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Are you really
suffering?
By David Jevons
Those of you who are regular
readers of the Ramala newsletter will no doubt be aware that in
recent months I suffered a heart attack, which necessitated a
visit to my local hospital on three occasions and having to
undergo two minor heart operations. These visits gave me time for
reflection, both on the nature and purpose of suffering and on the
way that I viewed other people's suffering. Many of you will also
have heard that Sai Baba fell and fractured his hip a few months
ago, and that he had to undergo a painful operation. For me
personally it has been a challenging time, because I knew that Sai
Baba had willingly taken on the illness of devotees at various
times in the past in order to save their lives, and had
subsequently healed himself, so why would he not heal himself now?
Furthermore, why did such an accident happen to an avatar, a
realised being? If even they have to suffer, then, what hope is
there for us lesser mortals? I just could not understand why this
accident had happened to Sai Baba and all sorts of niggling doubts
began to arise in my mind.
We were in an interview with Sai
Baba several years ago and some one asked him about how they
should handle suffering. Sai Baba replied that all suffering is
associated with body consciousness and that the spirit, the divine
atma, never suffers. He then took a handkerchief in his hand,
held it up and dropped it saying, "This handkerchief represents
the suffering, just let it go and it will fall away" and then to
illustrate this he let go of the handkerchief and it dropped to
the ground. At the time I remembered thinking that whilst this
process might apply to psychological suffering, I was not too sure
as to how it would help me to cope with physical body pain.
Nevertheless, in succeeding years, whenever I was faced with
physical pain, usually in the dentist's chair, I got myself into
the habit of chanting silently "I am not my body, I am not my
body" and of saying the Gayatri Mantra. I used to meditate and
try to move my consciousness onto another plane of being, to be
the observer of my body, to disassociate myself from it, but I
only met with limited success. The main problem was that I only
practised the technique when I was about to face pain, rather than
on a daily basis and, as with meditation, you just can't sit down
and expect to do it. You have to practise. It is rather like
practising a fire drill. You practise it even though no fire is
present at the time. Nevertheless I know that the principle is
correct and my more recent experiences have proved to me that
relaxing and focussing on something other than the pain is most
beneficial. Sai Baba says, " To rise above pain one should
meditate and chant God's name. Without meditation it is not
possible to control and master the mind. Thus, meditation is
essential, to immerse the mind in the Supreme Consciousness."
Suffering is an integral part of
life on the physical plane of Earth. If you come on the Earth,
even if you are an avatar, then you must expect to face suffering
in one form or another because, as Sai Baba says, "You have to pay
your human taxes." But why would our Creator base the drama of
life on such a premise? Why does even a realised being, a Godman,
have to suffer? Sai Baba says, " Various saints had endless
troubles in their lives with family, harsh treatment from others,
and so on. But their faith in God remained untouched. They
themselves did not suffer. Jesus did not suffer. But it was
necessary that they go through what is generally regarded as
suffering so that the world could have noble examples of worldly
detachment and unshakeable faith in God." This is a lesson that
many of us have to learn. When things go wrong we tend to look
outwards and to blame others, especially God. Comments such as
"How can God allow this to happen?" and "Why is God doing this to
me?" abound. Whilst God does not personally instigate suffering
against any individual or group, nevertheless, as the creator of
the divine drama of life, God did create suffering. What would be
His purpose in doing this? Sai Baba says, "Regarding people
suffering; they are being tested, but it should not be called so.
It is grace. Those who suffer have my grace. Only through
suffering will they be persuaded to turn inward and make inquiry,
and without turning inward and making inquiry they can never
escape misery." How many of us regard suffering as God's grace?
Very few us us, I believe, and why should this be so? It is
because we approach suffering from the point of view of body
consciousness. The body does suffer, but not the spirit. Our
bodies are made of physical finite matter, and are inextricably
bound to the cycle of birth and death. Disease and death are an
inevitable part of life, especially when Man lives in a world of
ever increasing pollution of thought, word and deed. So if we
recognise that suffering is an inherent part of physical life,
what decides the degree and fruits of our suffering? It is our
attitude towards it. Our attitude is the cause of both our
suffering and our happiness. With whatever feeling we see an
object or person, the same is reflected back to us. If we see the
world as God's creation, empowered by God's love, existing only to
awaken the God in us, then any suffering is seen as God's grace.
