Nov. 1, 2024
The Will to Endure and the Body's Ability to Withstand Hardship and Suffering
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YouTube reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter VII Attitude, pg. 68
This episode is also available as a blog post at https://sriaurobindostudies.wordpress.com/2024/10/30/the-will-to-endure-and-the-bodys-ability-to-withstand-hardship-and-suffering/
Video presentations, interviews and podcast episodes are all available on the YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@santoshkrinsky871
More information about Sri Aurobindo can be found at www.aurobindo.net
The US editions and links to e-book editions of Sri Aurobindo’s writings can be found at Lotus Press www.lotuspress.com
1
00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:03,640
While most people are quite
insulated from direct
2
00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,640
confrontation with extremes
which the body is asked to
3
00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,920
endure, our modern media makes
it possible to see and relate to
4
00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:14,480
some of these extreme
situations.
5
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:18,440
Far beyond the pressure of
training for and running in a
6
00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,480
marathon race.
There are circumstances, some of
7
00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:27,640
them voluntary, many of them
involuntary, which expose us to
8
00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,720
the powers of the body to
withstand what can only be
9
00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:35,000
called extreme suffering with a
will to live and endure.
10
00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,760
That beggars the imagination.
We see both the capacity of the
11
00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,480
physical body under severe
pressures as well as its
12
00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:47,920
enormous pleiancy and goodwill
to provide a solid base for the
13
00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,160
will to live which inhabits
every being.
14
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,440
When the concentration camps
were opened up after the end of
15
00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,840
World War 2, we witnessed many
thousands of individuals
16
00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,360
emaciated to the point of
starvation.
17
00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,840
When villages in Vietnam were
bombed with napalm during the
18
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,080
Vietnam War, we were able to
view the extreme pain and
19
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,480
suffering of people who had
lived through that horrible
20
00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,800
experience of having their skin
burned alive.
21
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,720
We have heard the stories of
survivors of the atomic blasts
22
00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,280
that destroyed Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in World War 2.
23
00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,840
When we observe the mass
migrations, the droughts, the
24
00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,920
starvation and the ravages of
disease and warfare in other
25
00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,960
parts of the world, we see that
millions of people are subjected
26
00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:48,560
to extremes that cause
excruciating pain and yet they
27
00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:55,000
somehow survive and try to go on
with their lives on a day-to-day
28
00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,160
level.
We have been advised that the
29
00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,640
pain experienced by women in
childbirth can be far higher
30
00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,720
than any other pain that we
normally experience.
31
00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,160
This is part of our normal human
life on a regular basis, and for
32
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,400
those who have not undergone
this experience in all its
33
00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:16,720
intensity, it is truly
impossible to imagine.
34
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,440
We may reflect on the body's
endurance to pain and suffering
35
00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,280
and ask how it is that it is
able to take this on, survive
36
00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:29,600
and continue to desire to live
and breathe.
37
00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,080
The Titaria Upanishad provides
us an enigmatic answer.
38
00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,280
Quote.
For who could labour to draw in
39
00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:44,200
the breath, or who could have
strength to breathe it out, if
40
00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:49,040
there were not that bliss in the
heaven of his heart, the ether
41
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,040
within his being?
End Quote.
42
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,240
It may not appear that there is
any sense of that bliss about
43
00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:02,080
which the Upanishad speaks in
any of the experiences related
44
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:08,280
above, but somehow, deep within
each being there is that secret
45
00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:13,120
space where bliss dwells,
covered over by pain, covered
46
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:18,360
over by suffering, covered over
by all the stress of living, but
47
00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:23,640
nevertheless there waiting to
come forward and transform the
48
00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:26,560
life.
The surface being may not
49
00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,800
consciously recognize or
appreciate this hidden source of
50
00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,320
the will to live, but
nevertheless it endures.
51
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,680
This is what keeps people alive
and hoping to survive under
52
00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,560
extreme circumstances and in
intense pain.
53
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,040
The mother writes in The Science
of Living in Uneducation, quote.
54
00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,520
The body has a remarkable
capacity of adaptation and
55
00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,760
endurance.
It is fit to do so many more
56
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,840
things than one can usually
imagine.
57
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,640
If, instead of the ignorant and
despotic masters that govern it,
58
00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,040
it is ruled by the central truth
of the being, one will be
59
00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,640
surprised at what it is capable
of doing.
60
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,920
End Quote.
The mother clarifies further.
61
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,279
Quote.
During the last war it was
62
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,000
proved that the body was capable
of enduring such suffering as is
63
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,800
normally impossible to endure.
You have surely read or heard
64
00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,040
these stories of war in which
the body was made to suffer and
65
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,200
endure terrible things, and it
withstood all that.
66
00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:37,680
It proved that it had almost
inexhaustible capacities of
67
00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,120
endurance.
Some people happen to be under
68
00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:42,880
conditions that should have
killed them.
