The Tapa (Pain)

Yoga?is "Raksha?Kavacham", or a shelter for all human consciousness. Yoga is about the inner journey, where Bhakti Yoga helps us to surrender, and Raja Yoga?allows?us to connect?with?ourselves. Not the Asana or Pranayama but the internal connection with ourselves, the knowledge?that?can keep us calm during our most painful times.?Jnana yoga helps to clarify all questions about our journey and Karma, and Karma Yoga is a lifelong practice without any expectations.

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Learning a concept in?Yoga?is like making the concept part of our?life.?Bhakti Yoga is about surrender, love and compassion; it is not enough to learn about Bhakti Yoga but to surrender?to?Yoga is real learning. Only then is it valuable, or it will be like various other concepts we encounter daily. In Karma Yoga, we must stay unattached to our actions and their results.?Even though it sounds simple, bringing this to our practice is challenging.We cannot stop the rain or change the?weather?to our liking, but we can protect ourselves. Yoga is that umbrella which ensures that we are not wet in the rain. There are different types of?pain?and challenges we?face.?Hatha Yoga and Samkhya philosophy?describe?the?pain as?"Tapa."

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The Sanskrit word "tapa" has two meanings: one is?heat, and?the other is pain. Pain itself is a type of heat. Pain from physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual uncertainties. The idea of the?Yogic?system is to?protect the body from?pain.?It is a systematic approach that will help us relieve existing ailments and allow us to avoid pain in the future.?This could be in the form of Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, and Dharana.?

Types of pain:

Hatha Yoga categorises pain?into?three types: Adhyatmik, 'spiritual'; Adhidevik, 'natural or environmental'; and Adhibhautik, 'physical'.

Adhyatmik Tapa (Spiritual Pain)

Adhyatmik tapa comes from living without realisation of the inner being, and it is essential so that we strive for a purer experience.?Self-realisation is not simply about "attainment" but identifying your inner self.?This?means?that we live?with?our identity. Not?pretending?to be someone or not trying to be a saint.?Failures, pain, distress, and other emotions will be associated with this true identity.?When we feel separated from our true identity, we suffer spiritually. Self-realisation is about accepting them as a part of us, not trying to impose any toxic positivity.

?Adhidevik Tapa ( Natural or environmental pain):

Pain?brought on by?natural circumstances is also unavoidable.?Nature?always brings some climatic or geological imbalance, such as?floods,?drought, earth tremors, winds, storms, etc., which affect the balance of the body's functions, and generally disturb the normal functioning of life. Business and crop growth are affected, and many things change. A simple change in?the weather can cause?flu symptoms. We can choose to be locked up at?home?and not expose ourselves to such ailments. Think about?the COVID?lockdowns; even though many took all the precautions, we were affected by the virus.?

Adhibhautik Tapa: (physical pain)

Thirdly, there is physical suffering. Nature continually tests the body, sometimes by an imbalance of bacteria, sometimes by accidents, or sometimes by mental and emotional shocks.?After a certain age, our physical body continues to decay.?Is it possible?that with continued?practice of?Yoga,?one may not have any pain? The answer is Yes and?No. Many?things?can be managed?with?Yoga,?but certain things are beyond our control. Like a?fracture, Yoga cannot treat it.?One must?get?to a?doctor?to fix the fracture. Once the fracture is healed,?Yoga?can help to?build strength?in the limbs.

Yoga is not a therapy, but it can be used for mental and physical health as therapy. With the best of our?efforts,?we cannot avoid any of the types of pain mentioned above. We can get ourselves to a certain dimension where our?inner self?is not?affected?by any tapa. So, what is the most appropriate course of action for you?

Does it mean we should not feel the pain? We will feel the pain, but we can prepare to be unaffected?by the pain.?As you would have noticed, most terminally ill patients manage their pain so well.?Because they have accepted pain as a part of their life and know that to?be alive, they need to live with pain. Hence their pain endurance is much higher than an average healthy person.

The body and mind can be structured so that they remain unaffected by the mundane circumstances of worldly events. The stems symbolise the external senses, which should be?externalised?when?necessary. However, they?can be internalised and unaffected by the external happenings of the world at will. In this way, the body-mind becomes like a tortoise which can extend its limbs when necessary or retreat into the protection of its thick covering shell when threatened.?

Yoga?provides the platform, support and a?systematic?lifestyle?that?protects us from all types of Tapa we have encountered or we may face in future.?