Every one of us knows the story of Jarasandha. While I was in the Ekhart Tolle’s School of Awakening, I learned about our pain body. The pain body is the energy that feeds off emotional pain. It consists of past emotions or experiences that have not been fully accepted as they are. These all suppressed emotions dwell in me as a pain body.
One day, while I was reading the Jarasandha story again, it suddenly revealed to me, another dimension to interpret the story. Jarais decay and sandhimeans friendship. If I befriend all the qualities that lead us to decay, I have a Jarasandha in me!
To me, Jarasandha represents a Pain Body (Eckhart calls it) within me. It attacks me every time. We know that Jarasandha attacked Krishna 17 times! Every time Krishna fought and won. But Jarasandha continued to attack Krishna again and again. Krishna realized this very soon and hence he chose to flee. I would like to equate this solution of stopping to fight in the context of dealing with our own Pain Body. I soon realize as well, that fighting the pain body is not useful. I have to be aware of it and not get carried over by it. At the same time, I have to be patient enough to wait till my PB is dissolved.
Krishna therefore, as we all know, ran away from him along with his cousin, leaping off of a mountain. Having patience is mountainous task in itself. Krishna displaced his people (resources, energy) from Mathura to Dwarka. It means, I have to direct my energy for some constructive purpose, and not let my energies go waste in fighting my PB.
Krishna then waits for the right moment and finally Bhima (Pranayama) kills Jarasandha. We all know how difficult it was to kill Jarasandha. Even Bhima struggled a lot. Huge meditation efforts are required to overcome the pain body which has been developed from all my past. PB indeed has a very high memory footprint!
Shrimad Bhagavat is full of symbolism in the form of stories. It makes no sense when it gets interpreted literally. One can still have many doubts. And if we keep on reading it again and again, every time a new meaning emerges.
This is my version of Jarasandha for you!
Reinvent The Self! 