Greater the joy; greater is the pain

Every event however pleasant causes pain in the end. Greater the joy; greater is the pain. Longing for an event or waiting for a pleasurable event is again pain. Before you want something the feverishness of wanting it, is painful. When you have it the fear of losing it is painful. When it is gone, the memory of its joy, is painful. Pain and Love are the two sides of the same coin. 

Love creates tremendous amount of pain and so does separation. A wish creates tremendous amount of pressure in the mind. Trying to please someone creates pain, to know and understand whether they are pleased or not, also creates pain. You want to know how the other person’s mind is, while you still don’t know your own mind. To do spiritual practices, you need to put effort and that’s painful. Not doing it creates even more pain. If you really look from the eyes of the wise there is nothing in this creation that is devoid of pain. Pain is the tail of everything in this world. 

When you realize that everything is pain then what to do? The root cause of pain needs to be eliminated. The pain which has not yet come in life and which has not sprouted should be nipped off right at the beginning. 

How do you do that? Forgetfulness of yourself as separate from your environment is the main cause of pain. Lack of perception causes pain. There are three things – the self, the seer and the seeing.

So when you see the difference, that the seer is separate from its surroundings, it helps in eliminating the pain. The entire universe is in the form of fluidity. 

The definite knowledge is, ‘I am not the body, I’m the self, I’m the space, I’m the imperishable, untouched, untainted by this world around me. Every particle in this body and the mind is changing”. Only this definite knowledge is the way out of this cycle.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji,