Patanjali speaks of four aspects of suffering in Sutra 15 of Sadhana Pada of Yoga Sutras: Pariṇāmatāpasaṁskāraduḥkhairguṇavṛttivirodhācca duḥkhameva sarvaṁ vivekinaḥ. The first one is Parinama Dukha. According to it, all things are in a state of flux, right from a Solar system to a grain of dust. The entire universe appears to be a swirling flux of phenomena like water flowing under a bridge. At human level, Parinama is transformation not only of the mind, but also of the body, elements and senses of which we may not be conscious. We are so immersed and completely identified with the life that we cannot separate ourselves mentally from this fast-moving current. We seem to be standing in a void and the horror of loneliness unspeakable engulfs us. We are afraid of death but we do not see the fact that death is merely an incident in the continuous series of changes in and around us. What do we do when this realization dawns upon us accidentally? We get alarmed, terrified and try to shut it out again by plunging more violently into the activities and interests of the worldly life in the pathetic pursuit of pleasures and ambitions.
The speaker has nothing against someone pursuing their aspirations. It is inescapable to live in a material world. We must work to support ourselves, which is what we must do. It is desirable and auspicious if our objectives and aspirations do not harm our bodies and minds but, rather, advance us socially and economically. However, if these objectives and pursuits only assist us develop vertically, rather than horizontally, they are harmful and bring about dukkha.
The second affliction inherent in human life is Tapa Dukha, the anxiety or fear of losing that which gives us pleasure and happiness in life. If we have excess money, property, or valuables, we have a fear of losing them, threatening our security. If we love people, then we have a fear of losing them when we pass away. All of us have such fears and anxieties present in our sub-conscious minds, and when a crisis occurs in our lives, these fears and worries come to the surface.
The third is Samskara Dukha, which holds that experiences we go through leave physical and mental imprints. By becoming accustomed to a variety of locations, ways of life, and pleasures, we continuously pick up new habits. Our personalities are ultimately formed by these habits. This persona is not real. They leave behind powerful imprints and footprints that cause us agony that we desire to be free from. These imprints, prints, and images are also used in our relationships with others. We use them to evaluate other people. They are not our property. Again, these feelings and images are those of other people. We hold them in high regard and base our convictions on them. As a result, we are continuously surrounded by false impressions and images.
The last one is Guna-Vritti-Virodha by which we want to free ourselves from the conflicts of our tendencies and different states of mind leading to discontentment. These tendencies and different states do not belong to us. They come from outside and they hold us as much as we cling on to them. The word Vritti means the modification caused by these Gunas, chiefly Rajas and Tamas. In Yoga and Ayurveda, a guna or tattva or element of reality that can affect our psychological, emotional, and energetic states. They are constantly in a state of flux and interact with one another in a playful state. It causes misery. We crave for what we do not have resulting in mad pursuit. It produces misery when we become discontent of unfulfilled desires.
The question is whether it is possible to avoid these four aspects of suffering inherent in life. Some religious groups and sects offer an uncertain and nebulous happiness in the life after death. They say, ‘Lead a good life to ensure happiness after death, with faith in God and hope for the best.’ Contrarily, Yoga philosophy says that death shall not solve our spiritual problem overnight or in our next life just like our economic problems or poverty.
Yoga affirms that the urgency of the problem has to be solved now and here as we are living. So, it is not a question of choosing the path of Yoga or rejecting it, but of choosing it now or never. So, in the following Sutra 16 of the Sadhana Pada Patanjali says, Heyaṁ duḥkhamanāgatam. The misery which is not yet come can and is to be avoided.
Viveka or spiritual discrimination can dispel the illusory happiness which is merely a sugar-coated pill containing only pain and suffering hidden inside. The wise man uses Viveka and renounces desires altogether, taking what comes to him in life without elation or resentment.
Most of our pain, most of our suffering comes from resistance to what is. Life is. And when we resist what life is, we suffer. When we can say yes to life, whatever that happens to us, it means, we surrender to life. We move with life. That’s where power of living courageously comes from.
