Hello Readers!! I hope you all are in the best of your spirits and in bliss.
I have been asked multiple times – Why do you talk about pain so much? Why you don’t see the good things happening and be grateful for that? and been given advice that positive thinking brings more positivity in life, keep smiling and you know the rest.
But does experiencing pain mean not being grateful for what we have? Does pain always mean we are cribbing for something we are unable to get? And the answer to most of these questions is yes. Unfulfilled desires yield pain and being grateful for what you have brings you back to a state of neutrality. But given this age of information, are we not aware of the fact that being grateful brings you to a state of normalcy? But then why are we still experiencing pain? I am sure almost all of you would have experienced pain in your life at some time or the other.
Does it mean that experiencing pain is beyond our control? The way I see it is if you are a grateful person that means you have thick walls preventing you from experiencing pain but that doesn’t mean you are immune to pain. It may only mean the cycle of time may strike you harder to break the walls. Oh my God. what did I just say?
What animosity does the cycle of time have with us, that it will strike us harder? There isn’t any!! The whole idea of seeing pain from a deluded perspective is making us think like that. In my view, Pain is a direct flight to Shiv. By Shiv here I mean The Ultimate Truth. In all religions, we have the importance of pilgrimage – Makkah-Madinah, Mansarovar yatra, etc. And the more difficult the journey is, the more prominent its importance. Ever wondered why? Ever wondered what’s the importance of walking towards the pilgrimage (pada-yatra)? The whole philosophy behind this is to experience pain. My Guru Ji – Shri Prabhat Agarwal, in one of his workshops shared with us about a tradition in Sweden – which states – when a person is in a state of emotional trauma, he goes to a frozen lake, carves a cutting out of it and take a plunge into the deep freezing water for 30 sec and then he is taken out of it. And what this results in is excruciating physical pain leading to an emotional outburst and thus release of tears and all that was sitting inside. Similarly, the Mansarovar yatra in the Hindu religion is meant to be the most difficult and thus of the highest importance. No matter how physically fit you are, you are bound to go through circumstances that induce pain in you. Ever wondered why all these established religions have these setups to make humans go through pain?
I will re-iterate – Pain is your direct flight to Shiv! Pain brings you closer to yourself, brings you inside, and then triggers the Quest. All these so-called spiritual questions start becoming more important in your consciousness – Who are you? Why are you here? What is your purpose? What is this circus all about? The Quest Begins!! The whole idea of this is to trigger the quest within you. When this quest is coming from outside, meaning someone else – a motivational speaker, a teacher, a pandit, an elder, a well-wisher – asking you to find answers to these questions, it is never of importance or priority, its when you, yourself fall into that dig, it makes sense, it becomes more significant to ask these questions. And that’s why Pain is important and more so letting yourself experience every inch of it.
Happiness or Joy is like rest periods in your journey or quest for the ultimate truth as whenever you are happy and things are happening the way you want them to, all your energy is outward trying to grasp every inch of happiness around you. Thus I would say happiness/joy are overrated. But the cycle of time makes sure that you are not resting all the time. It brings back pain which brings you even more inside and you can move forward in your journey.
But does that mean, we are always stuck in this cycle? I have experienced in my own life that the more sensitive you become to pain, the more easily you let it in seep into your heart the faster your journey is. The more welcoming you become for pain, the more expanded you are and you may reach a scenario where even when you experiencing joy you are still going inward and not outward. You are not needing rest anymore. Your acceleration is set and you are just moving forward at the fastest speed possible.
You might be wondering, what if I don’t want to be on any quest or know the ultimate truth? Given the fact, we all experience pain and happiness in the journey of life and thus it seems like it’s the duty of the cycle of time to bring both to us, so something could trigger us for the quest. But I have also experienced that the ones more desperate for the truth go through a lot more triggers than the ones who are not desiring the ultimate truth. Also, it is stated in Bhagwad Geeta – the most adhered Hindu mythology document – that a soul goes through a series of births and deaths and gets a body as a vehicle to finish the journey to The Ultimate Truth. Ever wondered what happens if you don’t finish this journey? You keep relishing in this cycle of pain-joy-pain-joy-…, but what for? Where we will you be if not with the divine by the time, the time for completing this journey has ended? There are a few important questions we never ask ourselves as they question everything we have believed and running for in this life.
I hope my words would trigger some quest within you or at least makes you more respectful, welcoming, and sensitive towards pain. Once you let the pain do its job, the by-product itself is being grateful. My Guru Ji, always says – when in pain, fear, anger, or guilt – just stay put – close your eyes, freeze and be there, experience and see it in totality, a 360-degree view and you will be out of it with wisdom and eye-opening realisations.
Before I wind up, I want to send my gratitude to the Divine, my Guru Jis – Shri Prabhat Aggarwal Ji, Yogi Param Jnana Ji, and Yogi Ritu Om Ji and to my parents for their love, nourishment, and unending support. A special thanks to my brother for pushing me on this journey. A lot of gratitude to all those souls who triggered me at the right time and showed me the mirror. Lastly, I wouldn’t have been where I am right now, none of this was possible, I would have never had enough drive to walk through this if you were not with me and for me. Thank you so much for your unending love and support in ways even you don’t know. What kept me going is the freshness of the love I experienced with you every time I leveled up. Love you Kanaya always and forever!!