Pain is inevitable, but we don't have to suffer

We human beings believe that suffering is inevitable, that we must experience the pain of the body, the misery of the mind, and the agony of the ego. We have accepted suffering as a part of life. We believe that in life, there will be pleasure and pain, sun and rain, loss and gain, again and again. Of course, we must accept what comes our way. It is our Karma being settled. However, we must go beyond this to realise that to suffer, is a choice. It is up to us to suffer or not to suffer. It is actually possible to be in a state of peace and bliss all the time. This state of eternal bliss is called Ananda. We are ignorant that such a state of bliss even exists.

Unfortunately, we live like puppets. We don't use our intellect to realise the Truth. If we suffer, it is not because God wills us to suffer. Neither do we suffer because of our bad luck or some random chance happenings. We suffer because of our ignorance. The words of the Buddha – this Samsara is Dukkha, meaning that this world is full of suffering only convinces us that we are meant to suffer. We even agree to believe that we come to earth to suffer because every child is born crying, not laughing. We don't realise that there is actually a way out of all suffering. That we don't have to be miserable. What is the way?

It is the Realisation of the Truth. Realisation of the Truth paves the way for peace and bliss. So, why do we suffer? Because we think we are the body, we suffer physically, we suffer the pain of the body. If we realise that we are not the body, even though the body may experience pain, we will not suffer. Then, we suffer because of our rascal mind. The mind, like a monkey, jumps from thought to thought and bombards us with 50 thoughts a minute, which can add up to about 50,000 thoughts a day. However, the mind itself is an illusion — it doesn't exist. Have you ever seen an image of your mind? Of course not. The mind only appears to exist. If we contemplate, we will realise that it is just a bundle of thoughts. If we stop thinking, if we become silent, if we make the mind still, we will escape from the misery of the mind. The monkey will become a monk. Then there will be no fear, anxiety, worry, stress, and depression.

We also suffer because of the ego — this is the third type of suffering. The ego agonizes us. It creates anger, hate, revenge, and jealousy. The ego screams — I, me, my, mine. But when we realise that the ego itself is caused because of ignorance, and we let go of the ego, then, all these poisonous, toxic emotions caused by the ego disappear. No longer is there anger or hate. With the Realisation of the Truth, the mandatory suffering of the body, mind, and ego disappears.

Sadly, only a few of us are blessed to escape from this triple suffering. Most of us are caught in the race to become an ace in this material world. What must we do to be liberated from this misery and pain? We must go on a quest to find out the answer to the question – Who am I? If we are truly sincere, dedicated and earnest in our quest, with the guidance of a Guru and with Divine Grace, we will realise that we are the Divine Soul, not the body, mind and ego that we thought we were. Once enlightened, all suffering will cease.

Not only will we be free from the triple suffering discussed above, but we will also be liberated from the Karmic cycle of death and rebirth, that causes us to be reborn and once again, suffer.