SVB encouraged the audience to use this conference to reshape our personalities/attitudes towards ourselves, instead of just thinking about the concept of pleasure as antidote to pain. Susan Gould-Fogerite spoke primarily about how breathing affects the immune system and how awareness of the breath can help to elevate stress and illness. Swami Ritavan gave a very poetic outline of the use and origin of mantra within the Himalayan tradition. Dr Parker gave a personal account of his own experiences with the management of intense pain, in this case sciatic pain. Ma Radha provided an introduction to the practice of Contemplative Walking. Dr Parker discussed the therapy of Cognitive Behavioral Modeling (CBM). Swami Nityamuktananda explained the basic concept of Samkhya philosophy. Mr Pradeep discussed the fact that dental pain, after the pain of childbirth is the largest pain known.

Pain Conference Proceedings

Date:  25^th February 2009     

Name of Lecture: …Pleasure as Antidote to Pain

Name of Speaker: …Swami Veda Bharati (SVB)   

Program Time: …9.30-10.30am

Actual Time: …9.30-10.25am

Location: Mediation Hall, SRSG

Name of Chairman:… Linda Billau

Name of Reporter: …Klara Gerrits

Reference Material/Presentation/Other Information Collected: …None 

Main Points of the Lecture: ....

SVB encouraged the audience to use this conference to reshape our personalities/attitudes towards ourselves, instead of just thinking about the concept of pleasure as antidote to pain. SVB asked if there is a universal principle of pain and went on to say that Buddhist, Samkhya and Ayurveda philosophies agree on the question of pleasure and pain. These texts agree that: 1) There is pain - 2) There is a cause of pain – 3) There is elimination of pain – 4) There are means for the elimination of pain. The physical diseases (anger, greed, jealousy, etc.) arise out of the mental diseases. The definition of pleasure is ‘concentration’. Selflessness, altruism is the source of true pleasure and needs to get integrated in our personality.

There are three kinds of pain distinguished in Samkhya philosophy: 1. Adhyatmika (abhimana/identification is the source of all of this kind of pain); 2. Adhidaivika; 3. Adhibhavtika. Adhyatmika is the pain experienced in the bodily and mental constituents of our personality. This is sometimes incorrectly translated as spiritual pain, but the pure Self/Atman has no ignorance, no pain. The yogis discovered through the process of self-observation/meditation that human beings consist of many layers of energy-fields (5 koshas) with as many levels of identification. The false identification / abhimana of the relative Self with external conditions (‘I’m rich/poor; man/woman’; etc) is the cause of all pleasures and pains. We have to learn how to take away the mental/social/emotional props of the physical pain. Our capacity to remain neutral towards pleasant or painful events around us is determined by the fact if we have a weak or a strong mind. The purpose of meditation is to strengthen the energy field of the mind and to increase the capacity of the mind to remain unaffected by external disturbances and therefore from the pains arising from the minds disturbances.

The book that will be published post-conference will consist of two sections: one scientific section and one philosophical/spiritual/attitudinal section.

Questions and Answers (name of person and details of question): …

Question from Veena Maitra: What is the cosmic personality?
Answer SVB: Indian philosophy distinguishes the individual personality and the cosmic personality. The universe is seen as the cosmic personality in which suns, galaxies, individual personalities etcetera are considered to be the cells of the body that’s called God. In order to understand our own individual personality we have to understand what happens in the cosmic personality and to live in awareness of that.

Other Comments (e.g. references to other resources, talks being held etc): ...Reference was made to the ‘weak/strong mind-paper’ prepared by SVB.