Suppression vs. Repression - 05.20.10

Student Question: When I find myself in a “dark night of the soul,” I find that there can be a range of positions, emotions, etc., such as martyrdom or masochism, and one can really act out and cry, or, the other extreme, repeat to oneself that one is light and that there is no reason or no entity behind the suffering. But, having in mind the risk of suppression of emotions, where does one draw the line?

“Suppression is not a risk. Repression is a risk,” clarifies Shunyamurti, the founder of the Sat Yoga Institute in Costa Rica. And “the repression has already happened. Suppression is an important tool: you see, you can’t surrender a mind that you don’t control. So first we have to control our mind; we have to be able to contain the egoic feelings. And they are based on fantasies, unrealities: you’re not a victim. None of that is true. You’re suffering is an illusion. And so of course we want to suppress that. Why should we suffer? Why should we allow those negative feelings that are based on unrealities emerge and poison our lives or those of others?” But, at the same time, we must work constantly on getting to the feelings that are repressed, in order to be truly free of them. Recorded on the evening of Thursday, May 20, 2010.