administration. Our body is a perfect example of societal functions described above.
The ancient Rishis based the division of society into several classes on this observation. After carefully studying the coordinated functions of various parts of the body Rishis understood how a well administered society should work. There is no preferential treatment in the system. The harmonious existence between humans can be the basis for establishing peace and goodwill on earth. The individual has to be generous, self- sacrificing and has to keep the interests of society in his mind.
Human beings often do not realize they are mutually connected and perform the same functions as different cells and organs of the body; and that although divided into numerous societies, civilizations and nations they are children of the same Mother Earth. If human beings could recognize this truth then the mutual love, affection, unity, kindness, generosity, wisdom, hopefulness, selflessness and spirit of duty would be the same as the flawless functioning of the minute cells and various organs of the human body. If we desire world peace then we have to keep alive the spirit of coexistence and work together as tirelessly and selflessly as the cells of the human body.
Whatever unrest, chaos or disharmony is present in the world today, can be easily transformed into peace, orderliness and harmony if we try to follow and imbibe God’s divine message. He has presented an excellent example and a subtle hint for the human beings. We have our body as an example to realize the importance of cooperation and unity. The anatomy and physiology of a human body very much resembles that of the society.
A human body is similar to a social institution in which people of different qualities and nature coexist. There is only one earth but the people who live on it are different. Our body is similar to earth, as cells of different kinds reside in it. In spite of the different make and functions of the cells in the body, they live in perfect harmony. As long as all the cells work in accordance with the principle of cooperation and unity, the entire body remains in a healthy condition. If the cells were driven with exclusive selfishness then the existence of man would become impossible. The stronger cells would have eaten up the weaker ones and man’s body would have become lifeless in a short period of time.
All the cells of the human body, whether they belong to the brain or the feet, are born out of a single cell. This cell is formed from the union of a male cell (sperm) and a female cell (ovum) which develops into a multi-cellular organism. The cells in the human body respect their boundaries, follow principles of coexistence and depend on each other for their existence.
No cell of the human body can exist without nutrition and nourishment. Oxygen is one of the nutrients which reaches every part of the body through blood circulation and maintains life processes. The function of the heart is to purify blood and circulate it. It works throughout the life without taking a break. Similarly, a noble person continuously works to make the lives of other people better and functions like the heart of a society. If heart of the society becomes self-centered and self – aggrandizing then the society starts suffering due to lack of nourishment in the form of good deeds done by noble souls.
An important part of the human body is the brain which controls all the functions of the human body directly or indirectly. If brain is not supplied with blood then it will stop functioning, abruptly ending all bodily functions and resulting in death. Similarly, if blood supply to retinal arteries is cut off then it brings total blindness. There is no part of the body which would not suffer due to lack of blood. The nutrition required by the body should not be kept stored in one place but should be circulated. If the intestines, liver, lungs, and muscles do not receive sufficient quantity of blood then the whole body suffers. Similarly, in social life, if the basic requirements of a human being are freely met then peace, happiness and good will prevail. But if those basic requirements are not met, then like the body, the entire human race will suffer.
The supply of nutrition should be based on the type of function performed and the criticality of the function. Those body parts which are engaged in critical work deserve more consideration as compared to those which do less critical work.
While evaluating the criticality of any work performed, intellect and consciousness should always be held at a higher pedestal. There can be no order without the administrator in a system. A house cannot be kept safe without its owner. Intellect and consciousness are like administrator and the owner of the house and they deserve the greatest attention. Aorta, the greatest artery, emerges from the left ventricle and carries the purest blood to the vertebral artery. Starting from the vertebral artery and passing through the cerebral artery, the blood supplies nutrition to the entire body. If the blood reaching the brain is pure then the mind stays focused and the body stays active. This indicates that there will be peace and happiness at a place where men of wisdom are given respect and regarded highly. The intellectual and spiritual lessons of wise men keep the soul of the society healthy, alive and active.
The security of the society is another problem. Besides supplying necessities to the society, provisions must be also made to protect it from external attacks. The group of people responsible for the protection of the society is known as ‘Kshatriya’. In reference to the bodily functions for protection, the ‘Kshatriya’ is also given a higher priority for the oxygenated blood. The upper limbs that protect the body have to be comparatively more active than other parts. Priority is given based on the criticality of the activity performed by the organ.
The next in priority for the blood is lower portion of the body (stomach, liver, feet etc.) according to the necessity through the descending aorta. After the blood has undergone circulation throughout the body, it becomes deficient in oxygen and impure, although the number of white and red blood corpuscles remains unchanged. The impure blood is returned to the heart through veins. Similarly, evils from various sources are spread in the society and an attempt should be made to purify the society and maintain the equilibrium.
An ideal society is the one where the distribution of nutrition is not based on differential treatment but on the principle of necessity, where the purification of society goes on continuously like the circulation of the blood in the body and there exist peace, harmony and good administration. Our body is a perfect example of societal functions described above.
The ancient Rishis based the division of society into several classes on this observation. After carefully studying the coordinated functions of various parts of the body Rishis understood how a well administered society should work. There is no preferential treatment in the system. The harmonious existence between humans can be the basis for establishing peace and goodwill on earth. The individual has to be generous, self- sacrificing and has to keep the interests of society in his mind.
Human beings often do not realize they are mutually connected and perform the same functions as different cells and organs of the body; and that although divided into numerous societies, civilizations and nations they are children of the same Mother Earth. If human beings could recognize this truth then the mutual love, affection, unity, kindness, generosity, wisdom, hopefulness, selflessness and spirit of duty would be the same as the flawless functioning of the minute cells and various organs of the human body. If we desire world peace then we have to keep alive the spirit of coexistence and work together as tirelessly and selflessly as the cells of the human body.
