DESIRE AND SUFFERING

Desire and Suffering
----------------------------------------------------------------------"Desire for seeking happiness" says Buddha is the prime cause of descent of the soul from Divine. Desire is that impulse that encourages self to have an experience independent from the Real Self. It divides the self from the Self. This" want" is the prime cause of separation and therefore of suffering. We continue to suffer so long as we continue to have a separate identity from the Lord.

It will be difficult for ordinary mortals like us to disagree with the Realization of Buddha. More so because other mystics have also expressed similar sentiments though Buddhism is very vocal about the relationship of desire, happiness and suffering. In the words of Mirdad, ‘the axis is at rest and the rest of wheel is in motion’.... Read it as ‘commotion’!Ravidas mentions it in a poignant tone..."Bahut janam bichre thea madho, Eh janam tumahre lekhe" (Separation of many lives –has made me desperate—this life I dedicate for meeting thee. )Jesus in his mystical style says, "Ye are born with sin”. One may wonder, how can a newborn child become sinful immediately after the birth? ‘Sin’-Jesus implies- is the act of thought to " de-emerge from Divine". Rest of the karmic baggage is merely an extension of that thought to depart.

But what is real suffering? It is the cry of the soul to merge back with the Divine. It is neither limited to physical aches and pain, nor the mental anguish or trauma. The moment the self gets encaged in a body, the suffering starts, since it has become limited from the Unlimited. The yearning to have "enjoyment" by the self/ego means the dissension of the self or the soul to the level where that pleasure sensation is feasible. However in that process, and in that time and space, the self has to suffer the pain of separation silently.

Kabir Sahib surveys the state of all body forms and bemoans.."Tan Dhar sukhiya koi na dekha,Jo dekha so dukhiya re" (None is happy in the bodies, all are unhappy---this is the experience of Kabir ).We cannot have what we desire without corresponding complications. This is the crux of living in a world of "Desire”. Suffering is infact a tool by which the SEPARATION ends. Verily verily, says Jesus "welcome the hour of suffering" for that is the time when one prays for the liberation of self and seeks merger with the Real Self.But praying for a state of desirelessness is also an act of desire. So how can this paradox be resolved? This can be attained by living in HIS WILL, when only HIS DESIRE is all pervasive. Then there is no desire. Then there is no suffering. Guru Nanak Sahib says..." Tera Bhana Meetha Lage"...(Oh Lord, Your will is sweet to me). It is that spiritual invocation that only a TRUE SAINT can appreciate and comprehend.