By Dr. Jagessar Das
What can the integration of life mean? It does not form a topic for popular discussion. It does not even form part of the training of most religionists and other teachers of mankind. Integration of life is the most fundamental of all achievements in order to live a happy and purposeful spiritual life.
Integration of life means a unity formed of different parts but all functioning harmoniously to further the welfare and growth of the individual. This integration involves the body, mind, emotions, intellect, ego, soul and God.
Now, in order to understand this subject, it would be a good idea to discuss the integration of the body. Everyone knows that the body is made up of many organs such as the brain, liver, kidneys, intestines, glands, muscles, skin, etc. All these organs function in harmony to maintain the integrity of the individual. The brain governs our conscious activities such as seeking food, shelters, friendships and leisure activities and the processing and integration of information, all geared to fulfill some need of the person. The autonomic nervous system governs all the unconscious processes of the body that maintain our life, without our consciously being aware of it or its functions. It governs our breathing, heartbeat, digestion, blood pressure, hormonal secretions from the various glands etc. The various organs in turn function in a precise manner such as the brain sending and receiving messages from all parts of the body; the liver synthesizing various chemicals for use in the body, such as proteins, enzymes and bile salts, and detoxifying various injurious or foreign substances in the body. The various glands function in harmony with each other, and exert their effects on various parts of the body. An example would be the production and release TRH (Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone) by the hypothalamus that is in the brain just above the pituitary gland. The TRH then acts on the pituitary gland to release TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) that, in turn, acts on the thyroid gland to release thyroid hormone which controls the rate of metabolism in the whole body. A very delicate balance is set up. As soon as the thyroid hormone is sufficient, it acts on the pituitary gland to slow down production of TSH, and thus of the thyroid hormone.
The above example is only one of the several thousands of chemical processes going on in the body all at the same time, and we are not aware of them. They all function to maintain a state of equilibrium in the body called homeostasis. If they functioned haphazardly, the body will be subject to disease, suffering and death.
Now that the integration of the body is understood, it will become easier to understand the integration of life as stated above. A.C. Bouquet has stated: “The essential function of religion is to integrate life”. And Swami Akhilananda stated: “The creating of personality does not lie in physical expressions, but in the unification of the mind.”
Life is integrated to start with. The problem lies in our bringing about a dis-integration by our ignorance of natural laws, and our lack of control over our senses and passions. We insist that we are free beings and can do what we like, and we set about proving it by allowing anger, hate, greed, lust, selfishness and other negative tendencies to have a free reign over us. Anxiety, worries and depressions are playing havoc with our lives. We develop various physical ailments such as tension and migraine headache, duodenal ulcers, skin rashes, asthma, generalized weakness, insomnia, and a host of other ailments. But we do not understand why we have all these problems.
In order to deal with all the stresses and ailments of life, we find people engaged in seeking cures from various types of healers such as physicians, chiropractors, osteopaths, holistic health practitioners, and many others who work on the suggestibility and gullibility of people, e.g. faith healers, and those who practice acupressure, reflexology, advocate macrobiotic diets, and use pseudoscience such as Tarot Cards, palm reading, astrology psychic surgery and black magic. All of these are done in the hope of bringing better understanding, health and harmony in life, but life continues in its usual way, and nobody becomes any wiser after all the money and effort have been spent. People are striving for wellbeing, but they fail because the goal to be achieved is not clearly focused in their minds, and the methods used are not conducive towards reaching that goal of integration of the personality and of life.
Dr. Jagessar Das is a Surrey-based spiritualist and head of the Kabir Association of Canada. He can be reached at www.kabir.ca
