Why is there so much
suffering in the world?
by M. Govindan Satchidananda
The recent and dramatic news reports of widespread destruction
and loss of life thoughout several countries in south Asia confronts
us all with the very difficult question of "Why is there so much
suffering in the world?" The phenomena of widespread suffering,
is of course nothing new. Natural disasters, wars, epidemics,
criminal activity have been around since the beginning. What is
new, is the way that the media brings right into our living room,
via the television, the suffering of so many human beings on the
other side of the planet. If nothing else, such a modern phenomena
forces us to focus on this question, and attempt to come to find
some answers. "If the purpose of human knowledge is the elimination
of human suffering, that which eliminates it completely is the
highest knowledge," said the great commentator on the Yoga-Sutras,
Swami Hariharananda Aranya. We spend so much precious time is
acquiring so much trivial knowledge. Let us all pray for wisdom
to understand "Why?"
Yoga has a great deal to say
about the causes of human suffering, and what to do about it,
but unlike modern technocratic approaches, which speak of remedies
in terms such as "economic development," "legislation," "medical
care" and "education," the Yoga Siddhas like Patanjali and Tirumlular,
made diagnoses of the human condition at its most fundamental
level, and prescriptions as a consequence of those insights. These
remain as true today as they did over 2,000 years ago, because
our human nature is still the same. That is why it is important
for each of us, as students of Yoga, to not only study their teachings,
but also to share them with a suffering world.
The kleshas or afflictions
In the Yoga Sutras, second Pada, or chapter,
Patanjali tells us:
"Ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and
clinging to life are the five afflictions." II. 3
The primary cause of suffering
is ignorance, and it brings about the others. It refers not to
ignorance in general, but specifically to an absence of Self-awareness.
It is the cause of the confusion between the subject, "I am,"
and all of the objects of awareness. It hides our inner awareness
and creates a false identity: "I am the body, mind, senses, emotions,"
etc. In the average person, these five afflictions are constant
and sustained. When our well-being or survival, is threatened
we typically respond in fear without any reflection. In a subsequent
verse Patanjali tells us:
"Ignorance is seeing the impermanent
as permanent, the impure as pure, the painful as pleasurable,
and the non-Self as the Self." - II.5
It is the case of mistaken identity,
which causes us to say "I am tired," "I am worried," I am angry."
We approach the truth, however, when we say: "my body is tired,"
or "My mind is filled with worrisome thoughts." This ignorance
of our true identity, the Self, is the fundamental cause of our
human suffering. The Self is the eternal Witness, the Seer, a
constant, pure One Being, infinite, all pervasive, present in
everything. Everything else is temporary and changing. By clinging
to what is impermanent, we are bound to suffer, not only when
we lose it, but long before, when we succumb to the fear losing
it or her or him. By perceiving the permanent, the Self, pervading
everything, as a constant amidst a sea of change, one finds an
abode of peace and Self-realization.
"Egoism is the identification,
as it were, of the powers of the Seer (Purusha) with that of the
instrument of seeing (body-mind)." II-6
Egoism is the habit of identifying
with what we are not, that is the body, the mind, the emotions,
and sensations. This error is produced by our basic ignorance
as to who we truly are. It is not an individual defect; but a
universal human trait, or temporary flaw in our design, by which
consciousness has contracted within each individual. This principle
of nature, the individuation of consciousness, can only be overcome
by a gradual expansion of our awareness, resulting from the cultivation
of detachement and discernment: vairagya and viveka, two of the
most important activities of the Yogin. Rather than thinking "I
am suffering" be a witness to the suffering, and do what is necessary
to either alleviate it, banish it, or cultivate its opposite.
"Attachment is the clinging to pleasure." -II.7
Because of the individuation
of consciousness, and its false identification with a particular
body and set of thoughts and memories, we are attracted to various
pleasant experiences in our environment. Attachment, like fear,
springs from the imagination, (vikalpa) and occurs when we confuse
the internal experience of bliss (ananda) with a set of outer
circumstances or factors, and we call this association pleasure
(sukham). We imagine that pleasure depends upon these external
circumstances or factors. When they are no longer there, we experience
attachment,, the delusion that the innner joy cannot return unless
we again posses external factors. Attachment involves both clinging
(anusayi) and suffering (dukham). In reality, bliss is self-existent,
unconditional and independent of external circumstances or factors.
One need only be aware to experience it. And practice letting
go of attachment.
"Aversion is clinging to suffering." II-8
In the same way, we are repulsed
by various experiences in our environment. These are relative
terms, and what is painful for one, may be pleasant for another
person. There is a third possible response however: detachment
(vairagya) which Patanjali recommends as the most important means
to go beyond the duality of pleasure and pain. Changing an outer
circumstance is often not possible, at least immediately. We should
first focus our will on clearing and deepening our consciousness
to avoid reacting with aversion. Then aspire for an outer change,
for a more harmonious situation. Accept any work that is given
to you in the spirit of karma yoga, as a spiritual training, to
purify you of attachment and aversion. Perform all actions selflessly,
skillfully, and patiently, recognizing that you are not the "doer."
Cultivate equanimity as you perform actions, and with regards
to the results.
