SELF MUTILATION IS SENSATIONAL
Some religious sects such as the Sufi mystics practice rituals of self mutilation, involving cutting the body, piercing the flesh with skewers and so on, all without pain and little or no bleeding. Buy why practice such rituals?
One reason is devotion, or rather to prove by experience an absolute devotion to God that is so strong that all that the ritualist is aware of is God and nothing but God. During such rituals, the mind is so filled with the reality of God that all things melt away into that idea. Pain and pleasure become one thing—a sensation, nothing more. And that sensation can also be enjoyed or ignored, as chosen. Skin punctured with a long metal rod becomes as nothing, as it is just a sensation like any other, and no special significance need be attached to it. The ritualist is aware of God and nothing but God. All sensations can then just be categorized as a feeble distraction that is easily cast away in favor of the ritualist’s idea of God, drowning in Oneness with this Idea. The Sufi’s invulnerability to pain is the end result of this devotion to God, an effect we can witness from the outside.
In Yoga meditation, the same process occurs. The mind of the yogi, concentrated and devoted to the idea of God, becomes so full of this idea of God that all things melt away into that idea. Sensations are easily perceived, registered as nothing more than a sensation, and since there is no need to attach a label to that sensation (such as pleasurable or hurtful), then all sensations are easily ignored if chosen, whereas both kinds of sensations are now perceived as one thing. Ritual self mutilation then becomes simple to perform with no adverse effects, since the yogi is so totally concentrated on the idea of God that anything perceived just disappears into that idea, passing thru the nervous system and the brain as just an electrical pulse that need not be allowed any attention or significance. So the yogi sits there unmoving, seemingly (and truly) undisturbed by anything going on around him. He could be pierced with a skewer…and appear unfazed by it. The state of consciousness of the Yogi and the Sufi are in fact identical. One devotee merely sits quietly while the other engages in self-mutilation.
Either method is not only a valid method of body control, but also a ritual that promises Union with God. The ability of either practitioner to endure the trauma of mutilation is not a goal either has in mind, but is rather a sort of test to pass (if one chooses to undergo it), which proves Union has taken place, a tangible manifestation of God’s presence. Such demonstrations have lasting effects on those fortunate enough to see it.
The ability to endure any sensation, either painful or pleasurable, is a mark of one who has successfully attained Union with God.
When all of this is considered, it then becomes little wonder that Spiritual Masters are able to remain calm under any of life’s various circumstances which would upset ordinary people unaware of their connection to God.
