Be that North Pole Star ...

What is the significance of pain in one’ s life ? Is painless or should I say sufferless life is good for your own evolvement ? Rumi says - “Those pains you feel are messengers .., listen to them .” I often wonder how pain can serve as a messenger & also be good for us too .These messengers themselves give us so much suffering and make us feel helpless & at times , paralysed .

The take home message, Every pain we suffer wants us to give & remind us time & again only one thing - to remain detached to things around you .That does not mean you should not own everything you want to have but that the things you have must not own you . Again, easily said .. but difficult to follow . But try you must as this is the key that I see to deal with pain & suffering . Detachment makes acceptance easy. And, mere acceptance itself initiates appropriate responses to our pain . But most of the time , experiencing these messengers itself baffle us . So much baffled we get that our overthinking mind gets overwhelmed with negative emotions . These emotions do not allow us to accept the situation . This non -acceptance obscures our vision to understand the message behind these suffering . As we act out of non-acceptance we mess up situations further with our reactions to our suffering . The cycle of suffering never ends as we never understand the underlying message. Rumi guides us here saying “The cure of pain is in the pain “ . Other times , we become so attached to our comfort zone , that itself becomes detrimental to reach our fullest potential . You need something to shake you up to leave your comfort zone . You need to trust the process & let go off lesser things you are content with in yo ur comfort zone ... to create space for bigger things that are lying ahead of us . Life doesn’t take anything from you unless there is something else eagerly awaiting to replace it . The pain due to hurt, fall & loss brings you near to something bigger & better if you understand the message that pain as messenger wants you to give & if you have the potential to assimilate & make that part of you .

It needs so much practice to accept & conduct ourselves in just the right way in spite of having such awareness during our difficult times. So why not be persistent in our practice to view these pains as your true friend & guide to your glory unmanifested . In any case, practically you have no option but to accept defeat from our mind & negative emotions . Because they always try to overpower us to bring continuous state of unhappiness within us stimulating that pain & suffering again & again . As Rumi again famously preaches - “ The wound is the place where light enters in you .“ So the next time you are wounded, allow that light entering in you through it to light you up to shine like that unperturbed North Pole Star ...

Dr Krantikumar R Rathod .