THE ROOT OF ALL EVILS:-
Some people ask: “What difference does it make if we do not practise soul-consciousness or yoga 7 To understand the answer to this, let us see how body-consciousness gives rise to the five main evils and how the latter cause man sorrow and sufferings.
Suppose a small boy genuinely feels that he has some good suggestion to offer. He says to his uncle: “Please, sir, will you kindly listen to me for a minute?” The uncle, instead of giving a patient hearing, says, “Look here, chap, I take it as an affront to me. How dare you give an advice to me who am many years your senior whereas you have not yet had even your wisdom tooth appear!” Now this kind of barshness, has evidently, sprung from the man’s pride of his physical age which in other words, means that he is body, conscious. This small example is enough to illustrate how more severe form of pride can cause severe cracks in the relations between families and nations and lead to wars.
Again, many a mother feels so shocked at the death of her son that she feels the need to consult a psychiatrist to bring her back to normal state. She is so much disturbed that she constantly cries, “Oh my son, my son!” though she knows well that her dead son is not going to come back to life. Similarly does one feel when one is treated harshly by someone with whom one had attachment. In other spheres of life, attachment it is that is responsible for nepotism favouritism, narrow nationalism, etc.
Sex-lust, it need not be explained at length, is an attraction towards the colour and contours of the flesh. When one is conscious of himself in terms of being male or female or young, then only is one invaded by the carnal desire.
Anger and hate also have their roots in body-consciousness. One becomes angry when one looks upon others as not his own’. Racial discrimination, casteism, etc. are also based on body- consciousness.
Similarly, greed also is hinged on body-consciousness. Take the case of a man who is amassing great wealth so as to leave behind him a great fortune for his son. He exploits others for the sake of his son; he does not care even if other peoples’ sons die of starvation, but he wants to hoard and hoard for his “own sons”. Obviously, he is cruel to others or, at least, he does not have any tender feelings to those who are starving because of his attachment to one who is related to him physically as his son. So, soul-consciousness or yoga, based on it, is necessary for purity and peace.
