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Dealing with Physical Pain · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  At some point in life, everyone is confronted with physical
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  conditions which cause pain. What is pain exactly?
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  When we speak about physical pain in particular, we reference
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  particular sensations or impulses of an intensity that
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  activates the nerves to carry the sensation to the brain which
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  interprets the signal. Pain can be a great aid at
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  certain times, as it acts as a warning system of danger to
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  provoke the mental and vital being to action at a certain
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  point. However, when it goes beyond
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  this signaling function and either reaches an intensity that
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  is difficult to bear or becomes chronic such that it seems to
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  continue without abatement, we recognize that this is an issue
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  that we must address. Pain can be intense when there
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  is some immediate injury to the body, such as fracture of a
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  limb, or when environmental conditions become more extreme,
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  such as in conditions of strong heat or cold.
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  Injuries obtained through trauma such as gunshot wounds, bomb
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  shrapnel, knife wounds or physical beatings also create
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  strong sensations of pain. Pain can also arise through
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  disease conditions, organ imbalances, or chronic long term
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  conditions of organ failure. Women who experience childbirth
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  are said to bear pain many times the normal pain threshold that
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  most people experience in most circumstances.
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  When we observe women giving birth, their screams, cries,
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  tears, and physical pressure on loved ones provide ample
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  evidence of the intensity of the experience for the spiritual
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  seeker. The question then arises as to
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  what the necessary attitude and relation to the experience of
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  pain should be so as to not have it interfere with the spiritual
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  sadhna. One experience that Sadiqs
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  report is a unique sensation of a deep physical peace taking
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  hold of the body and overwhelming all other
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  vibrations, including those that create the sensation of pain.
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  In some cases, this deep physical peace takes on the form
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  of a solid block of unmoving material force.
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  If the sodic can succeed in attaining such a state, there is
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  no pain at that moment, regardless of the potential
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  sensations that would otherwise cause pain.
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  Short of achieving this status of immovable peace in the
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  physical being, the sadak can at least work to gain some control
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  over the reaction of the vital being and the mental being such
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  that while physical pain may be there and be experienced, it
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  does not disrupt or disturb the sadhna or spiritual practice.
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  This too takes some substantial effort and practice.
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  We have an example of an individual who worked to
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  mitigate physical pain and enhance their endurance.
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  The famous escape artist Harry Houdini used to practice sitting
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  in a tub of ice to increase his ability to withstand extreme
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  cold without going into any kind of shock and thus helping him
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  with his career as an escape artist who could withstand
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  circumstances that most people would feel as extremely painful.
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  The Tibetan Yogi Milarepa, toward the end of his life was
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  poisoned by an individual who was jealous of his prestige and
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  who doubted his attainments. Milarepa consciously imbibed the
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  poison, knowing his time had come.
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  When the village priest showed up to witness Milarepa's painful
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  death, he saw Milarepa sitting quietly, teaching and not
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  obviously in pain. He challenged Milarepa, who
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  indicated that his body was undergoing tortuous pain.
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  The priest asked him to shift the pain to him so he could
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  experience it for real. Milarepa, out of compassion,
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  refused to do that, but transferred a small portion of
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  the pain to the door, which started creaking and groaning
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  under the intensity. Milarepa had such a control over
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  his being, his experience, his response and his ability to
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  control the physical body that he could act even under the
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  duress of that intense physical pressure.
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  Triorbindo writes Quote To bear extreme heat and cold, it is
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  necessary to have peace in the cells first, then consolidated
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  force. Pain and discomfort come from a
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  physical consciousness not forceful enough to determine its
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  own reactions to things. The body naturally experiences
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  physical pain, but the body transmits it to the vital and
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  mental. With the ordinary consciousness.
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  The vital gets disturbed and afflicted and its force is
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  diminished. The mind identifies and is
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  upset. The mind has to remain unmoved,
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  the vital unaffected, and the body has to learn to take it
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  with equality so that the higher force may work.
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  The self is never affected by any kind of pain.
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  The psychic takes it quietly and offers it to the divine for what
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  is necessary to be done. It is a detachment of even the
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  physical mind from the pain that makes one able to go on as if
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  nothing were there. But this detachment of the
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  physical mind is not so easy to acquire.
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  End Quote. Reference.
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  Srioro Bindu and the Mother Looking from within, Chapter 4.
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  Ordeals and Difficulties pages One O 8 to One O 9.