Some neophytes on the spiritual path may fall into the illusion that taking care of the body is somehow evil or a sign of spiritual backwardness. Not onlymay they neglect the needs of the body, but they may go out of the way to actually damage the body.
Such people actually hate the body, they see it as a source of misery and thus they take out their anger on it. This is certainly a mistake. Masochism can never lead to spiritual perfection. The body is actually a most precious property of the self, it enables the self to engage in various devotional activities that can bring about a change in consciousness...