Jesus said, Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh. (112)
“Flesh” means the physical body, the sarx; and “soul” means the subtle energy body or bodies, the psyche. The flesh cannot depend on the soul because they are intertwined, being formed of energy, and sharing the same weaknesses and defects. And for the same reason the soul, especially the mind, cannot depend on the body because it is trapped in the body and continually subject to its changes and conditions.
What Jesus is implying is that both flesh and body need the spirit, the pneuma, because it alone is immortal and its nature is consciousness. Just as God projects the creation out of his own unchanging Consciousness, in the same way the bodies, including the physical body, have emanated from the individual spirit. Therefore both flesh and soul must be aligned or attuned to the spirit and eventually absorbed into the spirit which is their goal. Until then, through spiritual practice, especially meditation, both flesh and soul must be always oriented to the spirit which is itself part of the Divine.
Read the next article in the Gospel of Thomas for Yogis: Where is the Kingdom?
Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke)
Swami Nirmalananda Giri, founder of Light of the Spirit Monastery, has spent over six decades immersed in the study and practice of Yoga and and the spiritual traditions of East and West. He is the author of more than 30 books on meditation, practical spiritual life and Sanatana Dharma.
Learn more »