Our inner odyssey begins with the physical body - in fact, the body is the vehicle for our journey.
The complex symphony of the body is conducted by a system of glands known as the endocrine glands, which secrete hormones into the bloodstream. Hormones have a profound effect on all the body's functions - growth, metabolism, digestion, energy level, heat, sexuality, and also on the mind. Over or under secretion of various glands can cause mental disturbances and negative emotions such as anxiety, hatred, anger or fear, which destroy health and peace of mind.
The most mysterious gland in the human body is the pineal gland, located directly in the center of the brain. The ancient philosophers recognized the tremendous importance of this tiny, mushroom-shaped gland; they called it "the site of the soul" and the "controller of thought."
Long ago, in the evolutionary past, some undeveloped creatures such as lizards actually had a third eye in the top of their heads, which was very sensitive to light and regulated the natural cyclical rhythms of their bodies. Gradually, over millions of years of evolution, this "eye" descended into the brain, and the pineal gland in human beings is the vestige of that primordial "third eye."
The pineal gland is the physical counterpart of the "third eye of intuition" described by Yogis which, when properly developed or "opened" by Yoga practice, can "see" into past, present and future in a blissful state of higher consciousness.
Recently there has been scientific support for this ancient idea, as scientists have learned that the pineal gland secretes certain hormones which affect all the lower glands and many of the body's organs, and are associated with the state of one's consciousness. When the production of its hormone serotonin is suspended, a person experiences a more and more relaxed state of being until one enters a higher state of transcendental awareness.
Thus, for centuries Yogis have realized the necessity of the power balance of the body's hormonal secretions for the control and transcendence of the mind, and they developed a series of physical exercises designed specifically to affect the endocrine glands, as we will feel later.
The physical body is called "Annamaya Koss" which means "made of food". This material vehicle is the machine of the mind which the mind uses to operate in the physical world. Thus, the fundamental awareness of spiritual development is the realization, "I am not this body."
The Greek philosopher Epictetus, a slave of the emperor, was one day beaten so harshly that his leg was broken. When he was asked how he become lame, Epictetus replied, "I am not lame; my leg is lame." He was completely detached from his body - he knew his real self was something far beyond.
If the physical body is a machine, who is the controller? The manipulator of this body is the first of the five layers of the mind - the conscious mind.
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