69
00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:48,440
If they survived, it was because
they had in them a very strong
70
00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,640
will to survive, and the body
obeyed.
71
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:57,640
That will End Quote reference
Srioro Bindu and the Mother
72
00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,240
Powers within Chapter 7 Attitude
page 68.
00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:03,640
While most people are quite
insulated from direct
2
00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:06,640
confrontation with extremes
which the body is asked to
3
00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,920
endure, our modern media makes
it possible to see and relate to
4
00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:14,480
some of these extreme
situations.
5
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:18,440
Far beyond the pressure of
training for and running in a
6
00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,480
marathon race.
There are circumstances, some of
7
00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:27,640
them voluntary, many of them
involuntary, which expose us to
8
00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,720
the powers of the body to
withstand what can only be
9
00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:35,000
called extreme suffering with a
will to live and endure.
10
00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,760
That beggars the imagination.
We see both the capacity of the
11
00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,480
physical body under severe
pressures as well as its
12
00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:47,920
enormous pleiancy and goodwill
to provide a solid base for the
13
00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,160
will to live which inhabits
every being.
14
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,440
When the concentration camps
were opened up after the end of
15
00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,840
World War 2, we witnessed many
thousands of individuals
16
00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,360
emaciated to the point of
starvation.
17
00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,840
When villages in Vietnam were
bombed with napalm during the
18
00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,080
Vietnam War, we were able to
view the extreme pain and
19
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,480
suffering of people who had
lived through that horrible
20
00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,800
experience of having their skin
burned alive.
21
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,720
We have heard the stories of
survivors of the atomic blasts
22
00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,280
that destroyed Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in World War 2.
23
00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,840
When we observe the mass
migrations, the droughts, the
24
00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,920
starvation and the ravages of
disease and warfare in other
25
00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,960
parts of the world, we see that
millions of people are subjected
26
00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:48,560
to extremes that cause
excruciating pain and yet they
27
00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:55,000
somehow survive and try to go on
with their lives on a day-to-day
28
00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,160
level.
We have been advised that the
29
00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,640
pain experienced by women in
childbirth can be far higher
30
00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,720
than any other pain that we
normally experience.
31
00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,160
This is part of our normal human
life on a regular basis, and for
32
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,400
those who have not undergone
this experience in all its
33
00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:16,720
intensity, it is truly
impossible to imagine.
34
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,440
We may reflect on the body's
endurance to pain and suffering
35
00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,280
and ask how it is that it is
able to take this on, survive
36
00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:29,600
and continue to desire to live
and breathe.
37
00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,080
The Titaria Upanishad provides
us an enigmatic answer.
38
00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,280
Quote.
For who could labour to draw in
39
00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:44,200
the breath, or who could have
strength to breathe it out, if
40
00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:49,040
there were not that bliss in the
heaven of his heart, the ether
41
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,040
within his being?
End Quote.
42
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,240
It may not appear that there is
any sense of that bliss about
43
00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:02,080
which the Upanishad speaks in
any of the experiences related
44
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:08,280
above, but somehow, deep within
each being there is that secret
45
00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:13,120
space where bliss dwells,
covered over by pain, covered
46
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:18,360
over by suffering, covered over
by all the stress of living, but
47
00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:23,640
nevertheless there waiting to
come forward and transform the
48
00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:26,560
life.
The surface being may not
49
00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,800
consciously recognize or
appreciate this hidden source of
50
00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,320
the will to live, but
nevertheless it endures.
51
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,680
This is what keeps people alive
and hoping to survive under
52
00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,560
extreme circumstances and in
intense pain.
53
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,040
The mother writes in The Science
of Living in Uneducation, quote.
54
00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,520
The body has a remarkable
capacity of adaptation and
55
00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,760
endurance.
It is fit to do so many more
56
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,840
things than one can usually
imagine.
57
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,640
If, instead of the ignorant and
despotic masters that govern it,
58
00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,040
it is ruled by the central truth
of the being, one will be
59
00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,640
surprised at what it is capable
of doing.
60
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,920
End Quote.
The mother clarifies further.
61
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,279
Quote.
During the last war it was
62
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,000
proved that the body was capable
of enduring such suffering as is
63
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,800
normally impossible to endure.
You have surely read or heard
64
00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,040
these stories of war in which
the body was made to suffer and
65
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,200
endure terrible things, and it
withstood all that.
66
00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:37,680
It proved that it had almost
inexhaustible capacities of
67
00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,120
endurance.
Some people happen to be under
68
00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:42,880
conditions that should have
killed them.
69
00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:48,440
If they survived, it was because
they had in them a very strong
70
00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,640
will to survive, and the body
obeyed.
71
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:57,640
That will End Quote reference
Srioro Bindu and the Mother
72
00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,240
Powers within Chapter 7 Attitude
page 68.