Part 1 - Misery and its eradication—Basis of various philosophies

In this age of revolution of information technology, the miseries are in different form.Developments in science have given ‘speed and so-called luxuries’ to human life. But the mismatch between external speed and the speed of human mind has caused misery/disease.

Various philosophies all over the world have tried to study and define cause of misery and ways of eradication of misery. Experience of misery forces human beings to think seriously about life. The real cause of misery is nescience (avidyā). Consciousness is to be turned inward towards the self, to find the answer to the problem of misery. Selfrealization (vidyā) is the means to eradicate misery.

Buddhist View–

Prince Siddhārtha’s father -King Śuddhodana, protected him from the miseries of external world, but still one day when he went out, he saw a diseased person, an old man and a dead person. He at once realized that disease,old age and death cannot be avoided by anyone. Misery is the basis of human life.

He started thinking about these miseries and whether his king father had solution to these miseries.He realized that the solution for this problem is not to be found in the palace.So, he left his family,wife,son and the palace to explore the solution.He did penance and got enlightenment under Bodhivṛkṣa.He became Gautama Buddha. His philosophy for misery is explained in four noble truths.

The four noble truths according to Lord Buddha (catvāriāryasatyāni)^[1]

1. Life is full of misery—duḥkha
2. There is a cause for the misery—duḥkhasamudāya
3. It is possible to eradicate misery—duḥkhanirodha
4. There is way to eradicate misery—duḥkhanirodhamārga

Lord Buddha recommended the practice of samatha and vipassanā to facilitate one to overcome misery.

Samartha-Rāmadāsa asks^[2] —

Can you find a man in this world who is always happy?

He suggests,^[3] way out of this by having full faith in Śrīrāma and we should get rid of the pleasures/pains of physical body, accept the prārabdhasañcita and by applying vivekabuddhi enjoy mukti.

Śaṅkarācārya says^[4] —

‘Born again and again, dying over and over again, and getting into a mother’s womb over and over again, it is hard to cross over this ocean of repeated life and death. Save me from it, merciful lord!’

Śaṅkara’s path, the path of jñāna is the path of discrimination (viveka) and renunciation (vairāgya). The sādhanacatuṣṭaya is the way to follow the path.

According to Sāṅkhyakārikā,^[5] man suffers from three-fold pain.The three types of pain are as follows: -

1. ādhyātmika—intra-organic(bodily and mental)
2. ādhibhautika—caused by external influences (that is created out of world around, created out of pañca - mahābhūtas.)
3. ādhidaivika—caused by supernatural agencies (misery that comes out of prārabdha)

From the torment by the three-fold causes of pain proceeds desire for enquiry into the means of terminating them.^[8] If it is said that (the inquiry) is superfluous since visible means exist, (we reply), not so; because(in the visible means) there is the absence of certainty (in the case of the means) and permanency (of pain).

In nutshell, the conflict between afflictive experiences, guṇas and cittavṛttis generate misery in one’s life. Isolation of puruṣa from prakṛti is the Sāṅkhya way to kaivalya.

Patañjali emphasizes the same point in following sūtra–

pariṇāmatāpasaṃskāraduḥkhairguṇavṛttivirodhācca duḥkhameva sarvaṃ vivekinaḥ || 2.15 ||

The discriminating persons apprehend (by analysis and anticipation) all worldly objects as sorrowful because they cause suffering in consequence, in their afflictive experiences and in their latencies and, also because of the contrary nature of the guṇas (which produces changes all the time.)

The universe is continuously changeable (anitya). There are continuous changes in the circumstances around a person and every day he faces different types of problems.Only the form of problem changes and they create misery in life.

Bhāsvatī explains,^[9] that Vyāsa’s commentary concludes as:—Everything that exists is made up of three guṇas.And happiness although derived primarily from sattva is not free from rajas and tamas.It is the nature of things that eternal happiness, totally isolated from rajas and tamas, is a non-entity.This leads the discerning yogī to the insight that all objects of sense experience are painful. The root cause of this vast conglomerate of sorrow is avidyā.So, the entity who discards (the cycle of births), the (immutable) witness of the act of discarding is the Seer. In short removal of avidyā and realization of self is the solution given by Pātañjala Yogasūtra.

Osho says^[6] , Yoga is a journey within in the quest for self-realization. This moment will come only when you are completely hopeless, become aware of futility of all desires, if you see the life as meaningless, you are in complete misery and not knowing where to go and at this moment only you come to the science and discipline of Yoga. Discipline means what creates an order in you.

According to Osho^[7] , the body and mind are not two different aspects, is one of the deepest discoveries of Patañjali. The modern science has termed it as ‘psycho-soma’. If mind is rightly used, it can lead to nonmisery. The word is non-misery and not ānanda or bliss. This is so because bliss is always in our nature (this is Vedantic view expressed by Osho)and mind cannot lead us into it. However, once we are in nonmisery by the right use of the mind, the bliss starts flowing. Osho explains that the characteristic of the misery is the closed mind and that of non-misery is an open mind.

To conclude, misery and its eradication is the starting point of majority of Indian philosophies. Kleśas (afflictions), according to Patañjali are the inherent causes of human misery.Just as parents are cause of continuing the family, kleśas perpetuate evolution of the ego and mind.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Majjhima-Nikāya, Mahasatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, 1.1.105, Vipassana Vishodhan-Vinyas, Igatpuri, 1995.

[2]:

2jaga-Isava-sa-UKIAsaakao-Na-Aaho | 11 Bhāskarbuvā-Rāmadāsī (Tr.), Samartha-Rāmdāsa– Sārtha-ManāceŚloka, Samartha-Seva Mandal, Satara, 1938

[3]:

Ibid., 10,12

[4]:

Bhaja-Govindam, Śaṅkarācārya, xx.1, punaripjananap-M unaripmar-Na-Mpunaripjanana-Ijazro-Xayanama\ | [h sa-Msaarobahudsu tarko p-R ayaaparopaihmauraro ||21||

[5]:

Sāṅkhyakārikā, op.cit., I.1

[6]:

Osho, The Birth of Being, Fusion Books, New Delhi, 2009, p.153-54

[7]:

Ibid., p. 206,211

[8]:

Sāṅkhyakārikā, 1 —[...] |

[9]:

Bhāsvatī, op.cit., p.505