Body Consciousness

What is body consciousness, and why is it important to strive now to give it up? 

"Take for instance a mansion consisting of various rooms like bedroom, storeroom, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, etc. These rooms are of your own making. Each room is separated from the other by a wall. Once the walls are demolished, only one big hall remains. 

Body attachment is like the wall that separates one from the other, and which comes in the way of realising the Self. Once this wall is broken down, you will realise the infinite and immortal Self. Instead of realising the infinite and immortal Self, you are developing attachment to the body over a number of births. 

Develop detachment at least from this birth. You claim something as ‘mine’, but it will be yours only so long as your body exists. After your death, what you earlier claimed as yours will belong to somebody else. Such being the case, why should you develop attachment to worldly possessions? 

Human life is based on ‘I’ and ‘mine’. ‘I’ refers to the atma, and ‘mine’ refers to matter. The mind has originated from the atma. Matter is the effect of the mind. Once you know the nature of the mind and matter, everything else will be known."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Divine Discourse - January 14, 2002)

In order to understand the power of the atma, first of all, enquire into the nature of the mind. – BABA