Understanding Bodily Pains - From Consciousness to Tolerance
Pain is an unavoidable companion of the material body. From birth to death, the living entity is subjected to various degrees of discomfort. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that bodily pains are not merely obstacles; they are instructive. They serve as immediate evidence of the soul's presence, a reminder of the temporary nature of the material world, and a testing ground for developing spiritual tolerance.
Pain as Proof of the Soul
How do we know the soul exists? Śrīla Prabhupāda offers a simple, empirical test: the pinch. If you pinch a living body, it feels pain because consciousness—the symptom of the soul—is spread throughout. If the soul were not present, the body would be nothing more than a lump of matter, incapable of feeling pleasure or pain, even if hacked to pieces.
- Because the soul is in the body, the body feels pleasure and pain. When the soul leaves the body, the body can be hacked to pieces, and yet it will not protest. This is because the consciousness is gone.
- You pinch your body, you feel pain. Why? Because there is consciousness. Therefore consciousness is permanent. And as soon as the consciousness is gone, you chopped up your hand, no response.
- The proof of the soul existing is that the consciousness is spread all over my body. As soon as I pinch any part of my body, I feel pain. Therefore I understand a soul is there.
- Consciousness is individual. You can feel the pains and pleasure of your body, and your friend also can feel the pains and pleasure of his body. I can feel pains and pleasure of my body. So this feeling of pains and pleasure is consciousness.
Ādhyātmika: Miseries of the Body
In Vedic philosophy, miseries are classified into three categories. Pains that originate from one's own body and mind are called ādhyātmika. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that as long as we have this material vessel, we are subject to disorders of metabolism, fevers, headaches, and fractures. These pains are factual; they are not illusions, even though the body itself is temporary.
- Adhyatmika refers to the body and mind. Today I have a headache or some pain in my back, or my mind is not very quiet. These are sufferings called adhyatmika.
- One conditioned by material existence, whether he be a man, beast, demigod or bird must suffer from adhyatmika - bodily or mental pains, adhibhautika pains - those offered by living creatures, and adhidaivika pains - those due to supernatural disturbances.
- Just see, O man with a tiger's strength (Bhima), how many miseries due to celestial influences, earthly reactions and bodily pains - all very dangerous in themselves - are foreboding danger in the near future by deluding our intelligence.
- We may not take these pleasures and pains (of body) very seriously, but they are factual nonetheless. We cannot actually say that they are false.
Duty of Tolerance
Since bodily pains are inevitable, what is the remedy? Śrīla Prabhupāda advises titikṣā—tolerance. Just as we tolerate the changing seasons, the heat of summer and the cold of winter, we must learn to tolerate the pains of the body without becoming disturbed in our spiritual duties. This tolerance is based on the knowledge that "I am not this body."
- Bodily pains and pleasure come and go; they are not permanent. Tams titiksasva bharata. So you have to learn how to tolerate these bodily pains and pleasure, but you have to take care of the soul.
- Because we have got this body, we suffer the pains of cold and heat. This is only one example. It is given in the Bhagavad-gita, matra-sparsas tu kaunteya sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah. Sita means cold. Just like in winter we suffer. In summer also, we suffer.
- If one is engaged in his cultivation of spiritual life, then he should tolerate all these bodily pains and pleasure, because they come and go.
- Under different season my body feels differently pains and pleasure. But actually, if I am not this body, then I should tolerate all these pains and pleasures. This is called sama-duhkha.
Empathy and Non-Violence
The realization of one's own bodily pain should lead to compassion for others. Śrīla Prabhupāda cites Lord Buddha's teaching of ahiṁsā (non-violence): "If I pinch you, you feel pain; therefore I should not inflict pain on you." This empathy extends to all living entities, including animals. Recognizing that cats, dogs, and cows feel pain just as humans do is the foundation of civilized behavior.
- Lord Buddha promulgamated a new type of religion - ahimsa paramo dharmah. "Don't commit violence. If I pinch your body, you feel pain. You should not pinch others."
- Atmavat sarva-bhutesu, and treating everyone equally, as he wants to be treated himself. If by pinching your body or giving pain to your body, if you feel pain, you should not give such pain to any living entity.
- When you pinch my body, I feel pain; when I pinch your body, you feel pain; when I pinch an animal's body, he also feels pain. Even I pinch even the tree's body, he feels pain. It is scientifically proved. So everyone has got the soul.
- He (Lord Buddha) became very compassionate that, "All these poor animals are being killed unnecessarily." So he promulgamated a new type of religion - Don't commit violence. If I pinch your body, you feel pain. You should not pinch others.
Conclusion
Bodily pains are an inescapable reality of material existence, but for a devotee, they are an impetus for self-realization. By understanding pain as a symptom of the soul's entanglement, maintaining a posture of tolerance, and extending compassion to all other suffering beings, we can utilize even our miseries to advance on the path back to Godhead.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Bodily Pains. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.