DEVA means divine, MANDIR means temple — divine temple. The body has all the mysteries, all the mysteries that the whole universe has; it is a miniature universe. The difference between the body and the universe is only of quantity. Just as a single atom has all the secrets of matter, the body has all the secrets of the universe. One need not go to search for any secrets outside, one has just to go in.
And the body has to be taken care of. One should not be against it, one should not condemn it. If you condemn it, you have already condemned god, because in the deepest recess of the body god resides. God has chosen this house of the body to live in. Respect your body, love your body, care about your body.
The so-called religions have created much antagonism between man and his body. It is true that you are not the body. That doesn’t mean that you have to be against the body; the body is a friend. The body can take you to hell, the body can take you to heaven too. It is simply a vehicle. It is neutral: wherever you want to go, it is ready.
It is a mechanism of immense complexity, beauty, order. The more one understands one’s body, the more one feels awe. Then what to say about the whole universe? — even this small body contains so much of a miracle. So I call the body the temple of the divine.
~ OSHO
Abridged from Hallelujah
A Darshan Diary
Ch# 18