Dealing with Physical Pain

At some point in life everyone is confronted with physical conditions which cause pain. What is pain exactly? When we speak about physical pain in particular, we reference particular sensations or impulses of an intensity that activates the nerves to carry the sensation to the brain, which interprets the signal. Pain can be a great aid at certain times as it acts as a warning system of danger to provoke the mental and vital being to action. At a certain point, however, when it goes beyond this signaling function and either reaches an intensity that is difficult to bear, or becomes chronic such that it seems to continue without abatement, we recognise that this is an issue that we must address.
Pain can be intense when there is some immediate injury to the body, such as fracture of a limb, or when environmental conditions become more extreme, such as in conditions of strong heat or cold. Injuries obtained through trauma such as gunshot wounds, bomb shrapnel, knife wounds or physical beatings also create strong sensations of pain. Pain can also arise through disease conditions, organ imbalances or chronic long-term conditions of organ failure. Women who experience childbirth are said to bear pain many times the normal pain threshold that most people experience in most circumstances. When we observe women giving birth, their screams, cries, tears and physical pressure on loved ones provide ample evidence of the intensity of the experience.
For the spiritual seeker, the question then arises, as to what the necessary attitude and relation to the experience of pain should be, so as to not have it interfere with the spiritual sadhana. One experience that sadhaks report is a unique sensation of a deep, physical peace, taking hold of the body and overwhelming all other vibrations, including those that create the sensation of pain. In some cases, this deep physical peace takes on the form of a solid block of unmoving material force. If the sadhak can succeed in attaining such a state, there is no pain at that moment, regardless of the potential sensations that would otherwise cause pain.
Short of achieving this status of immovable peace in the physical being, the sadhak can at least work to gain some control over the reaction of the vital being and the mental being such that, while physical pain may be there and be experienced, it does not disrupt or disturb the sadhana or spiritual practice. This too takes some substantial effort and practice.
We have an example of an individual who worked to mitigate physical pain and enhance their endurance. The famous escape artist Harry Houdini used to practice sitting in a tub of ice, to increase his ability to withstand extreme cold without going into any kind of shock and thus, helping him with his career as an escape artist who could withstand circumstances that most people would feel as extremely painful.
The Tibetan Yogi, Milarepa, toward the end of his life, was poisoned by an individual who was jealous of his prestige and who doubted his attainments. Milarepa consciously imbibed the poison, knowing his time had come. When the village priest showed up to witness Milarepa’s painful death, he saw Milarepa sitting quietly, teaching and not obviously in pain. He challenged Milarepa who indicated that his body was undergoing tortuous pain. The priest asked him to shift the pain to him so he could experience it for real. Milarepa, out of compassion, refused to do that, but transferred a small portion of the pain to the door, which started creaking and groaning under the intensity. Milarepa had such a control over his being, his experience, his response and his ability to control the physical body that he could act even under the duress of that intense physical pressure.
Sri Aurobindo writes: “To bear extreme heat and cold it is necessary to have peace in the cells first, then consolidated force. Pain and discomfort come from a physical consciousness not forceful enough to determine its own reactions to things.”
“The body, naturally [experiences physical pain] — but the body transmits it to the vital and mental. With the ordinary consciousness the vital gets disturbed and afflicted and its forces diminished, the mind identifies and is upset. The mind has to remain unmoved, the vital unaffected, and the body has to learn to take it with equality so that the higher Force may work.”
“The Self is never affected by any kind of pain. The psychic takes it quietly and offers it to the Divine for what is necessary to be done.”
“It is a detachment of even the physical mind from the pain that makes one able to go on as if nothing were there but this detachment of the physical mind is not so easy to acquire.”
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Chapter 4, Ordeals and Difficulties, pp..108-109