The Human body is a blessing or cursing

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Jewell,

Yes.  Human body is a blessing, no doubt.  But one should not take
more than necessary care towards the body.  Bhagavan Ramana
is, as you have said, Gold Standard.  He never wore any sandals
in His 54 years of life in Tiruvannamalai.  He never accepted garlands.  No one must have seen a photograph of Bhagavan Ramana with a garland at anytime.  He was wearing only a codpiece and in some rare cold days in winter, He used to have a shawl around His chest. There was one priest in Asramam doing pujas for
Ramaneswara Maha Lingam.  He fell sick and had a serious problem
on his feet and that made him immobile.  When Sri Ganesan came
to see him and regretted why should Bhagavan Ramana give him
such an immobility, the priest answered:  "Do not worry.  I am okay. Only one quarter is bad.  Three quarters are good."  This is
the extent, one should have consideration for the body.     

Arunachala Siva.
   

[Jewell]

Dear Subramanian, Thats true. We should take care of body only that much to keep it healthy. And,what is very important,without atachment. When i said body is a blessing i ment that everything God gave us is a blessing. With body or not we exsist. We are part of something beautiful. And thats only metters. That doasnt mean one should be concerned to much with body. It is only just the way to realise the Self.

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Jewell,

Yes.  That is the correct approach.  Saint Tirumoolar says in his
Tirumandiram:  After realizing that Siva is in me, I start taking
care of my body.  Thus I take care of the body only to take care
of my God.  In another song, Tirumoolar says that:  "This ULLam,
[Heart] is a great Temple. This body made of flesh and bones and
blood is also His Temple.  Whatever I drink or eat, is the abulations for Siva in me.  My five senses are the five lamps for Him!"     

He says in another song:  I am doing Agni Karyam i.e., fire sacrifices daily.  What is the fire sacrifice? What are the items
that I put on the fire?  [In the olden days, they used to put
ghee, oil, sandal wood, dried cow dung, wood pieces etc.,].
I am putting good food, good water and breathe in good air,
to make this fire glow for ever!   

Tirumoolar was a Siva Raja Yogi.  He is said to have lived for 3000 years.  He took care of his body for the sake of Sivam inside.

Arunachala Siva.