Suffering

Guru Nanak asserts that the whole world is in suffering and its dis-ease is ego: According to Sikh thought, ultimate source of suffer (dukh) is related to the human condition of being bound to the cyclic condition known as Sansaar and its cause is our false-ego, Haumai. (Sansaar or Samsara, the beginningless cycles of birth, death and rebirth in which ordinary beings are trapped, J Powers 2000)

Suffering manifests both internally and externally, the internal forces that give rise to suffering are both the habitual behaviour consequences (Karma) imprinted within an individuals hidden records (Chitr gupt), or the unconscious sphere, and the misidentification of the empirical ego as the authentic centre or self. (Sandhu, 2004)

The empirical ego further experiences internal suffering because of its desires or craving (trisna) to be a permanent entity that is separate and different from others, and a sense of, security and validation (sggs 75-77). This inherent deficiency and fear of mortality leads the ego to form attachments (moh) to an ever changing and impermanent existence experienced (sggs 1423). This in turn gives rise to cyclic behaviour patterns, which reinforces the empirical ego’s cravings for permanency. (sggs 129)