What does man’s having different stomachs mean?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

4.3.4-Man has different stomachs

            The most striking difference between humans and animals is in the number of stomachs they have. Animals have one stomach but humans have several stomachs. The material stomach that we all know and that grinds what we eat when we are hungry does essentially the same thing in both humans and animals. The food of this material stomach is all kinds of food that turn the earth into an exceptional dinner table.

The other stomachs in humans are related to being humane and they are all non-matter, that is, spiritual. For example, mind is a stomach and its food is knowledge. The feeling of love is a stomach; its food is love. The feeling of generosity is a stomach and its food is treating people food.  All stomachs, whether material or spiritual, grow as they are fed, and become weak as they remain hungry. The hunger of all stomachs is painful and their fullness is pleasure.

There is a limit to the growth of the material organs that are fed by the stomach we know. However, there is no such limit for spiritual organs. Sometimes a single feeling, such as ambition or enmity, develops and is rooted so deeply that it virtually dominates the whole world of man. All of the physical organs in the body are good and serve something. Goodness is also essential for the spiritual organs that are sown in human nature as seeds of talent and ability. However, their education is subject to man’s will; and the ones that are watered and fed among them will develop. The others continue to sleep as dry seeds. If they are misused and misdirected, they will yield poisonous fruits. The human body is like the soil of a garden. The value of the garden is proportional to the value of the plants growing on it rather than the soil.

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