Every perception we experience through our five material senses is ultimately pain. Every sensory perception is a perception of pain. Every sensory perception, which always indicates an action of something outside of us on us, creates in us the feeling of separation. This is the pain. Pain is nothing other than the perception of separation.
Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting is the same pain as feeling pain through our emotional nerves. Whether we feel gentle touch or cut our finger. The pain itself is the same. That is why material life is ultimately gradual sensation of pain. Too bright light, too loud volume, too strong smells, and too spicy food: All of these result in an undeniable sensation of pain.
The pain, depending on its intensity, makes us go far, far lost in our material existence. The mental perception of unity fades under its effect until close to its complete disappearance. There exists only the horrible ice-cold loneliness of an individual separated from everything, who receives nothing except the pain. The pain produces maximum separation and from it the lonely fear is born. This fear gives birth to anger. It is the rage at the supposed causer of one’s own fear, the rage at the supposed perpetrator. The rage is followed by hatred. Hatred is the desire to actively cause separation (in the form of pain, fear, death) from this perceived perpetrator of one’s own fear. It is the attempt to lose one’s own pain by inflicting pain or to eliminate the cause of one’s own pain by destroying the supposed causer. This mechanism is the same for all senses and always starts with the feeling of being separated. Only these senses are all subject to our mind control. The mind can still cleverly reinterpret their sensation of pain and the results from it. Into something charming and lovable, even desirable perhaps… „Seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling…. Isn’t that a pleasure! Who’s talking about pain, fear or anger? We are individuals! Not lonely. Individuals! The best you can imagine! These are our personalities showing themselves. And besides, a little pain is part of life! Individuality is the most important goal to achieve! Pain. Laughable! We enjoy our existence. That’s why we treat ourselves, our fellow human beings and nature the way we do. This has nothing to do with hatred resulting from loneliness. We would never think of blaming someone or something for supposedly causing us painful anxiety just by being aware of it and reminding us of how separate we are. Ridiculous! We are a global village after all. And we are all completely united in the enjoyment of things with our five senses, so a sense of loneliness couldn’t possibly arise after all. See, hear, smell, feel and taste! A thousand and one wonderful and different perceptions. All of them are there. Most of them soon created by ourselves according to our wishes. How can one be lonely there? And full of fear on top of that? This is absurd nonsense! It’s getting dark. Let’s start whistling!
Only when the „pain threshold“ is exceeded in seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling and smelling, then the mind has to face the pain and admit to itself how lonely and separated it always was and always will be. It recognizes that the „pleasure“ was only self-generated illusion in order to still be able to gain something positive from the experience of the pain of separation with the concepts of „personality“ and „individuality“ and even to make this experience the goal to strive for. He then recognizes that the „pleasure“ was only the pain of separation on a level that he can control and veil, which is now exceeded. What follows from this is what we can see all over the world. In just about every situation where the pain can no longer be capped: the fear (the first pain), then the anger (blaming a supposed perpetrator), finally the hatred (punishing the one who was singled out for the alleged infliction of the pain).
Behind the hatred comes the death. The apparent death in which the hating man is almost only matter. Almost soulless in his desire to separate. Behind this death, the circle begins anew and man is almost only soul (unconditional love). In yogic practices, pain is used in self-flagellation to briefly achieve this very flashover. Through the overflowing pain comes the desecration, the almost pure physicality – nothing is then left but the pain of separation -, then the „death“, the collapse, the powerlessness, the loss of the five senses and through this the transition from death into the soul unity, in which nothing works except the soul sense. If the pain decreases, then the practitioners of this return to life after a moment of spiritualization and almost complete unity – the apparent physical death.
But this pain must not determine our existence. It needs to be supplemented by the spiritual knowledge of the security in the oneness. If the perception of pain and oneness are in balance, then we are in our center. Then a deep, subliminal and silent feeling arises in us. I think the Buddhists call it compassion. It is a good term. It describes the tension between the perception of our and all others‘ security in the soul unity and the perception of our and all others‘ pain in the material separation. We grieve for all of our existence in pain, knowing how secure and whole we all actually are. This „compassion“ and „mourning“ is not what we usually mean by it. Just as „unconditional love“ also means something different. The terms compassion and mourning, also like unconditional love, are only the expression of an eternal truth that we cannot approach with words in any other way. It does not mean that we should pity everything and everyone or indulge in permanent sadness. There we would be again close to painful self-pity. The feeling is only – – somehow…. so similar… to… sadness or pity, perhaps….
Fear and trust are balanced in the state of compassion… If the preponderance of fear over trust is even minimal: the basis for our human dilemma of perpetual faith and doubt is thus already ready….
Guilt arises from the pain of separation. The first pain of separation is called fear. The pain is the act. If the fear is still something that concerns only the one, the guilt is already the one and his counterpart. The guilt is called anger. Anger at the one who is said to have inflicted the fear. Hatred is the desire to punish the guilty. The desire to likewise inflict upon him the fear (read pain) that one has experienced oneself. Thus, the concept of guilt and atonement comes from separation.