Inspite of the term soul being common knowledge, very few of us consider ourselves anything but bodies. Let us, therefore, first correct this false impression and begin with the basic premise of our being souls. (Gita, (2.16-29). This soul is the owner of the human body it is reposed in.

Once we accept this fact, we are able to get a hang of the true picture about our bodies, which are vehicles given to us for use (Gita, 18.61). We can understand this by an example of a car. We use cars but know ourselves to be different from them. Having this knowledge, one makes the best possible use of one’s car, that is one maintains it properly and drives it as required.

Similarly our bodies must be maintained and used dispassionately. Getting attached to bodies gives rise to many serious problems, the most common being fear of death and diseases. Also, anxiety about the well-being of one’s body adversely affects his or her immune system. The opposite is also true; our bodies work the best when we don’t worry about them. The second serious problem is that of giving too much comfort to one’s body. Our bodies works the best when they are efficiently used (Gita, 6.16-17). Success comes only through labour, and thus, by being lazy one deprives himself or herself of it by the overuse of one’s body. This is another extreme. One suffers from health problems, fatigue, diminished efficiency and may even get into accidents. One can see the signs such as sleep disorder, reduced digestion, irritability, headache, chest discomfort, excessive stress, etc.

Therefore one should be fully aware of the realties of the human body. It is given to us for a limited period of time only and it goes through natural changes like getting old, slowing down of internal systems etc. One should accept these changes gracefully, and make the necessary adjustments to one’s life just like we would do with an old car. A wise person strikes a good balance between exertions and comfort to get the best out of his or her body.

In conclusion, one should neither be attached to one’s body nor be inimical towards it out of ignorance; rather one should make the optimum use of it by being active and resting in equal measure.