XVIII. The Little Lives of the Body
Hatha
Yoga teaches that the physical body is built up of
cells, each cell containing within it a miniature "life" which controls its
action. These "lives" are really bits
of intelligent mind of a certain degree of development, which enable the cells
to do their work properly. These bits
of intelligence are, of course, subordinate to the control of the
central mind of man, and readily obey
orders given from headquarters, consciously or unconsciously. These cell
intelligences manifest a perfect
adaption for their particular work. The selective action of the cells, extracting from the blood the
nourishment required, and rejecting that which is not needed is an instance of this intelligence. The
process of digestion, assimilation,
etc., shows the intelligence of the
cells, either separately or collectively, in groups. The healing of
wounds, the rush of the cells to the points
where they are most needed, and hundreds of other examples known to the investigators, all mean to the Yogi student examples of the "life"
within each atom. Each atom is to the Yogi a living thing, leading its
own independent life. These atoms combine into
groups for some end, and the groups manifest a group-intelligence, so long as it remains a group; these groups again combining in turn, and forming
bodies of a more complex nature,
which serve as vehicles for higher forms of consciousness.
When death comes to the physical body, the cells separate and scatter and that which we call
decay sets in. The force which has held the cells together is withdrawn, and
they become free to go their own way and to form new combinations. Some go into
the body of the plants in the vicinity, and
eventually find themselves in the body of an animal; others remain in
the organism of the plant; others remain in the ground for a time, but the life
of the atom means incessant and constant change. As a leading writer has said:
"Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form
is but a prelude to the building up of another." We will give our students
a brief idea of the nature and work of this cell-life-the life of these little
lives of the body.
The cells of the body have three
principles: (1) Matter, which they obtain from the food; (2) Prana, or vital
force, which enables them to manifest action, and which is obtained from the
food we eat; the water we drink and the air we breathe; (3) Intelligence, or
"mind-stuff," which is obtained from the Universal Mind. We will
first take up the material side of cell-life.
As we have said, every living body
is a collection of minute cells. This is, of course, true of every part of the
body, from the hard bone to the softest tissue- from the enamel of the tooth to
the most delicate part of the mucous membrane. These cells have different shapes, which are regulated by the requirements
of its particular office, or work. Each cell is, to all intents and purposes, an individual, separate and more or
less independent, although subject to the control of cell-group mind; large group commands; and, finally to
the central mind of the man, the controlling work, or at least
the greater part of it, coming within the control of the Instinctive
Mind.
These cells are constantly at work, performing
all the duties of the body, each having its own particularwork to do-and doing it to the best of its ability.Some
of the cells belong to the "reserves" and are kept
under "waiting orders" ready for some sudden demand of
duty. Others belong to the army of
active workers
of the cell-community and manufacture the secretions
and fluids needed in the varied work of the system. Some of the cells are stationary-others remain so
until needed, when they manifest motion others
are constantly on the move, some making regular trips
and some being rovers. Of these moving cells some
perform the work of carriers, some move from place to
place doing odd jobs, and others do scavenger work, and
still another class belong to the police force, or army,
of the cell-community. Cell-life in the body may be
compared to a large colony, operated on a cooperative
plan, each cell having its own work to do for the
common good, each working for all, and all working
for the common welfare. The cells of the nervous
system carry messages from one part of the body to
the brain and from the brain to another part of the
body, being living telegraph wires, as the nerves are
composed of minute cells in close contact with each other,
having small projections which are in contact with
similar projections from other cells, so that they are practically holding hands and forming a chain, along which passes
the Prana.
Of the carriers, moving workers, policemen, soldiers, etc., of the
cell-community there are millions upon millions in
each human body, it being estimated that there are in
one cubic inch of blood at least 75,000,000,000 (seventy-five thousand million)
of the red-blood cells alone, not to speak of the other
cells. The community is a large one.
The red-blood cells, which are the common carriers of the body, float in
the arteries and veins, taking up a load of oxygen from the lungs and carrying
it to the various tissues of the body, giving life and strength to the parts. On the return journey through the
veins they carry with them the waste
products of the system, which are
then thrown off by the lungs, etc. Like a merchant vessel these cells carry a
cargo on their outgoing trip and bring a second cargo on their return
trip. Other cells force their way through the walls of the arteries and veins
and through the tissues on their errand of
repair work, etc., upon which they have been sent.
Besides the red-blood cells, or carriers, there are several other kinds
of cells in the blood. Among the most interesting of these are the policemen
and soldiers
of the cell-community. The work of these cells is to protect the system from germs, bacteria, etc., which might cause trouble or disease. When one of these
policemen comes in contact with an intruding germ the police cell enmeshes it and then proceeds to
devour it, if it be not too large-if it be too large for him to get away with he summons other cells to his
assistance, when the combined force gather around the enemy and carry it
to some point of the body where it may be thrown out. Boils, pimples, etc., are
instances of the throwing out of some
intruding enemy or enemies by these policemen of the system.
There is much work for the red-blood cells to do. They carry the oxygen to the parts
of the body; they push along the nourishment
obtained from the food to the parts of the body where it is needed to
build up and repair; they extract from the
nourishment just the elements needed
to manufacture gastric juice, saliva, pancreatic juices, bile, milk,
etc., etc., and then combine them in the proper proportions for use. They do a
thousand and one things and arc busy continuously like a lot of ants in and
around an anthill. The Oriental teachers have long known and taught of the
existence and work of these "little lives," but it has remained for
Western science to dig into the subject in such a way as to bring to light the
details of their work.
Cells are being born and cells are
dying every moment of our existence. Cells
reproduce themselves by enlarging and subdividing, the original cell
swelling until it finally forms two parts
with a small connecting "waist"; then the connection parts and there
are two independent cells instead of one. The new cell in turn divides
itself up, and so on.
Cells enable the body to carry on
its work of continual regeneration. Every
part of the human body is undergoing a constant change and tissues are
being continually renewed. Our skin, bones, hair, muscles, etc., are constantly being repaired and
"made over." It takes about four months to replace our finger nails- about
four weeks to replace our skin. Every part of our bodies is being worn out and
renewed and repaired constantly. And these little workmen-the cells -are the agency performing this wonderful task.
Millions of these little workers are ever moving along or working in a
fixed position in all parts of our bodies, renewing
the wornout tissues and replacing them with new
material and throwing out of the system the wornout
and injurious particles of matter.
In the
lower animals Nature allows the Instinctive Mind a
fuller scope and a larger field, and as life ascends in
the scale, developing the reasoning faculties, the
Instinctive Mind seems to narrow its field.
For instance, crabs and members of the spider
family are able to grow new feeders, legs, claws, etc.
Snails are able to grow even parts of the head, including eyes which have been destroyed; some fishes are able to
re-grow tails. Salamanders and
lizards are able to grow new tails, including bones, muscle and parts of
the spinal column. The very lowest forms of animal life have practically an unlimited power of restoring
lost parts and can practically make
themselves entirely over, provided
there is left the smallest part of them to build upon. The higher form
of animals have lost much of this
recuperative power and man has lost more than any of them owing to his mode of living. Some of the more
advanced of the Hatha Yogis, however, have
performed some wonderful results along these lines, and any one, with patient practice, may obtain such control of the Instinctive Mind and the
cells under its control that he may
obtain wonderful recuperative results
in the direction of renewing diseased parts * and weakened portions of
the body.
But even ordinary man still possesses a wonderful degree of recuperative power, which is constantly being manifested,
although the average man pays no attention to it.
Let us take the healing of a wound for example. Let us see how it is performed.
It is well worth your consideration and study. It is so common that we are apt to
overlook it, and yet so wonderful as to cause the student to realize the
greatness of the intelligence displayed
and called into force in the work.
Let
us suppose that a human body is wounded-that is cut or
torn by some outside agency. The tissues, lymphatic
and blood vessels, glands, muscles, nerves, and
sometimes even the bone, is severed, and the continuity interrupted. The wound bleeds, gapes and causes pain. The nerves carry the message to the brain, calling
loudly for immediate help, and the Instinctive Mind sends messages here and
there in the body, calling out a sufficient force of
repair workmen, who are hurried to the scene of danger.
In the meantime the blood pouring from the injured
blood vessels washes away, or at least tries to wash
away, the foreign substances that have entered the
organism, such as dirt, bacteria, etc., which would act
as poisons if allowed to remain. The blood, coming in
contact with the outside air, coagulates and forms a
sticky sort of substance, somewhat resembling glue, and
forms the beginning of the coming crust or scab. The
millions of blood cells whose duty it is to do the
repair work arrive on the scene on the
"double-quick" and at once begin to again connect
the tissues, displaying the most wonderful intelligence and activity in their work. The cells of the tissues, nerves, blood vessels, on both sides of the wound, begin
to increase and multiply, bringing into being millions
of new cells, which, advancing from both sides, finally
meet in the center of the wound. This forming of new cells bears all the appearance of a disorderly, purposeless effort,
but in a short time the hand of the commanding
intelligence and of its subordinate centers of
influence begins to show itself. The
new cells of the blood
vessels connect with the same kind of cells on the
opposite side of the wound, forming new tubes through
which the blood may flow. The cells of what is known
as the "connective tissue" unite with others of their kind and draw together the wound. New nerve cells form on each of the severed ends, and, sending out filaments, gradually repair the broken wires, until
at last the message passes again without interruption.
After all this "inside" work is completed and blood vessel, nerve and connective tissue are fully repaired, the cells of the skin start in to finish the task, and new epidermis cells spring into existence and new skin is formed over the wound, which has healed by that time. All
orderly, showing discipline and intelligence. The healing of a
wound-apparently so simple-brings the careful
observer face to face with the Intelligence which
pervades all of Nature-lets him see Creation in
active operation. Nature is ever willing
to draw aside the veil and allow us to peep a little
into the sacred chamber beyond; but we poor ignorant
creatures heed not her invitation, but pass by unheeding
and waste our mind force on silly things and hurtful pursuits.
So much for the
work of the cell. The cell-mind is supplied
from the Universal Mind-the great storehouse of "mind-stuff"-and is kept in touch and directed by the mind of the cell-centers, which are
in turn controlled by higher
centers, until the central Instinctive
Mind is reached. But the cell-mind is not able to express itself without both of two other principles-matter and prana. It needs the fresh
material supplied by the
well-digested food, in order to make for itself a medium of
expression. It also needs a supply of prana, or
vital force, in order to move and have
action. The triune principle of Life-mind, matter and force-is necessary
in the cell as in the man. Mind needs force or energy (prana) in order to
manifest itself in action through matter. As in great things so in small-as above so below.
In our previous
chapters we have spoken of the digestion and
of the importance of giving the blood a goodly supply of nourishing,
well-digested food, in order that it might properly perform its work of repairing and building up the parts of the body. In
this chapter we have shown you how
the cells use the material in order
to do the building-how they use the material to build up themselves, and
then how they build themselves in the body. Remember, the cells, which are used as building bricks, surround
themselves with the material obtained
from the food, making themselves bodies, as it were; then take up a
supply of prana or vital energy and are then carried or pushed to where they
are needed, where they build themselves,
and are built up into new tissue, bone, muscle, etc. Without proper material with which to form themselves bodies these cells cannot carry out their
mission; in fact, cannot exist.
Persons who have allowed themselves to "run down" and who are
suffering from imperfect nutrition have not
nearly the normal amount of blood-cells and are consequently unable to
have the work of the system properly carried
on. The cells must have material with which to make bodies, and there is only one way in which they can receive
this material-by means of nourishment in the food. And unless there is
sufficient prana in the system these cells cannot manifest sufficient energy to do their work and lack of vitality is manifested
throughout the whole system.
Sometimes
the Instinctive Mind is so badgered and brow-beaten
by the Intellect of Man that it takes on the
absurd notions and fears of the latter and fails to perform its accustomed work properly, and the cells are not properly generaled. In such cases, when the Intellect once grasps the true idea, it seeks to repair its
past mistakes and begins to reassure the Instinctive Mind that it understands its duties thoroughly and will
be allowed to govern its own kingdom hereafter, and this is followed up with
words of encouragement and praise and confidence until
the Instinctive Mind recovers its equilibrium and
again manages its own household. Sometimes the
Instinctive Mind has been so influenced by the previous adverse notions of its owner,
or by those of outsiders, that it is so confused that it takes it a long time
to recover its normal poise and control. And in such
cases it often seems that some of the subordinate
cell-centers have practically rebelled and refuse to
again submit to dictation from headquarters. In both of
these cases the determined commands of the will are
needed to bring about peace and order and proper work
in all parts of the body. Remember that there is some form
of Intelligence in every organ and part and a good
strongcommand from the
Will will generally bring about an improvement in abnormal conditions.
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