Short story: Suffering, and living life
By emptychair
@innertalks (23742)
Australia
December 16, 2023 5:55pm CST
An admirer of the Indian Spiritual teacher, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897 to 1981), quoted this quote of Nisargadatta's to his psychologist.
“It is always the false that makes you suffer, the false desires and fears, the false values and ideas, the false relationships between people. Abandon the false, and you are free of pain; truth makes happy, truth liberates.”
The psychologist replied to his client like this:
"This sounds good enough, but what about those suffering physically, mentally, and not falsely, or just ignorantly. What he said seems a bit harsh, and exaggerated, and overly generalistic."
"An animal suffers too, and they cannot determine the false, from the true."
"Yes, his over-the-top comments do little to help anyone, but are mere diatribes of logic, not of truth, or reality."
"Everyone born suffers, and life is about finding ways to ease the pain, and to enjoy some moments of nonpain, when they arise in your life."
The student grimaced, as he did not like these rather harsh comments about a man, who he held in the highest esteem.
"What about this quote of his then?"
"'You will receive everything you need when you stop asking for what you do not need.'"
asked the student, of his psychologist.
"Again, this is mostly gobbledygook,"
replied the psychologist.
"Needing stuff is always a recipe for disaster."
"Just live your life, without asking for anything of life. God knows what you need, and he supplies all needs to all."
Well, here is one last quote of this great spiritual giant,"
said the client.
'"Don’t try to understand! It’s enough if you do not misunderstand."'
"Have you an opinion on this quote too?"
The psychologist was enjoying himself, as he answered his client, once more.
"This one is just a mere play on words, with no real substance to it at all."
"You do need to try to understand, as if you do not try, misunderstanding will never disappear, as misunderstanding is the natural position of all slanted in sin, and until truth comes to you, aligned with the maker of truth, God, you will live in misunderstanding, rather than in the truth of earnest understanding."
The client knew that he was barking up the wrong tree here, as the psychologist, steeped in western learning, could never grasp the subtleness of Eastern ideas, or their spiritual understandings.
And so, he never went back to this psychologist again, as he thought to himself, that we should never be closed off to new ideas, and new thinking, to live flexibly vibrant in this life, rather than stubbornly stagnant.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
The psychologist was rather rigid in his own thinking.
5 people like this
4 responses
@crossbones27 (52984)
• Mojave, California
17 Dec 23
I never ask for anything. I just cry about what I do not have. In a needed way, I do not care about nice crap I will never use. 
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
17 Dec 23
Ha, ha. I also cry about what I haven't got too.
Sometimes, we do not know what we don't need until we have it, or we do not know what we need, until we see nice crap, and want it.
There is so much stuff around these days that nobody really needs. They are pushed on us by others, and end up never being used.
@crossbones27 (52984)
• Mojave, California
17 Dec 23
@innertalks Yeah, its my pet peeve people buying crap they never use. We all do it but some of us try to keep it a minimum.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
17 Dec 23
@crossbones27 Everything is a risk though.
I bought some high-fibre bread the other day as I thought that it might be better for me, but it tastes like cardboard, and gave me digestion problems, as the excessive fibre content was just too much for my sensitive gut to handle.
Perhaps, the birds in my backyard will like it better.
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
17 Dec 23
This is all very good but when someone is suffering it is tough to read anything else but the suffering.
Especially when trying to resolve the issue with uneducated ignoramuses.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
17 Dec 23
Yes, someone who is drowning does not need someone nearby in a boat giving them swimming lessons, but needs to be rescued by that boat.
Yes, when we are in pain, and suffering, we just want relief from the pain and suffering, not a lecture in philosophy about how best to manage our pain and suffering.
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
18 Dec 23
@RebeccasFarm Yes, oft-repeated platitudes hurt more.
2 people like this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
19 Dec 23
Both are wrong. The subtleties of both the psychologist and the client live in a gray world where they don't need to understand anything but live in the moment. Life isn't like that. We were created by a God who loves us and wants us to understand Him and the truth He gives us.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
19 Dec 23
Yes, I have never agreed with living in the moment, or only in present time, either.
We are to grow in understanding over our lifetime, to better grasp the wisdom of God, and to live from his truths, in our lives too.
God's love transcends time, and we should not restrict ourselves to time, but try to live as God wants us to live, eternally alive for him even now, in our lives here too.
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
17 Dec 23
"East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."
Wrote Rudyard Kipling in 'The Ballad of East and West.'.
The gist is that people of different cultures cannot be on the same wavelength unless they are open-minded enough to understand others's points of view.
The Hindu school of thought highlights happiness is not related to material wealth.
From my personal experience, I have found accumulating more than our needs is the wrong approach to take.
Assets become liabilities and we realize that too late when those we depend on become impatient to grab them like vultures circling above us.
A life lived for self is self-defeating as opposed to the one where our lives benefit society.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
17 Dec 23
Yes, Sri Nisargadatta Marahaj is Hindu in his belief.
Western Philosophies are poles apart from Eastern ideas, and are more about success, wealth building, and building personal strength.
Eastern ideas are more about laying the foundations for a later life in the nether worlds.
We all should try to make the world a slightly better place from our living of our lives too.
Living for self alone, is the most selfish approach to living.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
18 Dec 23
@Shiva49 That is a good way to have lived one's life.
There are times, though, where for me, doing my best, is not the best option, sometimes near enough is good enough.
If I am feeling tired one day, I might not do my best in cutting my lawn, for example, but just give it a quick turnover, to get rid of the long ends/shoots.
When I was playing chess, scrabble, even running a foot race, I didn't always play/do my best, as sometimes, I just wanted to relax, and not put out with too much effort.
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
18 Dec 23
@innertalks I keep in mind a constant thought that when I leave this world, I should do so with a feeling I did my best in the circumstances. My life should have touched those I came across positively.
And what I leave behind in terms of material wealth had been well earned and deserved. It should not be tainted by sinful acts and deceit.
1 person likes this
