Why Does Your Suffering Persist?
The Tiger’s Jaw: A Gateway to Grace
Help me make it easier for others to find this publication on Substack by hitting the ❤️ or 🔁 at the top or bottom. Thank you!
Words: 534 | Normal Reading: 3 minutes | Slow Reading: 6 minutes
Misfortune: Holding a Burning Coal
Imagine you're holding a burning piece of coal. Your first instinct might be to drop it. But then you hesitate and start to think: What kind of coal is this? Why am I holding onto it? Here's the thing: the coal is hurting you. It's okay to let it go.
This is how we handle suffering in life. We hold onto pain, believing it has a purpose or is just part of life. We fondly regarded it as a “challenge.”
This misfortune is a Samsara—the birth and death cycle due to karma. The only ticket to escaping Samsara is to awaken and realize your true nature while alive.
Samsara feels manageable because we experience moments of pleasure. But we remain stuck in a cycle—chasing pleasure and avoiding pain—without realizing that both are part of the same illusion.
Egoic Glove
Wearing a glove of egoic illusion keeps us trapped in holding coal. This glove—the false stories our mind believes—dulls the burning pain of coal. If we fully felt our suffering, we would immediately let go. But because it seems bearable due to this glove, we keep holding on, unaware of the deep peace that is always available.
Then, something changes. Fierce grace manifests as more suffering because God has chosen you.
At first, life feels harder. The things you once tolerated now feel unbearable. The protective barrier of the illusory glove begins to break. The suffering deepens. The mind tells you, This is just a rough patch. Things will improve. But they don’t.
In the meantime, the tear in your glove has grown; your hand wriggles uncomfortably with the intense heat of what you once happily saw as a ‘challenge.’
The pain keeps increasing. Eventually, you can’t fight it anymore. You surrender—not by trying, but because there is no other option. And you let go of the hot coal from your hands as the glove ruptured. The suffering vanishes because you see it was never real to begin with.
Guru Manifests in Many Forms With Its Grace.
Once you abide your mind in your inner Being—that is, God itself—from time to time, you will come across certain people, books, situations, etc., which will act as your Guru and push you inward toward your Being.
The Guru doesn’t “give” enlightenment—it simply removes what blocks it. Even before your life began, the real guru, God, has set things up to bring you to this point of surrender. For those who are ready, this process happens quickly, even painfully. But for those who still want to hold on to their suffering, the Guru steps back and says, Keep practicing the spiritual practice.
Suffering only exists when we resist what is. The moment we stop resisting, we are free. Are you still holding onto the burning coal?
The Blessing of Being Caught in the Tiger’s Jaw
Let me provide a strange example involving a tiger and a goat, illustrating how humans hold onto suffering.
Here, the tiger represents God, while the goat symbolizes the ego.
Once a tiger catches a goat, there is no escape. Some goats realize this quickly and stop struggling, surrendering, and allowing themselves to merge with divinity. The tiger then ends their suffering without much pain, twisting its neck swiftly. Others continue to fight, even though escape is impossible. They exhaust themselves until they ultimately pass out from blood loss with lots of suffering.
The tiger isn't in a hurry. If the goat wants to suffer, it's okay with him. Perhaps the goat enjoys the illusion of control, pretending it can escape. Why interfere? The tiger watches and waits; why rush if the goat wants to suffer?
Ultimately, the result is always the same—the outcome is inevitable once the tiger has chosen its prey. Some goats surrender early, others resist until the end, but the final destination is the same.
When God chooses you, He expedites your awakening by giving you suffering so your mind surrenders inward. But if you don’t want to surrender, He doesn’t mind waiting as He knows that eventually you will surrender and end your suffering. The choice is yours: Surrender or Suffering.
The same is true for life. We struggle against what is, believing we have control. But the moment we surrender, peace arrives. The choice is not whether surrender will happen—it’s only a matter of when.
Great insight on suffering. Very contemplative article on when to surrender. The mind has been conditioned to think that hardships make one stronger and not to give up. Understanding this requires spiritual strength and possibly awakening. Else, mind keeps resisting and suffering continues. The last sentence is apt - "The choice is not whether surrender will happen—it’s only a matter of when." Eventually awakening will lead to surrender, only a question of time. Thank you for your insight.
Born as incompatible with society, at the age of 30, I became an airline pilot.
Flew for fifteen years and then it began.
I keep on walking against brick walls