Pain and suffering are the products of thoughts analysed by the brain and passed on to the physique and mind respectively. Pain and suffering need not go together. One can have pain without suffering; so also one can have suffering without pain. While pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.Many a times pain causes fear which leads to suffering. It cannot be said that pain is illusory. At the same time if and when pain does not influence the mind, one need not suffer on account of pain.
Saints and Sages have undergone physical pain; but they never suffered on that account because of their entertaining only positive thoughts in their mind.
The pain and suffering are the individual's concern and the same cannot be shared by others except in the form of sympathy. Although sympathy is also a bad emotion it is not as bad as suffering. Sometimes sympathetic words of others may help to some extent to come out of suffering. In the process of expressing sympathy the sympathiser gets caught in emotion. Instead, if he is in a higher state of mind, his soothing words would help the other to come out of suffering to some extent. Ultimately, the individual concerned has to develop a positive attitude and reach a higher state of mind to escape from suffering.
In circumstances when an individual is in pain, he should be able to entertain a thought that the pain is only temporary and would pass on with time. With that thought, the suffering would get reduced. To the extent one identifies himself with his body alone, he distance himself from the positive side of his mind and the result is suffering and pain. A typical example is that of a pregnant woman's mind which never suffers even when she is in the pangs of delivery pain.
According to Hindu view, pain and suffering are a part of unfolding of 'karma' and pain and suffering are the consequence of one's past inappropriate action. The pain and suffering should not be viewed as a punishment but as a natural consequence of the moral law of 'Prakrithy'. "Sukasya dhukkasya no kopi datha; paroda - dathithi kubuddhyresha; aham karomeethy vridhabhimana; swakarma soothra grathathathi loka" says the Ancients. Pleasure and pain are not caused by anybody; if they are attributed to others, it is ignorance to think so;if one claims himself to be the doer it is a misplaced pride; the truth is that the world is knit by the thread of one's own karma.
The very sense of 'individual existence' ( 'entertaining sense of individuality') along with attraction and repulsion('raaga and dwesha') is the cause of suffering. One should perceive "Life" as a whole, to escape suffering. Similarly, Pain has to be viewed as a warning signal, for any disease in the human mechanism, which has to be remedied early.
Pain and suffering are a part of living and they appear in life's path. A person has to focus his mind on God-thought, thereby he is relieved of the pain and suffering to a great extent. 'Acceptance'of a higher Will - in other words learning the Art of Divine Acceptance would relieve us of all problems and bring in Peace.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
PARA-PASYANTHY-MADHYAMA-VAIKARI
In Vedantic texts there appear four terms viz Para, Pasyanthy, Madhyama and Vaikari. There is yet another term 'Paratpara' which I believe is the base for the above four aspects.
While Paratpara is the Supreme (Ultimate) Truth equated with Brahman, Para is Consciousness equated with 'Iswara'. Pasyanthy is the Cosmos and Madhyama and Vaikari are the total sum-up of concepts and emotions respectively.
The above mentioned five aspects are otherwise explained by the terms 'Beyond I, I, I AM (Cosmos), I am the individual and Individuality. Further the terms 'Bhodadeetham, Bhodam, Viswam, Vyakthy and vyakthitwam; convey the same meaning.
'Beyond I' is inconceivable. This is known as 'Brahman'. 'I' is the first expression as 'Consciousness. While Brahman is similar to Light, 'Consciousness' is similar to day-light. This 'I' is described in 'Lalitha Sahasranamam' as 'Para pratyak chitiroopa'. "I AM' is the appearance projected as Cosmos - described in Lalitha sahasranamam as 'Pasyanthi para devada'. Thereafter comes 'I am the Individual' with concepts and then 'Individuality' with emotions (both of them described together as 'Madhyama vaikariroopa bhaktha manasa hamsika' to convey the idea of 'concepts and emotions' expressing through individual/individuality. While intellect entertains concepts, egoistic mind (individuality) entertains emotions. Man with a physical structure is thus a bundle of concepts and emotions.
Some of the conceptual dualities are: male-female, good-bad, birth-death, sukha-dukka, silence-noise, beauty-ugly, sweet-bitter, good smell-stink. Similarly some of the emotional dualities are: calmness-anger, attraction-repulsion, pleasure-pain, loving nature-fighting nature, contentment-greediness.
The emotional dualities can be overcome, to some extent, by coming out of individuality (egoistic mind) as a result of wisdom knowledge. Conceptual dualities would however remain as long as we are conscious of 'I am the individual' i.e., body-consciousness ('dehabhodham'). Only through Atma-gnanam - a Divine Grace,one would come out of the conceptual dualities such as right and wrong.
To the extent we overcome emotions we regain PEACE. So long as we entertain concepts our intellect is confused with the thought of right and wrong and to that extent PEACE is disturbed. "Sankalpanam paro bandha; that abhavo vimukthatha" ('concepts are the bondage and absence of the same is liberation') says the Ancients. The irony is that for those who pursue wisdom knowledge, occasional emotions would come as a nuisance. Similarly those who are blessed with atma-gnanam are occasionally disturbed by intellectual concepts of 'right and wrong'.
