Page 15 - NAMAH-Jul-2024

Namah The Role of Pain and Suffering in our Growth

Pain and suffering in the evolutionary become impediments to growth.
journey
Leaving our comfort-zone is scary. It involves
Even within the evolutionary process, pain a disruption of the familiar order, a venture
and suffering find their place. Sri Aurobindo, into the unknown. Ideally, we would
in his The Synthesis of Yoga, proposes two key consciously choose to step out, seeking new
principles governing nature’s workings. experiences and fostering personal growth.
The first principle is a drive towards increasingly However, if we cling too tightly to comfort,
complex harmony. Evolution progresses the evolutionary force may intervene, pushing
from simple to complex forms, each stage us out with a ‘crushing blow’.
a more refined expression of wholeness.
However, the second principle introduces a Often, this push comes in the form of painful
counterpoint. As forms solidify, they also tend life-experiences — the loss of a loved one,
to stagnate and become rigid. This rigidity, a job or some other significant setback or
according to Sri Aurobindo, necessitates a disease. These disruptions, though painful,
breaking down, a dissolving, to pave the way can shake us awake from our comfortable

for a new, more complex level of existence. slumber. They create a churning within, a
Think of a caterpillar transforming into a dissatisfaction with the status-quo and a
butterfly — a necessary destruction of the old yearning for something more.
form to create something more magnificent.
Sri Aurobindo even connects this concept This churning is a crucial step in the awakening
to rebirth, seeing it as a necessary condition process. The larger consciousness, the greater
for immortality on the material plane. Just as wisdom that permeates everything, may use
new forms emerge from the breakdown of these experiences to break down our rigid
the old, so too can consciousness transcend patterns and propel us towards a greater
limitations through a process of renewal. potential.
Therefore, destruction, experienced as pain
and suffering, becomes part of a larger
creative dance. It’s the breaking down of
the rigid and outdated to make way for the
next level of complexity and wholeness in
the evolutionary journey.

Stepping out of our comfort-zones

Stagnation, whether of the ego, a mental
construct, or an emotional or physical habit, The pain of disruption: a catalyst for
acts as a barrier to our evolution. Ironically, transformation
our very desire for comfort and harmony at
the physical and sensory level can lead to The quest for self-transformation goes hand-
this fossilisation. We build comfort-zones, in-hand with a potential disruption of the
routines and ways of being that eventually status-quo. As we evolve, we may leave

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