This situation raises deep philosophical questions about the nature of reality (satya), time (kala), causality (karya-karana), and the self (atman) in Vedanta and the Upanishads. From a Vedantic perspective, this kind of emotional suffering arises from avidya (ignorance of the true self) and identification with transient events rather than with the eternal reality, Brahman.
The Nature of Reality and Time in Vedanta
According to Vedanta, reality operates on two levels.
Vyavaharika Satya (Empirical Reality): This is the everyday world of cause and effect, where events unfold in linear time. The bad news may have taken effect months ago, but because the knowledge of it arose today, it affects the mind now. In this realm, mental agitation (shoka) arises from attachment and identification with transient things.
Paramarthika Satya (Absolute Reality): This is the unchanging Brahman, beyond time and causality. From this perspective, time is an illusion (Maya)—there is no “before” or “after”; all events belong to the illusory world of nama-rupa (name and form). The self (Atman) is ever-blissful and unaffected by external changes [Source: Manḍukya Upanishad (Verse 7) describes Turiya, the fourth state beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, which is “neither affected by what was nor what will be”].
How Reality Shapes the Future
The mind superimposes (adhyasa) meaning on events and reacts to them. The sorrow felt today is not because of the event itself, but because of the mind’s reaction to the news. The future is shaped not just by events but by how the mind processes them. According to Karma Yoga (Bhagavad Gita 2.47), one’s true freedom is not in controlling outcomes but in mastering responses to them. [Source: Bhagavad Gita (2.14) – matra-sparsas tu kaunteya sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah (“Sense contacts bring heat and cold, pleasure and pain; they come and go, and one must learn to endure them”)].
How to Overcome Sorrow and Demoralization
Shift from Jiva-Bhava to Atma-Bhava: Right now, the person is thinking, “I am suffering.” In reality, the suffering belongs to the mind (manas), not the self (atman). One should responsibly and cautiously meditate on the mahavakya, Aham Brahmasmi (“I am Brahman”), from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (1.4.10), to dissociate from suffering. [Source: Ashtavakra Gita (1.11) – moksasya kanksa yadi visvavedah sravanah kṛtah… (“If you seek liberation, let go of the false idea that you are the body or mind”)].
Accept Impermanence (Anitya Bhava): Everything in this world, including good news and bad news, arises and passes away. The Katha Upanishad (1.2.10-11) reminds us that the wise choose the eternal over the fleeting [Source: Katha Upanishad (1.2.15) – nityonityanam cetanas cetananam… (“The eternal is beyond the transient; the conscious beyond the unconscious”)].
Surrender to Bhakti & Karma Yoga: If the suffering is too intense, surrendering to the divine as Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita (18.66) removes sorrow. Trust that all events, past and future, are governed by a sacred order (rta) [Source: Bhagavad Gītā (18.66) – sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja… (“Abandon all dharmas and surrender to my design; it shall free you from all sorrow”)].
Transforming Pain into Liberation
The Upanishads teach that suffering arises from mistaking the unreal for the real. The mind reacts based on ignorance of the self—but wisdom (jnana) dissolves suffering. Instead of asking “Why did this happen to me?”, the person should ask, “Who am I that experiences this?” True freedom comes not from avoiding suffering, but from realizing that the real “I” (Atman) was probably never affected at all.
Arup K. Chatterjee 