Can You Truly Never Be Hurt?

The Urban Monk recently featured an excellent post discussing a healthy perspective on personal development and spirituality.

One great point that he brought up was that since people are in different stages in their evolution, they will perceive things differently. It’s totally natural.

For example, a guru may tell you that you can never be hurt or damaged and that no matter what happens, you will always be okay.

The thing is that this statement is based in the understanding that who you truly are is the consciousness/awareness/love/beingness/spaciousness that is your true nature.

Can You Be Hurt?

If you are still identified with the physical body and mind, this won’t make much sense.

Here is a perfect example of this, originally posted here:

For the last 2 years of his life Ramana Maharshi suffered from cancer and experienced great physical pain, but even towards the end he maintained the same tranquil poise and self same radiant smile. When he was suffering from cancer in the arm a disciple ran away crying because he could not bear to see his master in pain. Ramana only smiled and spoke to a disciple nearby.

“Duraswami is crying because he thinks I am suffering agonies! My body is suffering but I am not suffering. When will he realize that I am not this body?”

The disciple in this story is still identified with their mind and body and thus it seems like someone actually can be hurt. Heck, just taking a quick look at our world today, it would seem pretty obvious that people are already hurting. Look at all the pain and suffering around the world.

Yet even though there is pain in the world, there is no “me” in pain. This is the odd part that the mind can’t fully grasp.

Blindly Accepting Teachings

A danger, however, is that it may not necessarily be wise to blindly accept the belief “you can never be hurt” right off the bat just because someone says so. Imagine what would happen if a psychopath accepted this idea and ran around the world killing others under the premise that they could never hurt anyone in the first place and so whatever they did wouldn’t matter.

See what happens when the ego subverts spiritual truth for its own personal gain?

The human ego is a master at doing this. Sometimes its tricks are overt. Sometimes its tricks are sneaky. As long as there is an ego there in control, it will distort everything it hears. Every single time. This is the problem of dealing with things on a mental and conceptual level. This is why it’s so important to begin dropping all beliefs and concepts and find the truth that remains.

Yes it is true that you can never be hurt, but it’s just as critical that you understand what the word “you” in that statement is referring to. It’s referring to your true nature which is beyond the effects of this world. There is no separate you and thus there is no one who can be hurt.

Again, for this to truly sink in, it must be realized on a level beyond the mind.

It can also be helpful to recognize that every belief you have is a distortion of Truth. It’s not good or bad. It’s just the way it is.