Is suffering important for you to get some sort of enlightenment?

Question

Is suffering important for you to get some sort of enlightenment?
Christian, a reader of this blog made a very interesting question is suffering important for you to get some sort of enlightenment?

Answer

everyone who goes seriously on the spiritual path must have had an insight about life, as he sees it at this moment is not all there is, there must be something else, there must be something more to life. what is lifes purpose, why is birth and death happening and what for does it happen in the way it happens?brbrpeople who experienced enlightenment somehow went all, or almost everyone of them, through some suffering. some call it the dark night of the soul, where the yearning to realize god, the eternal principle, to realize the self becomes so strong that life almost becomes unbearable.brthere is the realization that quoti will die too one dayquot and then a fear arises, the fear of death, the fear of being no more one day and then what?brthe realization that you are unable to control your life, the realization that you are unable to manipulate life, the realization that life is a constant thread of peak and valley experiences, suffering and happiness, pain and pleasure, and it is neither possible to hold on to pleasure, nor is it possible to avoid suffering or push unhappiness away.brbrand then the realization that you are separate, that the person you take yourself to be is lonely and separate and noone seems to see you as you are, everyone thinks certain things about you but noone sees and loves you as you are, then a deep discontenment, a deep sadness, a dee psychological pain happens, almost unbearable.brbrsome give up in this state and take their lives, and some pray to god, long for god and yearn for union with god, to end this suffering.brbrthe one who can surrender this suffering to the divine, to the eternal principle, the one who truly wants to wake up from the dream of misery, experiences enlightenment, self realization, the mystical marriage.brbrbuddha, a king, gave up his kingdom, gave up his wife, gave up his new born son, because he realized that all this could not give him the freedom, the liberation, the answers to his deepest questions about life. and he went on a journey, starved himself, meditated for hours and months, did all the spiritual practises available only to find that none of this would give him the freedom he was yearning for. and then at a moment where he simply gave up all the search, all the practise, all the effort to liberate himself, he simply sat down under the bodhi tree and truth was revealed, quotnirvanaquot, as he calls it. jesus calls it quotthe kingdom of heavenquot.brbrthey went through the pain of separation, they went through the suffering of giving up all the worldly pleasures only to realize that that what they were searching for was already here, was what they were searching from, was within themselves, here, now.brbrthen buddha came back to his wife after years and asked her for forgiveness. and she asked him quotwas it really necessary to give everything up and walk away, wouldnt it bee possible to find that what you have found now here as well?quotbrand buddha said quotyes, i could have found it right here, but at that time i did not know that. only after looking for it everywhere without finding it, i found it right here, within myself.quotbrbrsuffering is not necessary. it is only the awareness of being here right now in the present moment and inquiry quotwho am i?quot to come to enlightenment. enlightenment is what you are, there is no need to go anywhere, yo are always here, no matter where you are, so it must be here, right now.brand somehow the suffering, the intense pain is necessary to develop the urge for liberation. only when the need for liberation is there, it happens.brpeople who are quite content with the ups and downs of life, who manage well, do not have the deep need to realize truth, the eternal principle within every living being, enlightenment.brbrthank you for this beautiful question and thank you for the wonderful link to the video.