Apart from concepts and emotions, an individual is compelled to meet bodily needs such as hunger, sleep etc which are taken care of by instincts - a physical mechanism.
An individual with a combination of body mind and intellect, is a reflection of 'I AM' (the source of I AM being "I") and is caught by the deception of 'individuality' (i.e. Ego) a feeling of 'I am the doer; I am the enjoyer'.
Scholars have given different meaning to the sloka appearing in Lalitha Sahasranamam "Para Pratyak chiti roopa; pasyanthy para devada; madhyama vaikari roopa bhaktha manasa hamsika' explaing the same as Transcendent Word, speech in the inaudible stage, speech in the middle stage of its external expression and uttered audible speech.
There is yet another interpretation I came across recently in a website. According to that Para denotes One who is outside the meaning of everything; Pratyakchitiroopa means One who makes us look for wisdom inside. Pasyanti denotes one who sees everything in Herself; Paradevada is interpreted as one who gives power to all gods; Madhyama means One who is in the middle of everything; Vaikariroopa is one who is of the forms with words and Bhaktha manasa Hamsika means One who is like a swan in the lake called mind. However, it is my humble opinion that a different interpretation as explained in this Post is also possible.
To sum-up: Emotional dualities can be overcome by wisdom knowledge and conceptual dualities get synthesised in Atma-Gnana.
While Paratpara is the Supreme (Ultimate) Truth equated with Brahman, Para is Consciousness equated with 'Iswara'. Pasyanthy is the Cosmos and Madhyama and Vaikari are the total sum-up of concepts and emotions respectively.
The above mentioned five aspects are otherwise explained by the terms 'Beyond I, I, I AM (Cosmos), I am the individual and Individuality. Further the terms 'Bhodadeetham, Bhodam, Viswam, Vyakthy and vyakthitwam; convey the same meaning.
'Beyond I' is inconceivable. This is known as 'Brahman'. 'I' is the first expression as 'Consciousness. While Brahman is similar to Light, 'Consciousness' is similar to day-light. This 'I' is described in 'Lalitha Sahasranamam' as 'Para pratyak chitiroopa'. "I AM' is the appearance projected as Cosmos - described in Lalitha sahasranamam as 'Pasyanthi para devada'. Thereafter comes 'I am the Individual' with concepts and then 'Individuality' with emotions (both of them described together as 'Madhyama vaikariroopa bhaktha manasa hamsika' to convey the idea of 'concepts and emotions' expressing through individual/individuality. While intellect entertains concepts, egoistic mind (individuality) entertains emotions. Man with a physical structure is thus a bundle of concepts and emotions.
Some of the conceptual dualities are: male-female, good-bad, birth-death, sukha-dukka, silence-noise, beauty-ugly, sweet-bitter, good smell-stink. Similarly some of the emotional dualities are: calmness-anger, attraction-repulsion, pleasure-pain, loving nature-fighting nature, contentment-greediness.
The emotional dualities can be overcome, to some extent, by coming out of individuality (egoistic mind) as a result of wisdom knowledge. Conceptual dualities would however remain as long as we are conscious of 'I am the individual' i.e., body-consciousness ('dehabhodham'). Only through Atma-gnanam - a Divine Grace,one would come out of the conceptual dualities such as right and wrong.
To the extent we overcome emotions we regain PEACE. So long as we entertain concepts our intellect is confused with the thought of right and wrong and to that extent PEACE is disturbed. "Sankalpanam paro bandha; that abhavo vimukthatha" ('concepts are the bondage and absence of the same is liberation') says the Ancients. The irony is that for those who pursue wisdom knowledge, occasional emotions would come as a nuisance. Similarly those who are blessed with atma-gnanam are occasionally disturbed by intellectual concepts of 'right and wrong'.
Apart from concepts and emotions, an individual is compelled to meet bodily needs such as hunger, sleep etc which are taken care of by instincts - a physical mechanism.
An individual with a combination of body mind and intellect, is a reflection of 'I AM' (the source of I AM being "I") and is caught by the deception of 'individuality' (i.e. Ego) a feeling of 'I am the doer; I am the enjoyer'.
Scholars have given different meaning to the sloka appearing in Lalitha Sahasranamam "Para Pratyak chiti roopa; pasyanthy para devada; madhyama vaikari roopa bhaktha manasa hamsika' explaing the same as Transcendent Word, speech in the inaudible stage, speech in the middle stage of its external expression and uttered audible speech.
There is yet another interpretation I came across recently in a website. According to that Para denotes One who is outside the meaning of everything; Pratyakchitiroopa means One who makes us look for wisdom inside. Pasyanti denotes one who sees everything in Herself; Paradevada is interpreted as one who gives power to all gods; Madhyama means One who is in the middle of everything; Vaikariroopa is one who is of the forms with words and Bhaktha manasa Hamsika means One who is like a swan in the lake called mind. However, it is my humble opinion that a different interpretation as explained in this Post is also possible.
To sum-up: Emotional dualities can be overcome by wisdom knowledge and conceptual dualities get synthesised in Atma-Gnana.
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