Friday, October 14, 1C33
Daily Ncbrc:kcn
Peso 5
kelpo one find true contentment
V ' S
The basic, motivating force of human
material, Intellectual and spiritual en
deavor is the experience of sufTerlng.
We create physical thlng3 because we
suffer, In varying degrees, front the
lack of them. We also create religions
and philosophies In order to mentaljy
and emotionally come to terras with
the profound experience of personal
sum sucku sunenng.
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Krishna
Mnrlnn
This experience of suffering can be
either a creative or a destructive force
in our lives, depending on the way we
react to it. Unfortunately, the expe
rience of hurt and injustice often causes
people to become bitter, hard and
crueL Those who react to suffering in
this way in turn cause more suffering
in the world.
However, the experience of suffering
also can become a moral force that
transcends and transforms the agony
of suffering into a quiet joy and love
that enriches one's life and the lives of
fellow humans.
The person who carries with her a
profound sense of human suffering is
better able to deal with personal mis
fortune because she sees it in the
whole context of human suffering. More
over, this personal misfortune provides
a chance for her to reacquaint herself
with the similar problems that her fel
low humans face every day.
In becomelng aware of the problems
of another person, the individual be
gins to bridge one of the fundamental
gaps in human consciousness the
gap between the personal experiences
, of different individuals.
When the individual transforms thb
awareness of the problems of another
into a commitment to act on. those
I problems the 'glp. is' overcome! In its
place a powerful emotional and spirit-
,
usl bond emerges among the individu
als who have shared their experiences
and now share a commitment to under
stand each other's problems and to
reduce Each other's suffering. The
stronger the trust In this commitment,
the more the joy and love that the indi
viduals derive from the relationship.
This process takes place not only in
personal relationships but also in gen
eral social interaction. A profound
sense of the suffering of humanity
makes one better able to deal with
those who haw become hard and bit
ter as a result of their suffering. The
result is that instead of developing
antagonistic relationships with those
around whom she feels uncomforta
ble, the individual shows a concern
that usually will be reciprocated even
tually. Even in the more general sense of
being aware of and working on human
itarian problems, the individual Is able
to bridge the gap of private conscious
ness and develop a human conscious
ness that transcends the individual
experience.
As in personal relationships, this
also leads to a powerful emotional and
spiritual bond.
The emotional and spiritual power
of these personal, social and humanit
arian bonds is what religions have
tried to create with varying degrees of
success. Religious leaders and philo
sophers have realized that true happi
ness comes from the attempt to find
meaningfulness in suffering that
ever-present element in human life.
The truly happy person, then, is not
the person who ignores misfortune
and suffering.
The really happy or contented per
son is the one who can take account of
personal and social misfortune and
suffering and transform these expe
ences into attitudes and suffering and
transform these experiencs into atti
tudes that produce both personal and
social joy and contentment.
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