Are you in pain? Maybe it’s a good sign.

Suffering makes us question.

This simple insight forms the foundation of Sankhya.

When the body is gripped by illness, when emotional storms rage, when life delivers its inevitable blows—these moments often spark the first genuine philosophical inquiry. “Why me?” “When will this end?” “Why must we suffer? Is there meaning in this?”

This is dukhatrayaabhighaata—being struck by the three forms of suffering that awaken thought.

The three forms of dukha appear throughout human experience:

Adhyatmika: Pain arising from within ourselves. The body’s illnesses, the mind’s disturbances.

Adhibhautika: Pain coming from other beings. Conflict, disappointment, harm from others.

Adhidaivika: Pain from forces beyond human control. Natural calamities, cosmic influences.

What makes Sankhya remarkable is its recognition that this suffering contains a spark of opportunity. Not because suffering itself is good, but because it breaks through our delusions. It stops us mid-stride and forces us to look more closely at reality.

In moments of comfort, we rarely question the nature of existence. But when pain arrives, suddenly we find ourselves asking about the structure of reality itself, about the relationship between consciousness and matter.

Sankhya doesn’t rest with easy answers, though. It argues with itself. At first glance, each form of suffering seems to have its remedy—medicine for physical pain, reconciliation for relational wounds, shelter from natural disasters. Yet the philosophy pushes further, recognizing that these solutions are temporary at best. The body healed today will sicken tomorrow. Relationships mended will face new tensions. No shelter stands forever. This recognition of anitya (impermanence) drives us beyond superficial fixes toward a more fundamental inquiry into the nature of existence itself.

There’s an itch that comes with suffering—a questioning that won’t be silenced. Perhaps this is why philosophy begins—not with answers, but with questions that pain has made impossible to ignore.