ACCEPTING PAIN WITHOUT SUFFERING
“You see, we keep coming back to this idea of pain. It is inevitable. Why? Because the fact of releasing you from something by which you have become trapped, like a piece of iron on a magnet - when you pull it away, there is that separation, perhaps the pain of separation, even physical pain.
So you see, liberation and pain are bound together. And until we realize this fact - that pain is a sign of liberation - we are going to avoid pain, therefore we are going to avoid liberation. The more we go towards pleasure, the more we are going into bondage and suffering.
So, pain is different from suffering. This is something you must kindly remember, that there can be suffering without pain and one can have a great deal of pain without suffering.”
— Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)",
In the fifth maxim of Sahaj Marg, Babuji Maharaj says, “Be truthful. Take miseries as divine blessings for your own good and be thankful.”
One of the most beautiful things taught be the Sahaj Marg system of Yoga is how to view pain and utilize it in the right manner for our evolution. The characteristic of this world is duality. So when there is pleasure, there is also pain. It is a common thing that all of us face in our lives.
But the problem comes when we fight against it, allow it to bring us down, make us angry, dejected or depressed. Instead, if we accept it as an opportunity for us to remain connected to God and let it pass through without affecting our state of mind and heart, then we can sail through life in a peaceful and balanced way.
Chariji goes one step further and differentiates between pain and suffering. According to him, we suffer only when we involve ourselves in our miseries - fight against it, instead of accepting it and using it for our evolution.
The saints faced a lot of pain, but never suffered. Precisely because they accepted it as an inevitable part of their lives and diverted their mind from dwelling in the pain to the Immutable Reality (God). They sailed past all their miseries (and joys), being immersed in God.
And according to Chariji Maharaj, this is not a difficult feat to accomplish. Every sincere abhyasi who practices Meditation with devotion and sincerity would develop the courage and strength to endure the torments of life in a cheerful manner and acquire the inner strength to face things. The Sahaj Marg practice greatly help us to lead a life of inner balance and peace amidst all the turbulances of a worldly life.
Very very nice and ture article.Thanks a lot for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the very relevant article... I wrote something recently on pain that I would like to share here... Hope you like it... http://divedeepwithin.com/2015/12/09/sharing-in-your-pain/
ReplyDeleteInsightful article with some meaning sharing from works of Chariji of Shri Ram Chandra Mission. I remember once he had said that Pain in inevitable while suffering is optional. Sahaj Marg prepare us mentally and emotionally to withstand pain to reduce our suffering.
ReplyDeleteYes,I would like to share an experience. When I had an operation and brought to the room, I felt severe unbearable pain after the effect of pain killer reduced. Suddenly I felt why not take the opportunity of remembering God instead of the pain. Immediately I tried relentlessly. The result was unbelievable! In the evening the nurse said, 'You are the first patient who never pestered us for pain killer to be administered!'
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