The Diagnosis: An analysis of suffering
Moksha, Kaivalyam, Enlightenment: Part I
Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.
यथा चिकित्साशास्त्रं चतुर्व्यूहं।रोगो रोगहेतुरारोग्यम् भैषज्यमिति।एवमिदमपि शास्त्रं चतुर्व्यूहमेव।तद्यथा संसारःसंसारहेतुर्मोक्षो मोक्षोपाय एवेति।तत्र दुःखबहुलः संसारो हेयः।प्रधानपुरुषयोः संयोगो हेयहेतुः।संयोगस्यात्यन्तिकी निवृत्तिर्हानं . हानोपायः सम्यग्दर्शनम्।Yathaa chikitsaaShaastram chaturVyooham. Rogo rogaHeturAarogyam bhaishajyamIti. EvamIdamApi shaastram chuturVyoohamEva. TadYathaa samsaarahSamsaaraHeturMoksho mokshaUpaaya eveti. Tatra dukkhaBahulah samsaaro heyah. PradhaanaPurushayoh samyogo heyaHetuh. SamyogasyaAtiAntikee nivrittirHaanam. HaanaUpaayah samyagDarshanam.As the Science of Medicine has four departments - the Disease, the Cause of Disease, the Absence of Disease, and Medicine or Means of Removal, so also this Science has four departments. It is thus divided - the Universe, the Cause of the Universe, Moksha, and the means of Moksha.
That is, the Universe full of suffering is to be avoided (ie. the disease). The conjunction between Prakriti and Purusha is the cause of suffering. The final cessation of the conjunction is the removal of suffering. The cause of the removal of the pain is Right Knowledge.
- Vyasabhaashyam on Yoga Sutra, 2.16
Whether we know it or not, everything that we do - from big things like career choices and relationships, to the smallest things like the food we eat, the clothes we wear, or the slight shifting in your chair as you read this - is for a singular purpose - the cessation of dukkha.
The word “dukkha” is often translated as “suffering” but may be more appropriately translated as “a bumpy ride”, “insufficiency”, “frustration”, or “incompleteness.”
The word is derived from the root “kha”, which means “space”, and the prefix “du”, which imparts a negative connotation. Together, it suggests the imagery of a poorly fitted wheel rotating upon an axle which does not quite fit the hole, resulting in the chariot bumping ever so slightly every time the wheel turns.1
This entire life of material existence is filled with suffering, whether we acknowledge it or not.
We are born into a world, with no clear explanation with how we got here, and the feeling that we were sort of dropped into this place with no particular reason. Even as children, we are hungry, tired, unsatisfied, and constantly hankering for something that we do not have. Any satisfaction that we get is temporary, only to be disturbed by the next wave of insufficiency.
We start to grow up, and our desires become more refined. Where we once desired food and sleep, we now also wish for identity, meaning, purpose, love, and safety. We wish for the good things to endure and the bad things to disappear, but no matter how hard we try, and even when we succeed, everything seems to fall apart.
In the midst of this, we mostly get carried away running from one thing to another, trying to satisfy our seemingly unquenchable thirst, hoping that the next thing will do it. We put ourselves through suffering to achieve what we wish will rid us of suffering, and then suffer when we fail.
What’s worse, even if we succeed, the success - like everything - is temporary, and we are back to hankering once more, in a cycle that seems endless. To make matters even worse, death looms over us, threatening to take away everything we know and love without even a moment’s notice, guaranteeing only the regret of feeling that we did not have enough time.
The purpose of life is the cessation of suffering. This is not a claim - simply an observation.
An analysis of dukkha
The cessation of dukkha is known as Moksha, or kaivalyam. This is the purpose of Yoga. A healthy body and a calm mind are simply side effects. Given this, we will begin our discussion of Moksha with an analysis of dukkha.
For any sort of pain, if we know that it exists, and if we know its cause, its locus, and its solution, the pain can be removed.
In traditional Indian medicine, the doctor communicates to their patients using this fourfold format:
Rogah (रोगः): The Diagnosis
Hetuh (हेतुः): The Etiology, or the Cause
Aarogyam (आरोग्यं): The Prognosis
Bhaishajyam (भैषज्यं): The Treatment
Yoga follows the same format. Over the next few weeks, we will cover these systematically, using this as a framework to summarise what we have learned in this series thus far.
