Your Body Is Just a Taxi You Have Hired for Some Time

Now the third mantra

अश्वपूर्वां रथमध्यां हस्तिनादप्रबोधिनीम्
श्रियं देवीमुपह्वये श्रीर्मा देवी जुषताम्

अशू व्याप्तौ
अश्व here means all pervading – who is spread everywhere – who is present everywhere – omnipresent – Sri Hari.

अश्वपूर्वा – he is ahead of her – he walks in front of her – who walks in front – husband – so Sri Hari is her husband.

रथमध्या
आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव च
says Kathopanishad.

Body is the chariot, and self is the charioteer. This is how you should look at your body.

Body is just like a car you own, a car you drive. Nowadays, we are so confused – we think body is everything. Is a car the whole of your life?

There was time when you did not have a car, could not drive a car. You used to travel by public transport, you used to go by school bus to school, you used to go by train. Then you got yourself a car.

Now, are you going to make your entire life around this car – as if you are living only to take care of this car? Unless until you are a taxi driver by profession – still you have your private life, your personal life.

For a taxi driver who has his own taxi – for whom that is the livelihood – for him this car is a little more important. But for others – it is just a means for transport.

First few days of purchase that excitement, thrill will be there. After that it is just a means of transport. When a new model comes, you give it away, you exchange it and get the new one. You are not permanently wedded to the car. Unless until it is some kind of abnormal obsession.

This body is like a car which the atma or the passenger uses for some time. For a few hours, few days, few months, few years to travel on. It is not even your own car, it is a taxi.

Say you are travelling across states – you take a taxi in Maharashtra and go up to the border of Karnataka – now this taxi does not have permit to ply in Karnataka – so you get down – take another taxi and travel through Karnataka – then Kerala border comes – you again leave this taxi behind and catch another one to travel through Kerala. This is what this body is.

And we get obsessed with it. The entire focus – the one and only focus is on maintaining this body. We are forgetting that it is only a car on which you are travelling for some time. And we get obsessed with it.

To the extent that we have forgotten who we are, why we are in that taxi in the first place, where we are going, why we are in that taxi. Everything is forgotten. That taxi is not even your own. But we are pathologically obsessed with it.

There is nothing else in the whole life. From the time you wake up in the morning – brushing your teeth – to keep the teeth white and healthy. Bed coffee / tea to give it a kick start and to take care of many other things.

Bitter gourd juice, pumpkin juice, hydro therapy – take 3 glasses of water on empty stomach. Then go to the gym, go walking, go jogging, go cycling, do yoga, pranayama, inhale, exhale.

Then clean the body – something for the skin, something else for the hair, hot water, cold water, hot and cold water mixed. Then breakfast cereals – milk, juice – so much of carbohydrate, so much of protein, only so much of fat, cholesterol. Then again, dress it up, wear makeup, take it around, work to feed it again, work to pamper it.

Spend half your day worrying about what all can happen to this car – from cold and cough to cancer, BP, sugar. Go to doctors, take medical insurance, preventive check up, health care plans. We have researched and found thousands and thousands and thousands of diseases – thousands and thousands and thousands of ways in which the taxi can malfunction, this taxi can break down.

Nutritional supplements – all for a taxi in which you are riding for some time. Only this is there in life. Even when going to sleep – this bed – bed with spring, bed without spring, bed that will assume the shape of the body when you lie down on it. All for a taxi that you have hired for some time.

There is nothing else in life than maintaining, taking care of this car. That too it is not even your own. There is nothing else in life but for the obsession with this taxi on which you are riding. Nothing but this pathological obsession. It is OCD – obsessive compulsive disorder.

This is only body – then there is mind – that is whole different story.

Coming back to Sri Sukta. Ratha is body, Sri Hari’s body, and she is rathamadhya – she is in the middle of that body – Sri Hari’s vakshasthala.

हस्तिनादप्रबोधिनीम् – Mata came to hear the pleading cries of Gajendra. She heard them first. She informed Sri Hari about his plight and asked him to save Gajendra.

श्रियं देवीमुपह्वये – her we call, this Devi we are calling out to, this Sri Devi we are calling out.

सा मा जुषताम् – सा मां जुषताम्
May she use me as a toy in her hand. Amuse herself with the toy which is me. Her amusement is creation of wealth. May she amuse herself with me.

• How do Vishnu and Lakshmi actually work in my daily life? Vishnu is the steady intelligence that holds everything together; Lakshmi is the power that makes things fruitful. When you act with dharma and devotion, their grace turns effort into result with less friction.

• Why does bhakti change outcomes and not just feelings? Bhakti aligns your intention with cosmic order. Alignment removes inner conflict, sharpens choices, and opens doors you could not push open by force.

• What is the simplest daily practice to invite their grace? Fix a short, non-negotiable routine: light a lamp, chant a small nama like ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ 108 times, offer water, and sit in silence for 3 minutes. Do it every single day.

• How should I see money and success in the light of Lakshmi? Treat wealth as entrusted power. Earn clean, spend wisely, give regularly. Gratitude, charity, and ethical work hold Lakshmi; greed pushes her away.

• How can bhakti help with health without turning me into a body-obsessed person? See the body as a vehicle given for seva. Sleep on time, eat satvik, move daily, and keep medical checkups. Maintain it well, but keep your heart anchored in the Lord, not in measurements.

• I feel anxious and over-controlling. What does surrender look like? Do your best with full focus; offer the outcome to Vishnu before and after the task. This ends the mental tug-of-war and restores calm strength.

• Can devotion improve family relationships? Yes. Establish a short family puja once a day. Rotate who leads the prayer, express one sentence of gratitude, and one apology if needed. Families that pray together heal faster and fight cleaner.

• How do I bring bhakti into my love life in a dignified way? See your partner as a soul entrusted to you by the Lord. Practice honest speech, fidelity, shared prayer once a week, and gentle boundaries. Affection becomes deeper and safer under that light.

• What should I do when illness strikes despite devotion? Take treatment without delay and offer the process to Lakshmi Narayana. Bhakti gives steadiness for tough protocols and invites timely help, skilled doctors, and supportive people.

• Is ritual necessary if my heart is sincere? Sincerity is the core. Simple, consistent rituals channel that sincerity and train the mind. Keep them small and steady rather than grand and rare.

• How do I deal with ambition without burning out? Hold a clear sankalpa, work hard, and practice prasad buddhi: accept outcomes as the Lord’s distribution. This keeps drive high and stress low.

• What are signs that grace is active right now? Unforced clarity, timely coincidences, reduced inner noise, and a natural pull toward clean choices. You feel guided rather than pushed.

• My faith is weak. Where do I start? Start tiny. One nama mala, one verse of Vishnu Sahasranama, or one minute of silence before a photo of Lakshmi. Ask for faith directly; asking is itself bhakti.

• How can I bring devotion into busy workdays? Begin with a 30-second offering at your desk, keep a small mantra between tasks, and end the day by mentally handing the results back to the Lord.

• What does Lakshmi expect from my spending habits? Clean earnings, no wasteful vanity, provision for family needs, regular giving to good causes, and investments that do not harm others.

• How do I guide children into devotion without forcing them? Keep it joyful and short. Stories of Krishna and Vishnu, simple bhajans, one small seva like feeding cows or birds. Praise effort, not performance.

• How do I handle desire and conflict in relationships under a devotional lens? Name the desire honestly, set shared boundaries, and pray together before difficult talks. Devotion cools ego and speeds forgiveness.

• What inner picture helps me stay steady? Visualize Vishnu as calm protection behind you and Lakshmi as warm light in your heart. Act from that center, speak from that calm, and move with that care.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi