Suffering

There are five types of roots of sorrow (kleshas) that cause suffering to humans. These are: Ignorance (avidya), ego sense (asmita), desire (raga), hatred (dwesha), and fear of death (abhinivesha).

What is meant by avidya? ‘Vid’ means knowledge. Therefore, avidya signifies lack of knowledge. What is that lack of knowledge? It is not the lack of worldly knowledge. It is the lack of knowledge of one’s divine nature. One considers oneself to be an ignorant mortal due to avidya. It is impossible for such a person to achieve peace. One who is in the grip of avidya leads a worldly life, identifying with the body and mind and lacking the wisdom to know that one is divine. Body attachment and attachment to the world cause immense suffering. All this is the result of avidya, which causes untold suffering to humans.

The second root of sorrow is ego sense (asmita). One is unable to recognize the root cause of this worldly life and all the suffering associated with it. One forgets that the mind is the root cause of all the suffering. As a result of this, one becomes a victim of ignorance and delusion. One is subjected to various types of sufferings because one is unable to control the mind, which causes all sufferings, sorrows, and difficulties. Asmita signifies the inability of man to understand the true nature of mind, which is the root cause of all suffering.

Desire (raga) is another root of sorrow that causes suffering. What is meant by raga? Here raga does not mean the tune of a song. To desire this, that, and everything signifies raga. When these desires become unlimited, raga becomes roga(disease). People undergo suffering because they are unable to control their desires. Therefore, one should try to control desires. That is why it is said, “Less luggage more comfort.” It is because of limitless desires that one loses stability of mind, gets deluded, forgets the true and eternal principle of divinity, and consequently undergoes enormous suffering. Therefore, first of all put a check on your desires. As long as you have limitless desires, you cannot have peace. You may have desires, but they should be under a certain limit.

Then comes the root of suffering called hatred (dwesha klesha). In times of difficulties, sufferings, and losses, one expects help from someone close. But if that person declines to help, one’s expectation turns into hatred.

Everyone knows that they have to die one day or the other. Yet, everyone wants to cling to life and nobody wants to die. This is due to sorrow of fear of death (abhinivesha klesha), which afflicts people.

In this world, both good and bad cause suffering to people. All that is good does not necessarily give us happiness. Similarly, all that is bad does not always cause misery.

How does something good give us sorrow? Tulsidas gives an example of this. He said, “I offer my salutations to both good people and wicked ones.” You may say, there is some meaning in offering salutations to a good person, but what is the purpose in offering salutations to a wicked one? A wicked person causes suffering to you when you meet them. Similarly, a good person makes you sad when the good person leaves you. Therefore, Tulsidas offered his salutations to wicked people so that they would not come near him. Likewise, he offered his salutations to noble ones so that they would not go away from him.

Who can judge what is good and what is bad? Therefore, as the Gita teaches, “One should remain equal-minded in happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat (Sukhadukhe samekruthwa labhalabhau jayajayau).” Treat both happiness and sorrow with equanimity.

In order to attain peace, you should exercise equal mindedness. Do not consider someone as good and another as bad. See God in both. The same atma is present in both. That is the feeling of oneness and divinity (ekatma bhava and Divyatma bhava). Bodies are different, tendencies of mind are different, but divinity is one and the same in all.

Source: Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 29 (1996)