Yogis & Body Deterioration
Every person who comes into identity as a material body has to deal with bodily deterioration in one way or the other, except perhaps Krishna, who it is written of as having passed from a body which was over one hundred years of age but which looked as if it was still in the prime of its youth. But even Krishna detachedly endured the wounding and death of that super physical body he displayed.
Recently a student wanted to discuss the incidence of constipation of the physical body as that affects yoga practice. Does it matter if the body is habitually constipated? Can one be a samadhi yogi even when the physical system is afflicted with the inability to promptly pass waste?
I guess different yogis would give different answers. Some may say that it is irrelevant because samadhi has nothing to do with the condition of the physical system. Some would object and claim that in their experience, it does matter because consciousness is lowered when the body is constipated as the attention is drawn to the condition. What is the final word on the matter?
Take for instance loss of memory. As the body gets older and older the brain may fail to process memories efficiently. This may result in the Alzheimer or dementia condition. Can a yogi be afflicted with this and still have deep meditations?
Or is it that he may forget even his practice and enter into la-la land where he has not a care?
Some yogis maintain an acute alert mental state through the elderly years. Others do not. Why is there a difference? Would a yogi who has an alert state near the time of death of his body, attain a higher state or dimension than another yogi whose mentality progressively deteriorates as he approaches death of the body.
What about yogis who have kidney malfunction and whose brains become polluted with harsh chemicals which gradually destroyed brain cells? Can such a yogi meditate properly?
What method should one use to deal with progressive constipation when the body becomes aged? One cannot stop one’s hair from going grey. Hence how can one stop the colon and rectum from losing efficiency?
