What is the Root of Pleasure, Pain and Fear?
Ram S. Ramanathan MCC
Systemic, Sustainable, and Spiritual Self Development Coach Author: Coaching the Spirit & Re-creating Your Future Books & Programs
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dr?g-dar?ana-?aktyor-ekātmata-iva-asmitā ?6?
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sukha-anu?ayī rāga? ?7?
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Pleasure leads to attraction and attachment
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领英推荐
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Why do we experience pain and pleasure, fear and greed? What you’re afraid of need not make me even anxious. What gives me pleasure may give you pain. We share the same energy as our source. We breathe the same air. We may eat slightly different food. What’s going on?
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The ego is the identity of self in the mindbody casing. The ego is a product of the illusion of carried-over desires, vasana. Ego deludes our mindbody self from the realisation of our true energy nature of Self.
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The ego sees itself and the mind of which it is part of as the source of energy. It does not recognise the true energy state that transcends the mindbody casing. Our mind experiences and gathers its food from the senses. The senses are powered by the energy of Chakshu. The senses, the mind, and the ego are instruments of the Chakshu energy. Unaware and ignorant of this knowledge, the mind and ego see themselves as the source of all this food in delusion.
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This delusion and the false belief of one’s ego mind being the source makes one believe that they are in control of the outcome of their actions. We believe we are the creative power and the doers. We believe we can achieve what we want without the energy empowering us. We create likes and dislikes. What pleasures us attracts us and binds us in attachment. What pains us creates sorrow and we move away. The stronger this aversion is, the more anxious we become, and more fearful.
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Of all our fears, the greatest is our fear of death. From the moment we are born, we are destined to die. We don’t want to. We believe that death is an end. We do not realise that death is a gateway and can lead to our energy. Only the realisation that we are energy beings and that as energy beings our spirits are eternal and undying can remove that fear.
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The combination of liking and attachment to life and its apparent pleasures, and the aversion, anxiety and fear of death is the root cause of all our sorrow. Once embedded, these afflictions become the main obstacles to the realisation of our energy Self. They need to be dissolved and rolled back into our mind space when they are still nascent. Meditation is the pathway to still the mind and help cease these movements.
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The opening verse of the Dhammapada, Buddha’s teachings, says that suffering follows the mind as the cart follows the oxen. In Buddha’s wisdom all experiences, whether perceived as pleasurable or painful, end in sorrow. The pleasure creates more cravings based on greed, and there are no boundaries. We can be joyful only when we disengage from the illusions of the mind.
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Reflection
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Seemingly simple, these truths of Yoga are transformational once we are aware of them, and act upon them.
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Do you think you control your destiny? Granted, you have free will. So do others. When you compete with another in pursuit of something that attracts both, what makes one the winner and the other the loser??
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What if you accepted the other as an equal and collaborated? What if you both realised that you are indeed creatures of the same energy despite the external difference in hue and hair?
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What if you both worked towards a common purpose with shared benefits in which race there are neither winners nor losers?
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Is this what the universe would want of you both?
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Reflect and meditate on what you like and dislike, what you seek, what you fear, and why.
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What can make you realise your true energy Self?
Ram is a co-founder and mentor at Coacharya?https://coacharya.com. Ram's focus is the integration of Eastern wisdom with modern science, spiritually, systemically and sustainably. Visit Coacharya.
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Senior Business Leader | ICF Executive & Team Coach (ACC/ACTC/EMCC-P/ITCA) | Mentor | Advisor | CMO | High Performance Team Builder | Tech Go-To-Market Specialist | VP Asia- AI Edutech Startup | Skill Development
9 个月There is scientific evidence on the illusion of Free Will. Nevertheless it is upon us to use it in the transactional world, aligning our decisions and actions with ethics and values for the growth of us (I and the other). A spirit of collaboration over competition needs to start from pre-school. Especially in today's world. Unfortunately in my experience, school was where competition was enforced mindlessly to every sphere of life...