This world is a place of distress – does this mean we always have to live in distress?

Podcast:

Question, what does the fact that the world is a place of distress, Dukkhalaya, mean? And what does it not mean? No one will want to live forever in distress. Well, there are, from the context of the Gita itself, three things which can be very clearly inferred. First is, the statement of the world of Dukkhalaya is not meant to say that we all have to be in distress all the time. 

In fact, Arjuna was in distress in tears at the start of the Gita and by the end of the Gita he was free from tears. He was composed. So, a book that says the world of Dukkhalaya freed Arjuna from Dukkha in this world itself.

At least his mind was more composed, even if he still had to fight a difficult war. So, the point is that distress is unavoidable in this world. It means that we should not be taking decisions simply based on what will cause the least distress. 

That will be one parameter certainly, but the most important parameter will be what will bring the most meaning. What is the most purposeful, meaningful, value-adding choice that we can make. If we are fixed. 

So, in Arjuna’s case, it was fighting a war because that enabled him to be a part of Krishna’s plan for re-establishing a virtuous order in the world and protecting people at large from miscreants and evildoers. So, what that means ultimately is that when we focus on doing something that is sufficiently meaningful for us, then that will make the distress bearable and maybe even worthwhile. So, we find meaning in suffering and then suffering becomes bearable.

So, to summarize, the three implications are first that don’t make decisions simply based on… We are not meant to be always in distress, certainly not, but don’t make decisions based on simply avoiding distress. Sometimes the path of least resistance may end up being the path of the most trouble. So, make decisions based on how can we best contribute, what is most meaningful, valuable, purposeful for us, what will bring more such value to our life that it will make distress bearable. 

That is the key for decision making. Thank you.