IISATYANAAMII
THE LIVING MANNEQUIN

“Yaha tan kaachaa kumbh hai, liyaa phire the saath
Tapkaa laagaa phooti gayaa, kacchu na aayaa haath”

Your body is just like unbaked clay, which you proudly displayed wherever you went. A single blow smashed it in pieces; you could not make any use of it.

Human beings are the most developed form of life among all creatures. The supremacy of humans, though, is not based on their physical capabilities, but on their intellectual abilities. Yet, many people manifest pride in the physical body they have, not realising how delicate it can be. It is widely acclaimed that the way the human body has been conceived is very intricate, with the potential to create wonders. When we think deeply about it, we will realise that it is our consciousness that makes the difference, not our physical bodies. The physical body itself is very fragile. As compared to many other animals whose dead body parts are more durable and of use. In this saakhi, Satguru Kabir Saheb wants us to reflect on how our human body is fragile, yet contains the right mechanism for spiritual realisation. In other words, not the physical body, but the subtle body is what we have to identify ourselves with. If we keep boasting on how elegant, how strong, how functional a physical body we have, we will never use it for the purpose for which we have been entrusted with it. Satguru Kabir Saheb is telling us that we have not been given this body to demonstrate its outer beauty and performance; He is directing us to delve into our real immortal identity, not our impermanent structure. Otherwise, at the end the physical body will perish and we would still not have realised our true Self.
Mahant Jay Jaggessur, Kabir Association of Toronto.