"Clinging to life (which) is self-sustaining,
arises even in the wise." II-9
Every living being has an instinctual
drive of self-preservation, which is based upon the fear of death
and false identification with the body. We have all had to through
the painful process of death and rebirth so many times that we
shrink from having to repeat it. When our life is threatened,
our body instinctively reacts with a rush of adrenalin, and our
hearth and pulse begin to race. We cry out in fear. However, by
reflecting deeply upon our true identity, the immortal Self, we
free ourselves from all such klesahs or afflictions.
"These (afflictions in their) subtle (form)
are destroyed by tracing (their) cause(s) back to (their) origin."
II-10
On a subtle level, these afflictions
exist as subconscious impressions or samskaras, and can be eliminated
only by the repeated return to our source through the various
stages of samadhi. Because the subconscious impressions are not
accessible to us in ordinary consciousness, or even meditation,
one must eliminate their root, egoism, by repeatedly identifying
with our true Self. The little "i" becomes subsumed gradually
in the greater "I" and as it does, the subconscious impressions
dissolve." In Sutra I.12, Patanjali tells us the method: by constant
practice (abhyasa) and detachment (vairagya) one ceases to identify
with the fluctuations arising with consciousness.
"(In the active state) these fluctuations (arising
within consciousness) are destroyed by meditation." II-11
This indicates that meditation is a necessary
pre-requisite to samadhi, to deal with the habitual movements
of the ordinary mind.
Karma and the unexpected sources of
suffering
When unexpected catastrophes
strike, such as in south Asia last week, we also find ourselves
wondering "Why did some die, and others were spared?" Or closer
to home "Why me?" What did I do to deserve this? Patanjali and
the Siddhas have much to say about the nature of karma, which
may be defined as the consequences of past thoughts, words and
actions. Because of the existence of the five afflictions, discussed
above, we accumulate and express karmas. These are of three types;
1. prarabdha karma: those presently being expressed
and exhausted through this birth;
2. agama karma: new karmas being created during this birth;
3. samjita karma: those waiting to be fulfilled in future births.
The receptacle for all karmas
is known as the karma-asaya, "the reservoir, or womb, of karma,"
or 'action-deposit." The karmas wait for an opportunity to come
to the surface and to express themselves through the afflictions.
One strong karma may call for a particular birth and body to express
itself, and other closely related karmas will also be expressed
or exhausted through it. This goes on until one attains Self-realizaiton
and ceases to create new karmas.
While each of us has his own
karma, which conditions him to live and react in a particular
way, this programming is not absolute. We have free will as to
how we will deal with our life circumstances, positively or negatively.
If we choose to deal with these negatively, for example, by creating
suffering for others, the reactions return to us in more intense
or terrible forms. Dealing with circumstances patiently, and consciously,
creating happiness for others, neutralizes the karmic consequences
gradually.
I am reminded of a report received
two days ago from Asanka Wittachy the son of one of our initiates,
in Sri Lanka, engaged in refugee relief, who wrote:
"In the single afternoon that
it took to distribute our meager bounty, I witnessed the basest
and the highest qualities that men can aspire to. Whilst ruthless
and depraved excuses for human beings used violence and guile
to loot and rob the remaining meager possessions of survivors
and even the vehicles carrying them food were robbed, others displayed
the noblest qualities the human spirit can aspire to.
Once such instance was a man:
standing alone amidst the ruins of his house. I called to him
and offered him one of the cooked lunch packets which we were
distributing at the time. He looked me in the eyes with sorrow
and gratitude and quietly informed me that he had already eaten
a piece of bread for breakfast and so he would prefer that we
give the packet to another who had not been so fortunate that
day…."
Responding to suffering
Which brings me to the point
of this reflection: what is important about such tragic events
is what do we learn from them and how do we respond. Patanjali
tells us:
"That which is to be eliminated
is future sorrow." II-16 Only when we remember the Self, can we
go beyond the "sorrow yet to come," which in turn "results from
our reservoir of karma. For "The Seen (exists) only for the sake
of the Self." (II.21) And "The Seen… whose purpose is to
provide both experience and liberation (to the Self)." (II-18)
Nature provides us with experience and ultimately liberates our
consciousness from its bondage of false identification. Eventually
we feel we have had enough suffering in the hands of Nature and
seek a way out of egoistic confusion. ("I am the body-mind,"etc.)
To put it more plainly, the purpose of every experience is to
provide us with a lesson: to distinguish truth from falsehood,
wisdom from ignorance, the permaent from the impermanent, love
from attachment, the Self from the body-mind-personality, the
Seer or Self, from the Seen. Yoga is a wonderful antidote for
our Self-forgetfulness. Once we begin to remember who we truly
are, when faced with the suffering in others, we have an opportunity
to respond with compassion or to react negatively, such as with
judgment or fear. Even if what we can do by our thoughts or actions
for another is only a little, compassion (karuna) towards those
who are suffering purifies our mind and emotions, and serentiy
results. With a mind purified by compassion, our actions become
inspired, energized and aligned with the will of the Divine, resulting
in the highest good for all.
So, in the face of human suffering, let our
thoughts, words and actions be moved only by compassion. May compassion
pour forth from our hearts.
Copyright: M. Govindan Satchidananda,
January 2005
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