Tag Archives: Philosophy

Why there is suffering?

Here are some theories that I would like to put forward:
  1. The universe is one possible mathematical solution and hence whatever is happening within the universe does not need to be fair. It is incorrect to assume that things should be fair and everybody should be free from suffering.
  2. The whole world is a hologram – it is completely fictitious. It does not exist in reality. Everything is an illusion. When somebody is having a dream, it may look real, just like that the world may look real. So, there is no suffering at all in reality.
  3. The final truth is consciousness. It is consciousness that manifests energy, matter and decides physical laws. Though it is present everywhere, once it sets things, it does not interfere in governance as a separate entity. Due to physical laws or otherwise, thoughts are born and become so prominently repetitive that the realisation of the presence of consciousness is marginalised in a living being. Suffering is not so much due to the situation, it is due to the thoughts. To do away with suffering, thoughts need to be subdued and consciousness needs to become prominent. One needs to realise that his/her true nature is consciousness and not body/mind. The manifested world is not illusion, but being immersed in repetitive thoughts is like living in an illusory world.

And the answer

(This post is the probable answer to the question raised in the previous post.)

There seems to be no limit to the outside comforts. Therefore, there has to be something within us which can be the purpose of our lives. Hindus call this state of inner self as “Moksha”. In more scientific terms, “Moksha” or salvation is the state of consciousness of the mind, or state of awareness of the mind. It is just the opposite of unconsciousness. It may be called as super consciousness. How can one achieve super consciousness? Perhaps, by trying to live in the present moment. By trying to be more and more aware about everything one does. For example, when we eat, we also think about our problems with our bosses/spouses/children etc. That means we are not fully aware about the eating activity. When we eat, we must be fully involved in eating. When we think, we must be fully involved in thinking. Should one sacrifice everything in pursuit of super consciousness? No, the idea is to be fully involved in anything one does. This means that there should be full involvement in playing sports, reading, cooking, eating, watching movie, listening to music or having fun. The practice of awareness starts from our day to day activities.

Ask yourself a question!

Well, what is the purpose of life? Right from our childhood, we have been fulfilling our desires. All we wanted as babies was mothers’ milk. Then we started asking for chocolates, then bicycles, then motorcycles & then cars etc. Apart from our material needs, our social needs also started growing. We wanted to come first in our classes, then we wanted to join premier schools for our education, then good jobs, good employers, fast track careers and on and on. It seems that the needs are never fulfilling and there seems to be no end to them. Let’s ask a few questions to ourselves. Is there any limit of achieving? Is having a Mercedes enough? Why not a helicopter? Why not a 16 seater craft? Are we ever going to be satisfied? However, the life has got certain period. Therefore, the period of fulfillment of needs is limited by the span of life. If we think about the net output of our lives, is there anything that we have really gained? Do we carry anything with us at the end of our lives? Then what is the objective of living?