09/09/2026
# Either Go Completely Through the Pain, or Simply Disown the Pain | Rajan Chaudhary | On the Upanishads
Hello everyone,
Today, let us reflect on a profound idea through the wisdom of the **Upanishads**:
**Either go completely through the pain, or simply disown the pain.**
At first, this statement may sound contradictory.
If there is pain, how can we simply disown it?
And if we can disown it, why should we go through it?
To understand this, we must first ask a deeper question:
**Who is experiencing the pain?**
The Upanishadic approach repeatedly invites us toward self-inquiry.
We usually say,
*"I am hurt."*
*"I am suffering."*
*"I have been rejected."*
*"I have been betrayed."*
But rarely do we stop and ask:
**Who is this "I"?**
There is physical pain, and it should never be denied or neglected.
There is also emotional pain—the pain of rejection, humiliation, loneliness, failure, separation, or disappointed expectations.
When emotional pain comes, our usual response is to escape from it.
We distract ourselves.
We suppress it.
We blame someone.
We become busy.
We seek entertainment.
We tell ourselves that everything is fine.
But what happens to the pain?
It remains somewhere within us.
Suppressed pain does not necessarily disappear.
It may return as anger, resentment, fear, insecurity, or bitterness.
So there is another possibility:
**Go completely through the pain.**
What does that mean?
It means observing the pain without immediately running away from it.
If you are sad, recognize the sadness.
If you feel rejected, observe what rejection is doing inside you.
If your ego has been hurt, look directly at that hurt.
Don't immediately justify it.
Don't condemn it.
Don't decorate it with a story.
Simply observe.
When you observe deeply, something extraordinary may become visible.
Very often, the psychological suffering is not only in the event itself.
It is also in our attachment to what we expected the event to be.
Someone did not behave according to my expectation.
A relationship did not continue according to my desire.
My career did not develop according to my plan.
My image in the eyes of others was damaged.
And therefore, I suffer.
Now the Upanishadic inquiry takes us deeper.
**Am I only this image?**
Am I merely my achievements?
Am I merely my relationships?
Am I merely what other people think about me?
Am I merely the story I have created about myself?
If I am something deeper than these changing identities, then perhaps pain can be experienced without allowing it to define the whole of who I am.
And this brings us to the second part:
**Disown the pain.**
Disowning pain does not mean pretending that nothing happened.
It does not mean becoming insensitive.
It does not mean refusing medical, psychological, or practical help when it is needed.
It means refusing to convert an experience into your permanent identity.
There is a tremendous difference between saying,
**"There is pain within me,"**
and saying,
**"I am the pain."**
One creates observation.
The other creates identification.
The Upanishadic journey asks us to investigate whether the deepest Self—the **Atman**—is identical with every changing experience of the body and mind.
Thoughts come and go.
Emotions come and go.
Pleasure comes and goes.
Pain comes and goes.
Success comes and goes.
Failure comes and goes.
But is there something within us that is aware of all these changes?
This question is at the heart of self-inquiry.
So when pain comes, don't immediately run.
Look at it.
Understand it.
Experience what is actually there.
But do not unnecessarily build your entire identity around it.
You experienced betrayal.
But you are not betrayal.
You experienced failure.
But you are not failure.
You experienced rejection.
But you are not rejection.
An experience happened **to you**.
It does not necessarily define **you**.
This understanding can bring tremendous inner freedom.
We cannot demand a life in which pain never appears.
Loss, uncertainty, change, and disappointment are part of human existence.
But we can inquire into whether every painful experience must become psychological bo***ge.
So, either enter your pain consciously enough to understand its roots,
or become sufficiently aware to stop calling that pain your essential identity.
Do not remain halfway—
neither facing it completely,
nor releasing it completely.
Thank you, and always remember—
**Pain may visit your life, but you do not have to build your identity around it. Observe it, understand it, go through it consciously—and then ask the deepest Upanishadic question: Who is the one that suffers, and who is the one aware of that suffering?**