The Triple Suffering
We experience pain in the body,
And there is misery in the mind…
The Ego bursts with agony,
In Triple Suffering, we grind.
Everybody in this world suffers. Whoever is born experiences the ‘Triple Suffering’ of the body, mind, and ego. Is that the reason why when a child is born, it doesn't come out giggling and laughing? It screams and cries as if it already knows that it is going to experience this triple suffering.
Every 'body' experiences pain. From the time we are young children, till we die, we suffer due to our body. A young child suffers as it falls, trying to walk. Who hasn't experienced bruises as we grew up? Toothaches create a phobia for us to visit the dentist. Haven't you experienced a fractured bone, a pulled muscle or a torn ligament?
Then there is the suffering of the mind which is greater than the pain of the body. The mind creates fear and we shudder in anxiety. It makes us jump to a past that is gone, as it nurses, curses, and rehearses a hurt. No sooner are we free from this misery, that it jumps to the future and makes us worry. It makes us presume so many things, through its toxic thoughts that we sink in stress and anxiety. Unlike the suffering of the body, which is a physical reality, the misery of the mind is psychological. Sometimes, it needs us to go to a psychiatrist because otherwise, we could get into a state of depression and even commit suicide. Haven't we heard of many people, even those amongst the rich and the famous, who have ended their life due to depression?
The third suffering, lesser-known to man, is the suffering of the ego. Who doesn't experience hate, revenge, jealousy, and anger? We all suffer the agony that is caused by the ego. Only, we don't realize that this suffering is due to our own ego. When do we get angry? When ‘I’ don't get what ‘I’ want. When do we take revenge? When ‘I’ want to settle a score with somebody else. Why do we hate? Because we consider the 'one' we hate different from us and not worthy of our affection. Jealousy too agonizes us as we compare our belongings with others. We are agonized by all this, because of our own ego, and thus we suffer.
As we go through this journey called 'Life', we live and die with this triple suffering of the body, mind, and ego and we think that it is a compulsory evil. What we don't realize is that there is a way to overcome it. If we understand life and realize the truth about who we are, we can be free from all suffering.
Today, people use all kinds of remedies to take care of physical pain, not just simple paracetamols, but even opioids to deal with excruciating pain like that of cancer. The doctors have understood the cause of pain and often use not just medication, but even tranquilizers and anaesthesia to get rid of suffering that is caused by physical pain.
While we can overcome physical pain and suffering if we wish to, we can't wish away the misery of the mind. The mind is a rascal and it constantly troubles us. The suffering of the mind radiates in the body, and we shiver and shudder. While there is some medication available and a psychiatrist may prescribe exercises like silence and meditation, unless we realize that we are the Divine Soul, not the mind that wanders, we will remain prisoners of the mind.
Overcoming the agony of the ego, is the starting point of becoming a life expert. A few are lucky to graduate in the university of life. They realize that it is meaningless to suffer the agony of the ego. They transcend the ego and realize that in reality we are all one. The Soul in you and the Soul in me is the same. But realization of this truth is not easy. A very few realize the truth about the self. They transcend their ego and realize the futility of its agony. They use their intellect and learn to choose positive emotions like love, forgiveness, and compassion. They are the lucky few who live a life of peace and bliss.
While this Life Manual will help us overcome suffering as we discover who we truly are, and find ways to be happy, we human beings will continue to suffer as we are born, again and again, along with our Karma to experience a new chapter of life on planet earth.
The body suffers as it is born, lives and dies. But the ME - the Mind and Ego, suffers life after life. After one chapter in the book of ‘Life’ is over, the ME comes back in a new body once again to experience the triple suffering, that of the new body, its habitat and of itself - Mind and Ego.
There is only one way to overcome the misery of the triple suffering. It is realizing we are the Divine Soul, not the body, not the mind, not the ego that appears to be us. Because we have not understood the true meaning of life and have not realized our true identity, we continue to live with suffering, not only day after day, but life after life.
A few of us are lucky. We master the Life Manual and are liberated from suffering. We live in a state of eternal bliss and everlasting joy. You too can overcome the triple suffering and live happily ever after!
IN A NUTSHELL