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So said Patanjali
in his Yoga sutras (2.15). "For the one with wisdom, everything shall be [realized to be]
misery" (duḥkhamēva sarvaṁ vivēkinaḥ). The first Noble Truth of Buddha is "The existence of suffering".
Saankhya philosophy begins by elaborating on the suffering of life. The first couple of chapters of the great Yoga text Yoga Vāsiṣṭha elucidate how Rama finds every pleasure of life inherently filled with misery.
This is not pessimism.
This is realism.
We have become insensitive
to our own dirt. And therefore everything appears
clean. And we therefore proclaim "Ah, life is so beautiful". We have mostly
confused 'external circumstances' to be our
life itself. And since the ambiance of life is experienced as favorable at certain
times, such hasty statements are blurt out.
This is really the great
disease in spirituality. Uttering the final conclusion without really going through
the process systematically. Buddha can say that life is beautiful, not us. He can
say that because as Siddhartha he acknowledged the misery in his fundamental experience of life; he saw
how weak and ineligible his mind was to do even a simple activity; he realized how
everything around him disturbed his mind. And thus the intense desire arose to overcome
misery permanently. Only then could the world have a Buddha. Not just by spreading
out the hands open in a beach and uttering in a filmy style "Life is beautiful"
This beauty is going to vaporize in a few minutes when we don't get a cup of good
coffee at the beach stalls :-D
We have to become deeply
sensitive... to our mind. We will then see tons of dust hidden within, which is
only waiting to come out. We will then see that a small disturbance outside is disturbing
our mind. Even a simple task is not done with complete ease. Some friction is felt at all times. "I am not at complete ease with existence" is acknowledgement
of misery. We should realize that mind itself has become our greatest misery. Good or bad - all thoughts should be acknowledged as disturbance. "For no thought is contented" (Shakespeare, King Richard 11) This
should be realized so intensely that going through life in this state should become
suffocating, even if the ambiance of life is favorable.
Only then is a Jijnasu born. One who cannot go on with life
with just some recreation and procreation. One who wants a permanent solution. One
who wants to be perfectly eligible to live. One who wishes to be at absolute ease
with everything around him. Only then will he attempt to seek something more. And
the more intense his seeking, nearer is the solution (rather dissolution) - तीव्र संवेगानाम्
आसन्नः (tīvra
saṁvēgānāṁ āsannaḥ) (Yoga Sutra - 1.21)
When life becomes suffocating
due to recognition of misery, it is not a helpless situation leading to depression and suicide.
The same scriptures which ask us to recognize misery, also give a solution. After uttering about suffering, Buddha's authoritatively said in his third and fourth Noble truths - "Suffering can end. And my dear, I know how to end it. If you come to me I shall show you the path" The
more you recognize the misery, the more will you understand and eagerly adopt the
solution. Else the solution will not be given its due value. Yoga will then only
remain as a hobby or health booster. Therefore the emphasis to recognize misery
in everything. It is a prerequisite for real Yoga.
Only a person really
sleeping can be woken up. Someone who is pretending to be asleep can never be woken
up.
Only when there is genuine
acknowledgement of ignorance (vacuum), can there be flowing in of true knowledge
(light). When there is a pretence of knowledge, real knowledge can never dawn.
Only a person really
aware of the misery can be given a solution. Someone who is assuming to be happy
with life can never be given any solution. For he is not even seeking anything more.
Let us not forget that,
Krishna, the enlightened one, did not utter a word of spiritual teaching to his
closest pal Arjuna (for around 40 years!), until the latter genuinely felt the pinch
of misery at the battlefield (although he had already undergone so much misery by
then) and collapsed at the former's feet asking for a solution. And Dhritarashtra
who heard the same Gita through Sanjaya exclaimed at the end - "After all,
Krishna provoked Arjuna to fight!". Evidently he had not acknowledged his ignorance
even a bit.
May the acknowledgement of misery, and the pain of ignorance
thrive in us and bring tears of genuine frustration! The ocean of sweet water is
then ours to seek and own.
