In the modern world human body is the most pampered aspect to have received the maximum benefits of human’s intellectual explorations. Right from the earliest evolution of man in cultivation of crops to secure a streamlined supply of food, to the latest ergonomically designed chairs to address the back problems for man working on the computer for long hours are all developed to address the physical needs of man.

Salvation, renunciation, state of desire-less life, merge the athma with the Paramathma and many such spiritual destinations seem so farfetched to the common man who works his heart out for his survival.  If anything, the common man prefers to know, “Will spirituality help me live my day to day life better with tangible benefits?”

The answer is a big yes and its best understood with a simple example of a car with five gears and a tank full of petrol. A human being is a composition of five personalities, Physical– the body, Mental – the mind, Emotional – the feelings, Intellectual – the intelligence and Spiritual– the force within. Apart from these 5 personalities there is ‘life energy’ which enlivens him for a span of time, the absence of which leads to death.

A spiritual master lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening, while he was away, a thief sneaked into the hut only to find there was nothing in it to steal. The Master returned and found him. "You have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty handed. Please take my clothes as a gift." The thief was bewildered, but he took the clothes and ran away. The Master sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused,” I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."

A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin, a Zen master and asked: "Is there really a paradise and a hell?"

"Who are you?" inquired Hakuin.

"I am a samurai", the warrior replied.

"You, a soldier!" sneered Hakuin, "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? You look like a beggar".

Nobushige became so angry that he began to draw his sword.

Hakuin continued: "So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably too dull to cut off my head."

Nobushige drew his sword.

Hakuin remarked: "Here open the gates of hell!"

At these words the samurai, perceiving the master's discipline, put away his sword and bowed.

"Here open the gates of paradise", said Hakuin.

Lucy is the name given to the female fossil that was discovered in the ravines of northern Ethiopia. Lucy, whose species is called the Australopithecus afarensis, was identified as the mother of modern man and is said to have lived about 3.5 million years ago. The clinching factor of identifying this species as ancestors of modern man is its ability to walk like human beings. The structure of Lucy’s knee and pelvis show that she routinely walked upright on two legs, like us. This species should have adapted to walking upright when the world froze during ice age and forced the apes to come down from the trees to the new mosaic of environments.