In thinking about the value of the human body, I recalled that it was through the practice of hatha yoga that I first became interested in meditation. It was through the discipline and rigor of the physical asanas, or poses, that I began to experience a stillness in myself, a quieting of my mind and slowing of my breath, which I recognized to be aspects of meditation.

This recognition piqued my interest, and my interest became a longing within to understand the purpose of my life, and to find a living Master, a Guru, who could guide me to that understanding. Eventually my search brought me to Baba and the blessed gift of shaktipat over fifty years ago.

So I have my own body to thank for leading me to my Guru—and for supporting me to do the Siddha Yoga practices of seva, chanting, and meditation ever since!

California, United States

Today is my seventy-ninth birthday. My birthday wish, which I shared inwardly with Gurumayi, is that she share with us more about her days of sadhana with Baba.

I received shaktipat in 1976 and I met Baba in person in 1979. When Gurumayi became the Siddha Yoga Guru after Baba took mahasamadhi, I knew that she was my Guru because when I first had her darshan, I saw Baba’s eyes in hers! Inside I heard Baba say to me, “Yes, it’s still me and now I speak English!”

So what a birthday gift it is today, to have Gurumayi instruct us to immerse ourselves in Baba’s teachings!

Appreciation for the body at my age is essential, in my experience. Caring for the body often requires the support of others at this stage. So I am grateful to Eesha for the seva she offers and for facilitating this wonderful “digital Sadhana Circle” we share here on the Siddha Yoga path website.

Georgia, United States

I am so grateful to have experienced the divine awakening through shaktipat, because it has given me a direct experience of how precious life is since we carry divinity in our beings. I have learned to see everyone and everything as so valuable, and also learned the need to take care of my body as a temple.

I am so grateful to Gurumayi for her presence in my life and her teachings more valuable than gold.

Massachusetts, United States

To me, understanding the value of a human birth is about understanding who is occupying the body. I see the human body as a physical facilitator—and as a costume or mask—that carries all the “equipment” required to have a physical experience.

When I ask, “Who or what makes the body so priceless?” my answer is that God is the one in residence, the one having the experience. To take away the life force of someone is therefore to deny the Lord a valuable and particular experience. So for me, it is the occupant hidden within who makes the body priceless.

When I first realized that my body was a two-legged vehicle which the Lord was using to have a physical experience in this physical reality, I fell into an incredulous silence for about two days. I saw that when I deem a person to be pretty or ugly, black or white, or anything else, I am describing a mask. Awe and wonderment should be my response instead.

Essex, United Kingdom

One part of the Easter satsang with Gurumayi that palpably resonated inside me was the reading of Baba’s words from Play of Consciousness. Ben Williams’ obviously deep engagement with Baba’s words was a catalyst that gripped my heart and made me yearn to go deeper into them.

Turning to Play of Consciousness, I found the quotation Ben had read in the chapter titled, “The Path of Love.” As I held these chaitanya words in my heart, they seemed to be telling me: “Wake up! The time is now.” And since I am doing what I call the sadhana of “Old is gold”—a philosophy Gurumayi told us about on Makara Sankranti—I rejoiced that since January 1, I have been honoring my body with wholesome, light, fresh foods. Among the many golden benefits is a lightness in my body, inspiring a youthful inner glow that gives me get-up-and-go.

Increasingly, I find myself loving my life in this dear body and cherishing the chance to do sadhana toward attaining the highest state in this lifetime!

Washington, United States

As I drove to the local Siddha Yoga meditation center on the morning of the “Breathe In the Spirit of Spring” satsang, I had the awareness that a question was being posed in my mind. The moment felt so true, a reminder of something vitally important to consider: “How have I been taking care of my body lately?”

Over seventy-three years I have sometimes taken this body for granted. It seemed as if asking this question marked a small but powerful new beginning. My heart filled with gratitude as I remembered how forgiving and resilient my body has been. I made a commitment to restart walks outdoors and pay closer attention to other aspects of self-care. As I have followed through, I have been sending my thanks in prayers and blessings to the world.

The synchronicity of this experience and Gurumayi’s story of Baba’s words in the satsang brought such validation and inner peace. I am so grateful for Shri Guru’s protection and grace.

New Mexico, United States

It is and will be an honor throughout the month of April to contemplate Baba’s words. Whenever I contemplate Baba’s words, I feel their power and their truth. I have also come to appreciate my precious life more and more, and to feel great compassion for those who do not or cannot appreciate their own, for whatever reason. I am so grateful that Baba’s words continue to resonate throughout time!

California, United States

I am immensely grateful that Gurumayi is giving us the focus of studying Baba’s words about “the value of the human body and of human life.”

When I read the news each day, I notice exactly what Eesha is describing: “Every day, lives are being lost to war, disease, famine, natural disasters, and other tragedies of this kind… It is easy to become desensitized to death when it happens so relentlessly around us, and at such a massive scale.”

I have been finding it overwhelming to read about lives senselessly lost and find myself needing to distance myself from thinking about these situations that I feel helpless to improve.

I am looking forward to seeing how my perspective shifts as I study and steep myself in Baba’s teachings in this series, “Meditation on Swami Muktananda’s Words.”

I am grateful to have a living Guru who gives me a focus of study that is so timely for me in my own sadhana and at this time in human existence.

California, United States

This morning I reread Eesha’s introduction, and then I sat for meditation.

As I meditated, I experienced light in my being and the presence of divine energy in my body. I was very excited to think, “This is what Baba is talking about—why the body is so valuable. I can experience God’s presence right here in my own body.” I began feeling so much gratitude for my beautiful body. I gently massaged my head, then my neck, my shoulders, and so on, and thanked each part of my body as I did. I also thanked God for giving me this body.

My efforts to study Eesha’s introduction seemed to bear fruit immediately! I am grateful to Gurumayi for giving us this focus of study. I am eager to learn how my inner experience of the sacredness of my body and my life will affect my relationship to the outer world and its unfolding of events.

California, United States

I am so grateful for this sweet introduction. I am looking forward to immersing myself deeper in Baba’s teachings and reconnecting with an appreciation of the sacredness of life.

As I start to anticipate our learning focus for this month, one thing I am aware of is that I intend to read each installment slowly… to come to them with focus and attention, to allow myself to linger over them so that the full glory of Baba’s teachings can shine forth inside myself.

Guildford, United Kingdom