Spiritual Thoughts Reside In A Healthy Mind

We all have heard the saying that ‘a healthy mind resides in a healthy body.’ This phrase mostly means to advise a balanced lifestyle to maintain a healthy body supporting a sound mind, and vice versa. In other words, the focus is on healthy mortal life. This proverb would reflect through someone who exercises daily, eats and drinks sensibly, maintains a healthy weight, and with the perfect physique somehow also develops a sharp mind to achieve a successful life academically, economically, and emotionally.
We’ll notice that in this definition, a separate entity of body and mind is created. Also, what about spiritual health? Would that be yet another different dimension of an individual existence? Of course not. In fact, the spirituality of our existence is the real truth about us, with physical and mental health being the receptors to enable this awareness. Another truth is that one can have an enhanced spiritual receptivity with a sound mind alone, but it’s not the case with only a strong body. If one can have both, it’ll be a bonus but not a condition.    
However, there is individual importance of having a healthy body and sound mind. Exercising, eating healthy, learning and researching can contribute towards spiritual growth, but only when one assigns a moral purpose to life.
I’ll seek to elucidate this further through the example of the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad ji.
But first, I have to add that the teachings of the ten Sikh spiritual gurus are best understood as complete work in a sequence. This is the reason that all the ten gurus are revered as the consolidated light reflecting through the same source.  
Where the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak’s teachings kindled the moral renaissance of thought through which Sikhs began to shape their mind in the healthy moral mould,  ^{* Previous posts can be referred for further details on Guru Nanak’s core teachings*},  the second guru, Guru Angad ji promoted his predecessor’s teachings further through the following initiatives:
● Physical exercise – Akhara (open area for sports and physical exercise) was provided as an extension of every Gurdwara (Place of worship) for the Sikhs, where sports, like wrestling, martial arts, horse riding, sword fighting, swimming, etc. were provided for free.  
**The greater purpose of this initiative was:  Exercise is not just an aesthetic concept for the body but it also means gaining useful survival skills in life, like self-defence. When we’re preparing our body to reach its potential, we are also sharpening our focus, developing healthy eating and drinking habits, and learning diligence and commitment (exercising is not easy, as anyone can tell).**

●Community Food- Even though the concept of free food, called the ‘langar’ was first introduced by the first Guru, it was systemised by the second Guru. Every Gurdwara to this day has a free kitchen where all the visitors are offered vegetarian Punjabi food, any time of the day or night.
** The greater purpose of this initiative was: Since food and water are two of the basic necessities in life, the Gurdwaras provided this survival kit free to all.  Another concept that is attached to this practice is called ‘Pangat’ (Queue), which means that everyone sits together in a row and eat the same food, regardless of their social status or any other worldly divisions like caste, colour or creed. It’s not just a matter of eating healthy food, but also learning the discipline of the queue system, sharing, respecting one another as equals, and promoting ‘oneness’ amongst humanity from all walks of life.
 
● Education-  The masses of the time were uneducated in India as knowledge was monopolised by the uppermost caste of Hindus, the Brahmins. So, Guru Angad invented the script called, Gurmukhi, to enable writing and reading Punjabi, the local language of Punjab and the mother tongue of the Sikhs. Gurmukhi literally means, ‘from the mouth of the Guru.’ This was a huge milestone towards awakening the masses through knowledge in an environment where Sanskrit was the single language medium of knowledge. There were severe penalties against lower castes and minorities even attempting to learn Sanskrit. Gurmukhi gave ordinary people their mental independence.
Guru Ji also initiated the compilation of Guru Nanak’s hymns into a single volume or Granth, so the Sikhs and Punjabi-speaking masses could read and understand the spiritual lessons by the Gurus. Thenceforth, the hymns by other Gurus and saints were added to the Granth in Gurmukhi. This was a mental emancipation and a revolutionary idea despite the despotic regime.
** The greater purpose of this initiative was: Education gives knowledge, knowledge activates understanding, and understanding is the helipad for spiritual connection with the inner self and with God.
Unless we know who we are we can’t understand where we come from. Once a person understands self, the connection with God becomes clearer too. Also, since this was a revolutionary act, it taught Sikhs the lesson of self-confidence, dignity, and courage to stand up to exploitation and degradation. Sikh history proves every bit of this character, built as a result of education through Gurmukhi. **     

Now, there remains one intriguing question to clarify here – What if one has a medical condition which prevents his/her physical health, yet through the mind the same person might be capable of complex thinking? Could such a person still develop a homogenous state to grow spiritually?
To find the answer, I meditated and trusted my Guru to enlighten my understanding. Thus, I explain accordingly: The target is not to be a paragon of perfection, physically, mentally, or even spiritually because perfection belongs to Akal Purakh/God only. However, it is an individual responsibility to ‘sincerely’ try to be the best one possibly can be with the resources given to us by our Maker. Explore and engage every bit of your potential to be the best you can be, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Leave the rest to the Almighty’s design to compensate for your honesty with befitting blessings.
For example, if I were suffering from a heart condition, I still needed to take responsibility to eat and drink healthy, exercise appropriately, and steering my mind away from focusing on the negative by thinking positively. Hence, for me, complete health connotates the harmonic moral synchrony of the heart, mind, and body. Without ethical righteousness, the spiritual spark remains unkindled. So, I am responsible for maintaining a healthy spiritual life, through my deeds and my thoughts. The test and reward are for trying sincerely. God knows and sees all. 
Thank you, my Guru, for the wholesome lesson which I share with my fellow spiritual beings, my brothers and sisters.