Our survival instinct tells us to avoid pain, whereas austerity means to accept pain – how to decide what to do?

Transcript

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Question, what is the relationship between survival instinct, fear of pain and the need of austerity in spiritual life? Question by Muralidhar Prabhu. So, normally we all want to avoid pain and this avoidance is a part of what we need for survival. That is our survival instinct.
But then we sometimes have to embrace pain for growing spiritually, we have to do austerities. We have to reject what the mind says instinctively. So, how do we relate rejecting what the mind says instinctively for spiritual growth and accepting what the mind says instinctively for our survival? Answer, to differentiate between the two, I would prefer to use the word instinct and impulse.
Instinct is what is a biological defense mechanism within us and it is connected with essential bodily functions. So, for example, if I feel, if I move my hand and suddenly I feel a burning sensation over there, then even without conscious thought I move my hand away. That is instinct.
So, instinct is vital for all of us for our protection. It’s like if somebody moves their hand or their fist suddenly close to my eyes, even without my thinking my eyes blink. So, the eyes are trying to protect themselves, although the eyelids are a feeble protection from a fist, but still the attempt to protect is there.
So, there are basic bodily functions which are connected with very existence wherein the body is programmed to protect itself and the mechanism by which the body is guided towards protection is called instinct and instinct actually we can say is the guidance of the Paramatma programmed into the body. For example, when birds migrate, it’s still a scientific mystery how these birds are able to travel sometimes across continents and oceans and not only they do migrate to a different destination, but then along the journey they may die and their descendants come back and live on the same tree in which their ancestors had lived. So, it’s remarkable how this happens, but this is all due to instinct.
So, instinct in our, if we try to interface biology with spiritual wisdom of the Gita, we could say instinct is the guidance of the Paramatma that is we could say concomitant with the body or that is programmed into the body. By programmed I don’t mean it is all automatic, but it is something which the body has been given. So, we often talk about following our gut instincts.
So, instincts, the word instinct has a positive connotation and it also connoted with biology. Now, impulse on the other hand refers to desires for pleasure, for gratification. Say for example, now in Ayurveda it is said that there are certain urges which should be checked and certain urges which should not be checked.
So, for example, if one has an urge to respond to nature, checking that for too long can be detrimental, the toxic substances stay in the body. On the other hand, with one of the reproductive organs, one may discharge the life fluid and urge to discharge the life fluid that needs to be checked. So, there are bodily urges such as some which we need to accept and some which we need to reject.
So, same we could say applies to the forces which push with us suddenly. So, instincts are connected with basic bodily survival and functioning and they are something which guide us. Impulses on the other hand are urges which are primarily for pleasure.
I see something, I want to eat it. I see a notification on my mobile and I immediately want to surf and read. I think of some movie to watch and immediately I go and watch the movie.
These are all impulses and impulses are often detrimental. So, when it comes to gratification or indulgence, then the impulses come into picture or the drive that pushes us towards gratification, that is what we call as impulse and impulse needs to be checked. In fact, checking impulse is a part of emotional maturity and growth.
Say for example, I desire to feel, I desire to shout at someone. Now, shouting at someone is not needed for my survival. I can, even if I want to make a point which is important for my, even for my job, for my financial status, for a very important for me, but still I can elevate my argument, not my, elevate my voice.
So, I can make, strengthen my argument without shouting. So, shouting is not necessarily needed for survival. Of course, if I am drowning, I shout at that time, please help.
Help, that is different. So, impulses are for pleasure, for gratification, for control. As in, I mean, we get angry and we shout.
So, broadly speaking, those which come from lust, anger, greed, envy, pride, illusion, those we can call as impulses and they we need to reject or at least process with our intelligence before acting on them. Instinct basically means there is, there is action before there is even conscious thought, or to speak of intelligent contemplation. So, now, when we use the word survival instinct, that protects us from pain, which can be avoided through acting by the survival instinct.
As far as austerity in spiritual life is concerned, austerity involves conscious thought. So, there are some actions which happen without conscious thought, those we could say are instinctive. But most of the time when we have to do something in spiritual life, it is not that we have to go against our instincts.
We in bhakti do not follow some process of sadhana like say walking on broken glass or walking through fire, where we literally go against the body’s instincts. But yes, sometimes say when we want to fast on holy days, at that time, the body feels hunger, but we say no. Now, we humans also have our intelligence.
So, the intelligence can be used to resist the impulse. The intelligence can be used to recognize that although normally pain is to be avoided, sometimes pain is a necessary and the only way to greater pleasure. So, Krishna says in 18th chapter 37th verse that, that which tastes like poison in the beginning will taste like nectar in the end.
So, that means that he is saying that we will have to go through the poison before we can come to the nectar. So, that means he is saying that we will have to tolerate the pain before we can come to the pleasure. So, this is also a principle.
But usually this requires thoughtful contemplation. This requires careful, careful reasoning before we do this. So, it is not that in spiritual life, we are expected to do arbitrary austerities that go against our survival instinct.
Now, at one level, fasting may be going against our survival instinct of need for food. But then fasting is also known to promote health. So, routinely or arbitrarily being unregulated about one’s diet and taking too much food sometimes, taking too little food at other times, arbitrarily, that is unsound.
But if we are in a planned way, deciding that on certain days of a month, I am going to fast, then that is actually healthy. Because that can give the body a break so that instead of being focused constantly on digestion, the body can work towards regeneration and recuperation. It can, body’s energy can be directed towards removing the waste from the body and overall improving one’s health.
So, we have our instincts which comprise, we could say, an unconscious level of intelligence. I mean, it is intelligence programmed within the body to protect ourselves. And impulse actually works against the body most often.
By impulse, we may overeat, we may eat so much that we become obese and hurt ourselves. But when we talk about austerity, then there again we are using the intelligence. So, the only, the difference is instincts are, we could say, unconscious intelligence or subconscious intelligence, whereas austerity is done with conscious intelligence.
So, at such times, if we make a proper plan, you know, in these situations, I am not going to eat this or I am not going to look at this, I am not going to shout this way or whatever, I am not going to crave for these things. So, that is something which we use our intelligence. So, basically, although at one level, we try to avoid pain and through because of survival instinct and other level, we accept pain and austerity.
In both, the common denominator is the intelligence. The intelligence protects us at an unconscious level in instincts and intelligence protects us or rather facilitates us to get a greater pleasure by accepting pain in the present. So, thus, if we see the common denominator of the intelligence, then we can learn to decide which of the forces that come within us, which of them we can accept and which of them we should reject.
And of course, which of them we should process and then decide what to do.