Pain and pleasure are two opposites that we experience in daily life,

but they are relative terms. When one sees the horizon through the

window, it appears very limited, but when one goes to the roof, he

finds a vast horizon around him.



In the same way, when one learns to expand his vision, the meaning of

pain and pleasure also changes. Pain and pleasure are two concepts

created by our mind and senses when they contact the objects of the

world. But when the sense of discrimination is applied, they vanish

because one's values change.



Pain and pleasure change their values when one attains a higher

dimension of life. One feels pain and pleasure according to his inner

strength, endurance, tolerance, and purpose in life. One's experience

of pain and pleasure is dependent on what is important to him. For

example, a mother experiences pain when she gives birth to a baby,

but she goes through that pain because she wants to accomplish

something higher....



In the modern world people become confused about what is right, and

they are uncertain about which duties should be given the highest

priority. The important is always important; therefore it should be

attended to first even though it may seem to be painful. In

performing one's duty one should learn to go beyond his

identification with pleasure and pain, loss and gain, and all the

pairs of opposites.



Swami Rama

Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita