Volume
Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
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13. Self-Knowledge
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1. Knowledge of Body
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Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life
13. Self-Knowledge
1. Knowledge of Body
Self-knowledge can be divided into four kinds, of which the first is knowledge of this physical vehicle which we call our body: how this vehicle has again two aspects, the head and the body, the former for knowledge (for all the special organs of perception are situated in the head), the latter for action. Knowledge of the physical body does not end with the knowledge of anatomy; in this body there are also centers which are the organs of intuition. In so far as science recognizes them they are nervous centers, but what a mystic sees in them is the subtle power of perception. And therefore to a mystic the human body is a more perfect instrument than a wireless receiver, for that is a dead thing compared with the human body; the body is a living wireless receiver if it is prepared for that purpose.
And if one asks why it is necessary that one should prepare it for that purpose, this would be like asking if it is necessary that we should see with the eyes we have. The very fact that we have eyes means that we must see with them; and because of the very fact that the intuitive centers are situated in the physical body, it is necessary that man should be intuitive as well as intellectual, Besides to be intuitive and to be intellectual are not essentially two different things; they are just like the two ends of the same line.
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