Suffering

yatroparamate cittaṁ niruddhaṁ yoga-sevayā

yatroparamate cittaṁ niruddhaṁ yoga-sevayā |
yatra caivātmanātmānaṁ paśyann ātmani tuṣyati ||
sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam |
vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ sthitaś calati tattvataḥ ||
yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ |
yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate ||
taṁ vidyād duḥkha-saṁyoga-viyogaṁ yoga-saṁjñitam |
sa niścayena yoktavyo yogo’nirviṇṇa-cetasā ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 6.20–23)

“Wherein the citta (mind) restrained by yoga practice desists [i.e., does not engage with any sense object]; wherein the ātmā [i.e., the mind] sees the ātmā [i.e., the Paramātmā] within the ātmā [i.e., the antaḥkaraṇa] and feels satisfaction; wherein he [i.e., the yogī] experiences absolute happiness which is beyond the senses [i.e., free from any contact with the senses and sense objects] and graspable [only] by the buddhi, and being so situated [wherein] he does not stray from the reality [i.e., from the ātmā’s nature]; upon gaining which he thinks there is no greater gain; and being situated in which he is never shaken even by the heaviest suffering—know that to be called yoga [i.e., the attainment of samādhi] and devoid of any connection with suffering. This yoga is to be practiced with determination and a non-despondent mind.”

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bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha

bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha
nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ |
taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihāñjaseṣṭas
tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.19)

[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] “O Nṛsiṁha, here [i.e, in this world] neither are parents protection for a child [i.e., children are still subject to suffering even when in the care of their parents], nor is medicine [protection] for a diseased person [i.e., even people who receive medicine are still subject to suffering and death], nor is a boat [protection] for a sinking person in the ocean [i.e., even boats are still known to sink], since an afflicted person’s quickly desired counter-measures thereof [i.e., of suffering] are [only] such for so long [i.e., counter-measures quickly taken up to alleviate suffering are invariably only temporary and of uncertain effectiveness], O Great One, in the case of embodied beings who are disregarded by you [i.e., there is no real counter-measure for suffering apart from service unto you].”

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yasmāt priyāpriya-viyoga-sayoga-janma

yasmāt priyāpriya-viyoga-sayoga-janma-
śokāgninā sakala-yoniṣu dahyamānaḥ |
duḥkhauṣadhaṁ tad api duḥkham atad-dhiyāhaṁ
bhūman bhramāmi vada me tava dāsya-yogam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.17)

“Because I am burning in every birth [i.e., even in that of a king] in the fire of grief produced by separation from and union with that which is pleasing and displeasing and [because] the remedies for suffering are also [causes of further varieties of] suffering [e.g., poverty produces one type of suffering and the various processes of acquiring wealth produce others], I am bewildered by [alt., I am wandering on account of] my unknowing mind [i.e., despite my undergoing perpetual and unavoidable suffering, I still have the tendency to identify with my present body, even if it is that of a hog, and think that I am actually happy even in the midst of my suffering]. [Therefore,] O Great One, please tell me about the means of [attaining] your service [i.e., your service is the only actual means of remedying my condition of suffering].”

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arthe hy avidyamāne’pi saṁsṛtir na nivartate

arthe hy avidyamāne’pi saṁsṛtir na nivartate |
manasā liṅga-rūpeṇa svapne vicarato yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.35)

“Although in the midst of a non-existent object [i.e., although sāṁsārika suffering does not have any real existence as the jīvātmā does], saṁsāra does not cease [i.e., sāṁsārika suffering continues so long as one identifies with it], just as an object [i.e., suffering] does not cease for one moving in a dream by means of the mind, that is, the subtle body [i.e., as one must wake up and thereby cease to identify with any elements within the dream in order to become free from the suffering in a dream, so one must cease to identify with any aspect of saṁsāra to become free from saṁsāra].”

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naikāntataḥ pratīkāraḥ karmaṇāṁ karma kevalam

naikāntataḥ pratīkāraḥ karmaṇāṁ karma kevalam |
dvayaṁ hy avidyopasṛtaṁ svapne svapna ivānagha ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.34)

“O sinless one, mere karma [i.e., karma devoid of jñāna] is not on its own a [real] countermeasure for karma, since both [i.e., any form of karma and any countermeasure for it], like a dream within a dream, are based on ignorance (avidyā).”

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duḥkheṣv ekatareṇāpi daiva-bhūtātma-hetuṣu

duḥkheṣv ekatareṇāpi daiva-bhūtātma-hetuṣu |
jīvasya na vyavacchedaḥ syāc cet tat-tat-pratikriyā ||
yathā hi puruṣo bhāraṁ śirasā gurum udvahan |
taṁ skandhena sa ādhatte tathā sarvāḥ pratikriyāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 4.29.32–33)

“There is no termination of even one of the jīvas’ sufferings caused by destiny, [other] living beings, or the self [i.e., the gross and subtle bodies] even if there are countermeasures for them. As a man carrying a heavy load on his head puts it on his shoulder [to relieve himself of fatigue], so are all countermeasures [i.e., all worldly means of relieving suffering are incomplete, temporary, and ultimately causes of further suffering].”

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nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam

nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa-praṇāśanam |
praṇāmo duḥkha-śamanas taṁ namāmi hariṁ param ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.13.23)

“I offer obeisance unto him, Hari, the Supreme, the chanting of whose name destroys all sin, and offering obeisance unto whom quells all suffering.”

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duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ vyatiriktaṁ ca tīvraṁ

duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ vyatiriktaṁ ca tīvraṁ
kālopapannaṁ phalam āvyanakti |
āliṅgya māyā-racitāntarātmā
sva-dehinaṁ saṁsṛti-cakra-kūṭaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.11.6)

“The inner ātmā fabricated by māyā [i.e., the subtle body, the adjunct upon the pure jīva], the illusionist on the wheel of saṁsāra, embracing the bearer of its own body [i.e., the pure jīva], in full creates suffering, enjoyment, irregularity [i.e., bewilderment], and acute [i.e., unavoidable], time-borne results.”

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yo’hiṁsakāni bhūtāni hinasty ātma-sukhecchayā

yo’hiṁsakāni bhūtāni hinasty ātma-sukhecchayā |
sa jīvaṁś ca mṛtaś caiva na kvacit sukham edhate ||
(Manu Smṛti: 5.45)

“One who harms innocuous creatures out of a desire for one’s own pleasure never attains happiness in life or after death.”

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