April 26, Shabad Surat Sangam Ashram, Malke. In the monthly satsang at Malke ashram, which happens on last Sunday of every month, people generally bring their spiritual queries for an immediate elucidation. This time, amongst many others, one question became the main theme of the satsang – Why this human life is full of pain and problems, and how to get rid of them. You may listen or download the audio of this Hindi discourse.
Narrating his recent visit to a devotee’s house who had lost his 22 years old son in a road accident and was suffering severe agonies, Swami Suryendu Puri Ji explained the cause and character of pain. He also gave a personal account of his childhood when a very dear and near one had departed from world due to a road accident but uninformed of this accident, he did not have slightest of sorrow or pain for many months. Naturally, pain and problems reside more in our mind than in reality—our mind considers this world and its objects to be perpetual or it desires things certain way, which does not generally happen and hence causes distress. Quoting various scriptures, he said that the main reason of all the pains and problems is the ignorance of our true nature—we ignore the fact that we are not this body or mind but a divine spark that is meant to evolve into an enlightened divine being. We do not understand that our present body is just a transient phase of a long journey called life. Owing to this ignorance, we identify ourselves with the body and dedicate all our energy and efforts to please it and keep it (with all its relations and possessions), which is just an illusion. The real purpose of human life is to recognize our divine nature and manifest the divinity in totality at every level of our being. “Pleasures and pains of this world are fleeting and hence trivial, therefore, we should patiently go through them focusing on the real purpose. This is the only way to be free from them”, says Lord Krishna in Srimadbhaagavat Geeta.
It is not possible to get rid of pains and problems while living in body because disease, distress, death are the norms of this body and this world. As day is coupled with night, similarly, pleasure is coupled with pain and losses are coupled with gains. If we really want to get over all the miseries of this world then we must not pay heed to its glitter and glamour rather anchor this mischievous mind within and focus on our divine potential. Sri Guru Garnth Sahib explains it in very sweet simple words—“नानक दुखिया सभ संसार,सो सुखिया जिस नाम आधार”—this whole world is indeed a miserable place but those fortunate ones are saved who take refuge in Supreme Lord connecting with him through the ‘naam’ given by Guru. By following this powerful mantra, consciousness finds its way, traveling through the central channel of sushumna, to the tenth door inside the brain where divine resides in its completeness. Once, we reach and finally get established there in the tenth door, diseases, distress and even death cannot affect us.