Fear does not give any benefit in tolerating pain, rather makes it worse, writes AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI
Unfortunately, it does in many cases. And what it does is that it compounds the misery. I will narrate two stories to illustrate my point. A group of climbers were on their way to the Everest peak. Suddenly, the sky got dark and a snowstorm hit the area where they were located. The leader of the expedition got separated from his group. He tried to find some shelter and found a small cave like place. He entered it and assessed his situation. No one was coming his way, him being in the front, till the blizzard conditions lasted.
What was he to do to protect himselfIJ How long was the snowstorm going to lastIJ What was he going to do to save himself from the extreme cold conditionIJ Such thoughts began to dominate his mind. This man was a brave person. Therefore, he decided to stay warm by moving his limbs as much as he could in the narrow place he had taken shelter. He knew in his heart that if the storm lasted long, he was doomed because he needed food to give him energy for staying warm. But he was not going to give up.
The storm did last for quite some time, but he kept going, though he was getting weaker by the hour. The pain was beginning to become intolerable but he was not going down without giving all that he had. luck smiled on him and the rescue team found him almost half dead. The pain did not scare him, which allowed him to continue his efforts to survive. This was one extreme case of courage.
The other story is of a man who fell in his house and got badly hurt. His son, who was present in the house, heard his cries and went to see him. On being asked, his father said that he had broken some bone. The son also saw that his father was bleeding though slowly. Being a strong boy, he picked up his father and somehow managed to put him in his car.
He began driving towards the nearest hospital. Unfortunately for them, it was a day of weddings, ie it was one of those rare auspicious days, when pandits recommend weddings to be solemnised. The roads were full of cars and they were hardly moving. He tried to change course and take another route but the situation was no better; traffic was moving at snail’s place.
Meanwhile, his father, being conscious, was screaming with pain and getting quite desperate. Every minute he was asking about how long it will take, and his son was giving him assurances that it would be very soon. As the time passed, the injured man began to lose hope that he would be able to make it to the hospital, though his son kept assuring him that the hospital was only minutes away. But this man refused to be thus assured and kept on talking very negatively.
More time passed and the journey was almost over; they were near the hospital. However, no further sounds were coming from the back seat. The son assumed that his father had fainted. Finally, the car reached the hospital and the injured man was taken inside. Upon examination, they found that the injured man had suffered cardiac arrest and had died.
What was the difference between the two casesIJ The climber faced certain death but he took the pain manfully. In the other case, the man died though the injuries he had suffered were not life-threatening. Why did this happenIJ Because fear freezes intelligence; one cannot think straight. Therefore, let us remember to separate pain and fear, because fear does not give any benefit in tolerating pain; rather it makes it worse. I welcome your comments.
Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com