The Diagnosis: Dukkha
परिणामतापसंस्कारदुःखैर्गुणवृत्तिविरोधाच्च दुःखं एव सर्वं विवेकिनः।ParinaamaTaapaSamskaaraDukkhairGunaVrittiVirodhaachCha dukkham eva sarvam vivekinahSuffering is produced via change, via pain/anxiety, via the samskaaras (impressions), and via the conflicting and fluctuating mind. To the one with vivek (ie. discrimination), everything is indeed suffering.
- Yoga Sutra, 2.15
For all living beings, the diagnosis is dukkha - the general unsatisfactoriness of life. No matter how hard we try to satisfy ourselves with bhoga - the objects of the world - we are doomed to dissatisfaction, frustration, and suffering.
This may sound somewhat pessimistic, but it is actually quite the opposite. Rather than ignoring or romanticising the fact of suffering, Yoga acknowledges it, and provides a systematic method to address it head-on. First, however, we must understand how dukkha works.
There are four channels through which dukkha appears:
Parinaam (परिणाम): Change
Taap (ताप): Anxiety, and pain itself
Samskaara (संस्कार): Mental impressions, or seeds
Guna-Vritti-Virodha (गुणवृत्तिविरोध): The fluctuating and conflicted mind
Let us go through these systematically.
Parinaam (परिणाम): Change
All things are, by nature, impermanent. As a result, no matter how good something is, it will change, and so result in dukkha.
P: Just because things are impermanent, how does it imply dukkha?
Consider the following thought experiment.
Imagine your perfect life scenario in detail. In this scenario, you have everything that you want and have ever wanted. Perhaps you want a big house in a beautiful place, loved ones surrounding you, perhaps you want money, power, youth, health, perhaps you want sense pleasures of all kinds, and maybe something meaningful to do with your time. Anything you want, you get. Visualize this in as much detail as you can, and imagine yourself in this situation.
Most likely, if you had this right now, you would feel satisfied.
Now let us introduce the fact of impermanence.
All the things that you imagined are impermanent, and so no matter how perfect the scenario is, it is bound to change. The house will deteriorate, your loved ones will get sick and die, and your relationships will change. Money will be spent, lose value, and there will some struggle to keep it going. Power will only last as long as you maintain it, which takes a toll. Your own health will deteriorate as well.
The moment this perfect scenario changes, it is, by definition, no longer perfect.
As a result, this lack of perfection will result in dissatisfaction - dukkha - whether big or small. Therefore, since everything is impermanent, we are inescapably bound to experience dukkha, no matter how hard we may try to avoid it.
Taap (ताप): Anxiety/Pain itself
In the category of Parinaam (above), dukkha arises as the consequence of chasing pleasure, happiness, or fulfillment. That is, it arises from the fact that we chase things we are attracted to.
This second category, taap, refers to the dukkha that arises from the things we are averse to. That is, life is filled with things that directly cause us suffering, often due to no apparent fault of our own.
There are three subcategories within this class of suffering. Specifically:
Aadhyaatmika (आध्यात्मिक ): Suffering caused by one’s own mind or body
Aadhibhautika (आधिभौतिक): Suffering caused by other beings
Aadhidaivika (आधिदैविक): Suffering produced by natural forces
Aadhyaatmika Dukkha: Suffering produced by one’s own body or mind
This category includes suffering such as physical illnesses, injuries, or self-inflicted pain. In addition, it includes mental suffering such as anxiety, sadness, disappointment, anger, and so on.
P: Can’t anxiety, sadness, and disappointment also be caused by the first category of parinaam, or change?
Jogi: Absolutely. However, there are times in which we are hard on ourselves, or when we allow the mind to ruminate when it is within our power to stop it. This kind of mental suffering falls into the category of aadhyaatmika.
P: Isn’t it always within our power to stop it?
Jogi: In a sense, yes. However, it depends on the level of practice. Some practitioners may be able to calm the mind when things around them change, but may inflict pain upon themselves through guilt or rumination - this is dukkha which is adhyaatmika, but is not due to Parinaam. For others, they may suffer on account of external changes to their circumstances, but may not have a tendency to ruminate or feel guilty - this is dukkha due to Parinaam, but is not adhyaatmika. There may also be practitioners who suffer in both categories.
In addition to the suffering itself, there is also an additional dukkha that comes from anxiety about the suffering, even before it has occurred, or while it is happening. For example, if you don’t like doing the laundry, but know you have to do the laundry, you may feel an aversion to doing it even before you have begun. Further, once you finally bring yourself to do it, you may suffer through the action itself, but also through the additional mental anguish of doing something you do not wish to do. We suffer, but we also suffer because we suffer. This second layer of suffering is the aadhyaatmika dukkha - suffering caused by our own minds.
Aadhibhautika Dukkha: Suffering produced by other beings
This category includes suffering caused by the people around us, but also by other beings such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats, or other animals.
On the surface, some of our suffering is caused by others. A friend may say hurtful words, a co-worker may do something to upset you, or a family member may do something that “pushes your buttons.” This extends beyond humans to other creatures as well. For example, a person may get bitten by a dog, or stung by a bee.
This kind of suffering may or may not be related to the intention of the other being. For example, it may be that your friend wanted to hurt you, but it may also be that it was completely unintentional - yet, the suffering arises nonetheless.
P: Even here, isn’t it within our power to lessen or eradicate the suffering? For example, by applying the four attitudes?
Jogi: Absolutely - reducing and eventually eradicating suffering is the goal of Yoga. The more one practices, the less they are susceptible to all these different categories of suffering. This classification is from the perspective of one who has not yet perfected their practice.
Aadhidaivika Dukkha: Suffering produced by natural forces
Sometimes, suffering is caused neither by our own bodies or minds, and neither by other beings, but rather by the forces of nature. For example, a wildfire may burn down your town, or a cyclone may blow through your village. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and various other natural disasters are a part of life, and can happen at any time, and can cause death, devastation, and suffering to those who experience them.
Samskaara (संस्कार): Mental impressions/seeds
Throughout our lives, we run towards sukha and away from dukkha. Even when we willingly put ourselves through difficult times, it is always for the same purpose.
For example, a person may work tirelessly for several years, putting themselves through tremendous hardship. However, the reason they do this is for the promise of some future happiness.
P: What about people who just work hard because they like working hard?
Jogi: If they like to work hard, they are gaining happiness from working hard. This happiness, being greater than the suffering that they endure, is the sukha they are pursuing.
P: Ok, but what about someone who inflicts harm upon themselves? Like someone who performs self-harm, or someone who is suicidal?
Jogi: Even in these cases, the actions of self harm or suicide are due to the immense pain that the person is currently going through, and are done as a method to escape this pain. Again, here, the goal is sukha, and the cessation of dukkha.
P: Ok, but what about masochists, who enjoy pain?
Jogi: In this case the pleasure achieved from the pain is the very sukha they are pursuing.
In this way, all action - ie. all karma - is done in the pursuit of sukha and for the avoidance of dukkha.
Now we have previously seen that all sukha is ultimately just dukkha in disguise - like honey mixed with poison. We previously discussed the example of a beautiful vacation. Before the vacation, there is longing for the vacation to begin - this longing is dukkha. Then, during the vacation, there is a desire for it to continue. Again, this is dukkha. Finally, once the vacation is over, there is dukkha in the longing for it to repeat, as well as dukkha that it is no longer happening.
In this way, the lovely vacation - a clear example of sukha - is actually shrouded in dukkha. In the same way, all experience - all bhoga - in this world is shrouded in dukkha.
P: Well why can’t we just live in the moment and forget about it ending?
Jogi: In one sense, this is true, and can be the result of the practice of Yoga. However, in most cases, thinking in this way is simply bypassing the truth of the matter and suppressing the feelings of dukkha that exist in the mind through the action of tamas.
One can, in fact take this a step further, and say that there is no such thing as sukha. After all, if you mix poison with honey, is the mixture not also poisonous?
In this way, all experience is, in fact dukkha, through and through.
P: What does this have to do with samskaaras?
All experiences - both physical and mental - leave traces on the mind. These traces are known as samskaaras, or impressions, and, as we have discussed, can be likened to seeds.
When the conditions are just right, these seeds then sprout into thoughts, words, or actions, when then leave further traces on the mind. The thoughts that arise are of the same nature as the experiences that caused them.
For example, if a person likes to drink alcohol, they may pour themselves a drink, and enjoy it one evening. This experience leaves a samskaara in the mind that the consumption of alcohol results in a pleasurable feeling. As a result, later on, when they see alcohol, the samskaara will awaken, and they will feel a desire to consume it. If they act on this desire, or even if they push it down with force, it will deepen the samskaara in the mind, and so the next time they see alcohol, the desire will be even stronger.
While the example of alcohol here refers to the klesha of raag, or attraction, the same principle holds true for all of the kleshas. More on the kleshas here:
To generalize this, when a person acts, they leave samskaaras in the mind. These samskaaras then activate at a later time, and lead the person to act once again, thus leaving further samskaaras on the mind, in an infinite cycle.
Now since these samskaaras lead to actions in the pursuit of sukha or the avoidance of dukkha, the experiences they will result in will all be like honey mixed with poison, just like the example of the vacation above. Before the object is achieved, the samskaara will cause dukkha in the form of longing. While it is being enjoyed, the samskaara will cause dukkha in the form of a desire for continuation and a fear of the experience ending, and once it is over, the same samskaara will result in dukkha in the form of desire for repetition. Additionally, the experience itself will leave a new set of samskaaras of the same nature, thus deepening the same tendency (aka vaasanaa), and prolonging the suffering, in an infinite cycle.
In this way, samskaaras deposited in the mind through action result in an infinite cycle of dukkha.
Guna-Vritti-Virodha (गुणवृत्तिविरोध): The fluctuating and conflicted mind
Let us go back to the example of the perfect life scenario in the section about Parinaam above.
You had imagined the situation in your life that you would consider to be absolutely perfect, and we discussed how the fact of impermanence implies that it can only last for a moment before it changes, and therefore, by definition, becomes imperfect and results in dukkha.
Now let us extend this example and imagine that you are somehow, magically, able to create a permanent state of affairs where this perfect life situation would remain static, as it is, forever. It is difficult to imagine such a state, since all of life is ultimately change, but nevertheless, let us keep it for the sake of argument.
In this static, perfect situation, there is your mind experiencing it. The mind is made of the gunas, which are always in flux. This means that even when the external situation is perfect and constant, the mind will change, and so what may cause happiness in one moment will cause dukkha in the next.
To make this more concrete, we can consider the example of someone who loves chocolate chip cookies. If this person has a desire for a cookie, they can go and eat one, and their desire may be satisfied. However, due to the samskaara, they begin to hanker for a second cookie, and so they eat that one too. Then, they repeat it and have a third cookie, then a fourth, then a fifth, and so on.
With each subsequent cookie, the amount of happiness derived reduces, until ultimately, at say the twentieth cookie or so, the person is likely to throw up, let alone enjoy the cookie they were initially hankering after!
Another example would be of someone who desired a particular situation for a long time, and worked hard to make it come true. At some point, the situation becomes what they had initially wanted, but as time passes, a sense of normalcy arises.
What would once have been the cause of great happiness now becomes “normal”, and this results in a feeling of dissatisfaction, resulting in the person wanting more, or wanting something different.
This is dukkha due to the fluctuating and changing mind, despite the constancy of the external circumstances.
No matter how perfect the situations in the world are, no matter how good or consistent your experience gets, since the mind is in constant flux, the very sense of satisfaction is ultimately impermanent, and dukkha is therefore inevitable.
Acknowledging Dukkha
Once we understand this, there can be a tendency to go and share this with everyone we know. After all, for someone who has felt this way about life, it can be a huge relief to see that it is not just them that feels this way.
What’s more, Yoga offers a way out, and so this tendency to share comes from a place of compassion for all living beings.
However, in a given lifetime, not everyone will acknowledge the fact of dukkha. The vicious cycle of dukkha may be apparent to the Yogi, but this does not mean that it is apparent to everyone. It is for this reason that these teachings are often called the “secret teachings” (guhya). It is not that they should not be shared, but rather that they cannot be shared with those who cannot yet hear them.
“The Yogi, in this case, is similar to an eyeball. As a thread of wool thrown into the eye results in pain by mere touch, but not so by coming into contact with any other organ, so too do these pains afflict the Yogi as tender as the eyeball, but not anyone else whom they may reach.”
- Vyasabhaashyam on Yoga Sutra, 2.15
This does not mean that the Yogi is better or worse than anyone else. It is simply a matter of time and circumstance.
In this way, acknowledging the truth of dukkha is actually the very first step to a deep and lasting practice. For many, Yoga provides a method to calm the mind or strengthen the body. However, for the Yogi, who acknowedges the truth of dukkha, Yoga is a refuge - a way out of the endless cycle.
To recap, the fourfold framework is as follows:
Rogah (रोगः): The Diagnosis
Hetuh (हेतुः): The Etiology, or the Cause
Aarogyam (आरोग्यं): The Prognosis
Bhaishajyam (भैषज्यं): The Treatment
We have now covered the diagnosis - dukkha. Once this has been acknowledged, we will continue next time to the cause.
Next week: The Etiology: The cause of dukkha
This is as opposed to “sukha”, from “su” and “kha”, or a “pleasant ride.” This word generally means happiness, but does not refer to lasting fulfilment (ie. Aananda).