Dukha

Dukha

"suffering", "torment", "pain", "inconvenience"

There are three types of suffering in the Sankhya system: 

• adhyatmika is caused by internal causes – physical and mental illnesses: fever, headache, sudden attacks of fear, anger, greed, etc.
• adhibhautika is caused by external natural causes – people, animals, thorns, etc. Examples of such suffering can be murder, snake bite, prick, etc. 
• adhidaivika is caused by external supernatural causes – ghosts, spirits, etc.

People seek happiness and want to avoid suffering, but as long as a person is attached to worldly existence, he always gets a mixed result. Both pleasure and suffering are ephemeral (anitya). Only the attainment of moksha, according to yogic disciplines, gives true happiness. Nathas also aspire to it.

The cause of suffering, which can be eliminated, is the identification of the seer (the subject, the knower) with the visible (the object, the knowable).

The knower or the seer, according to the worldview of Sankhya, is the "I" of man, Purusha. The visible is the whole manifested universe.

In Kashmir Shaivism, liberation from suffering comes when a yogi comprehends that his consciousness is the whole universe. Nathas also have similar ideas, namely pinda-brahman vada.