But if we see the world as a Godless creation, where events are
controlled by random fate, where might is right, where the weak
fall pray to the strong, then suffering is seen as something to be
avoided or endured, and always, always, to be blamed on external
forces.
So it is the wise person who sees
suffering for what it is, namely, a gift from God. Suffering is
designed to test your faith in God, to test your devotion to God.
It is intended to make you live up to the truth in which you
believe. Do you stop believing in God just because you are
struck down with cancer? Do you stop believing in God just
because you are injured in a serious automobile accident, which
forces you to be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life? Does
it prevent you from achieving the purpose of your life? Certainly
not! The purpose of life is simply not to be born again, and if
you are striving to achieve this goal, then recognise that in all
probability you will be beset by pain and suffering as a means of
burning away all the karma of past births. The goal of life is
liberation, is to be free for ever from the cycle of rebirth, and
if you always keep the goal in mind, then any suffering, any
sacrifice, has both meaning and purpose. As Sai Baba says, "Good
people are always beset by difficulties and troubles. The
messiahs, the prophets, the saints and God-men, have always
suffered from troubles and ordeals of various kinds. You too
should not be bothered by them. Have faith in God."
It is by looking at the suffering
of God-men that we can better place our own suffering in its right
context. I have been reading the book 'Great Swan', written by
Lex Hixon, which describes a collection of meetings with
Paramahansa Ramakrishna, who was regarded by his followers as an
avatar, a direct, fully conscious manifestation of Divine Reality
in human form. Towards the end of his life Ramakrishna developed
throat cancer, which generated excruciating pain, and at times he
was hardly able to eat or to talk. His devotees believed, and
Ramakrishna confirmed this fact before his passing, that the
illness was caused by him taking on the negativity of the entire
world. Ramakrishna bore his illness with cheerfulness and
understanding, saying, "Let the body endure its inevitable
ailments, but you, O mind, be immersed in the Divine Nature and
enjoy unalloyed bliss." He then went on to explain his illness by
saying, "Within me are two persons - Divine Mother (God) and Her
child. The child has taken ill." Ramakrishna's illness threw
some of his devotees into confusion. Some believed that it was a
trick to test their faith and loyalty. Others lost faith in him
as an avatar, refusing to believe in his human vulnerability.
Only a few were able to accept his humanity as well as his
divinity and to accept the inevitability of his illness. Does
this begin to sound at all familiar to you?
The fact that Sai Baba has had to
undergo a hospital operation has thrown many of his devotees into
a similar confusion. Sai Baba was unable to appear in public and
to give his darshan for over a month. When he did appear to give
his first discourse after his operation Sai Baba stated quite
categorically that he had not taken on anybody's illness. His
body had quite simply broken down. The body is made up of five
elements and one day or another it has to collapse. His hip had
broken into three pieces. He should have experienced excruciating
pain, but he did not because he gave up body consciousness
completely. Why did he allow this illness to happen and why did
he not heal himself immediately, as he had done in the past? It
was to demonstrate to us that we have to rise above body
consciousness and enjoy divine consciousness. We are not our
bodies. If we identify with body consciousness then we will
suffer. If we aspire to enjoy happiness and peace, then we must
get rid of body consciousness. Three days after his operation Sai
Baba was up and walking around - an almost impossible feat. How
was this possible? Sai Baba said that it was because he had not
even a trace of body consciousness. You only face suffering when
you develop attachment to the body. He then made an amazing
statement. "What is the reason for Swami getting well so soon.
It is the prayers of the devotees that have made Swami's body
healthy so soon. There have been prayers in all the corners of
the world. With prayer you can conquer and achieve anything. The
impact of prayer is responsible for Swami's body getting healthier
so soon. Neither did I want this suffering nor did I desire to
cure it. You wanted this body to be cured of the pain and you
achieved it through your prayers. This body is not mine. It is
yours; hence it is your responsibility to look after it. I am not
the body, I am the indweller." He then went on to say that
chanting the Divine Name can cure even the most incurable disease.
May we all see our own suffering in a similar light. The first
step on the spiritual path is to control body consciousness. As
body consciousness decreases so divine consciousness increases,
and with divine consciousness comes the end of suffering.
Source: Ramala Centre Newsletter,
September 2003,
http://www.ramalacentre.com/newsletter09_03_04.htm
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