There is a spiritual aspect associated with all matter. In matter that is geological, Spirit is locked up within matter, whereas in matter with biological life, Spirit is locked up within the matter that makes up the life form. However, there is another spirit entity that is not locked up within matter but is linked to the biological life form. This separate spirit entity is commonly called the soul or atma. Spirit was created before matter and subsequently, through the process described earlier, an aspect of Spirit involved within itself and condensed into matter. Biological life begins at the point when a biological life form gets linked through the material life principle, or prana, with the spiritual life principle, called the soul. It is through the material life principle that the soul can provide the spiritual energy needed to sustain the biological life form.
The perfect man and perfect woman were created by God and were endowed with the power to create souls. However, to retain the privilege and ability to create souls, the perfect man and woman had to maintain a perfect balance between Spirit and matter. Unfortunately, at a critical point, the perfect man and woman desired to experience matter, and as a result, they tilted the balance away from Spirit and towards matter. Thus, the perfect man and woman fell from the spiritual planes and became bound to matter. This is symbolized in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, in which it is said that Satan influenced Eve to tempt Adam to eat the apple. This story is symbolic and not factual, even though it is based upon spiritual truths. SSG teaches that the sin that Adam and Eve committed was that they pursued their desire to experience matter. Hence, they fell from the spiritual planes and have lost the ability to create souls. Thus, the ability of human beings is now limited to procreating bodies made of matter.
Human beings are the highest creation on earth, and man, which includes woman, is the only creation that is endowed with a free will that is relatively unlimited, as compared to the will of birds and animals. So, although human beings have the same two major instincts of self-preservation and self-propagation, because of the gift of free will, they are not bound by these two instincts to the extent that the animals and other creatures are. Thus, whereas the procreative instinct and survival instincts including eating habits of almost all animals, birds and fish are controlled by instincts, human beings are free to indulge in sensual pleasures of eating, drinking and copulating as and when they desire to do so. Based on revelations received by Dadaji, the SSG teaches that indulging in sensual pleasures solely for the sake of self-satisfaction is sinful because it takes one away from the spiritual way of life which culminates in oneness with God and binds one to the desires and the resulting karma.
Instead of ruining one’s health through improper dietary habits and frittering away the procreative energy through wanton indulgence in sexual activity, human beings should eat a balanced diet to maintain their physical health, conserve this procreative energy and use it to grow towards God. Revered Dadaji has given many Discourses on the fundamental laws of health, proper dietary habits as well as on how to transmutate and sublimate the procreative instinct, which is all an essential part of the way of life that will lead to spiritual growth.
The futility of pursuing desires for material thoughts, things and people corresponds with teachings of the Buddha, where Buddha states that:
- Suffering Is
- The cause of suffering is desire
- To eliminate suffering, eliminate desire
- To eliminate desire, follow the eight-fold path.
Up next: Meaning of Karma