> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The freedom to transform suffering to joy - URL: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/suffering-meaning-joy/ - Published: 2026-07-15T13:54:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-14T23:38:15.000Z - Description: Sthaneshwar Timalsina & Bernardo Kastrup on the joy, horror & meaning of existence - Author: Amir Giles - Tags: recording Recording details Date: 14 July 2026 Duration: 2h 13m Free preview Title: Transforming horror and disgust into aesthetic joy Duration: 7:45 https://vimeo.com/1226768943/4c918a132c Chapters 0:04:00 Refutations of materialism 0:10:30 How does the world arise? 0:16:00 Is creation spontaneous or planned? 0:18:50 Purpose can be instinctive, not planned 0:21:30 Is consciousness inherently self-aware? 0:22:30 Fundamental qualities: freedom, being, will 0:24:00 Multiplicity is an expression of freedom 0:26:00 **Ananda/bliss really means progress & growth** 0:27:00 for the Yogi, the **world is the body** 0:33:30 spontaneity does not need time 0:36:00 materiality is the sense of externality 0:37:00 self-awareness vs self-representation 0:42:00 arising of subject and object 0:46:00 Trika vs Advaita: consciousness is self-determined, not passive 0:49:00 what is **free-will?** 0:55:30 the future is determined but unknowable 0:57:00 **order is an expression of freedom** 1:00:00 what is illusion what is real? 1:06:00 does **perception** capture reality? 1:09:00 perception is reality recognising itself 1:20:00 is there an external world? 1:26:00 speaking at different levels of reality 1:29:30 **the joy of being** is fundamental 1:34:00 thinking is meditation 1:39:00 recognition of truth and liberation 1:42:00 **transforming horror & disgust to ecstatic bliss** 1:48:00 confronting unspeakable suffering 1:52:00 Bernardo's peace with suffering 1:56:00 the merits of philosophy in reducing meta-suffering 2:01:00 Sthaneshwar: happiness & freedom is finding meaning in spite of the suffering inherent in limitation. 2:10:00 The absolute itself is dialogical In 1997, Sthaneshwar Timalsina was knocked unconscious and hospitalised by bricks hurled through his classroom window in Nepal. The Maoist uprising placed his life in danger several more times, and he still has the scars to show for it. In 2019, Bernardo considered suicide when facing catastrophic tinnitus. The constant excruciating drill in his ear is grounds for legally assisted dying in the Netherlands. In this context, the claims of Kashmir Shaivism are poignant: Could the multiplicity and suffering we experience actually be expressions of freedom and purpose? This philosophy inverts the perspective that life is suffering, often associated with Buddhism. Instead, existence is fundamentally joy. Sthaneshwar contends that we can train our perspective to find meaning and fulfilment even in the unspeakable horrors of existence. This training expresses the freedom for our limited perspectives to mirror the attributes of the absolute. According to Trika, not only is consciousness fundamental to reality, but freedom, creativity and purpose are inherent to its being. Bernardo, however, is wary of claims that existence is bliss. For him, this is an insult to all those experiencing unspeakable suffering right this moment. However, he acknowledges the peace he now experiences despite the tinnitus, and the possibility that future, deeper insights await him. Sthaneshwar meanwhile spoke to the meaning and freedom he found in response to the attacks, and the perspective that underpins them: "We have a choice, we have a freedom: to embody particular pain and go through it, or to somehow give another telos, another purpose, to live life. Life is full of suffering — I'm not denying that. But somehow, the freedom the subject has is to be happy. And happiness is not just about 'ahaha' fun. Happiness is about finding meaning in the world, and doing something in the world, in spite of all that is there, in spite of the evil that is out there. Being able to do a small thing. We can always say, what difference does it make? There's so much suffering happening in the world. But that's a different topic. The real thing is about our finite ability, within that finite ability, to do and to think. We are able to do the right thing; we have the freedom to think correctly... ...recognising within suffering the higher telos: fulfilment, upliftment. We can uplift others. And if not others, we can uplift ourselves to face this death." The full recording and transcript are below, moderated by Professor Ravi S. Kudesia of Temple University. Bernardo Kastrup and Sthaneshwar Timalsina exchanged perspectives on several fundamental questions: - How does the world arise? - Is it spontaneous or planned? - Is there a **purpose**? - Is consciousness inherently **self-aware**? - What is **illusion** & what is real? As ever, I look forward to hearing your perspective, on Ttelegram or in the comments below, and I hope you can join us next week for the session with **Rupert Spira.** [Members can join here.](https://www.withrealityinmind.com/rupert-spira2/) [Non-members can get a one-off ticket here. ](https://dandelion.events/e/h2c54?ref=withrealityinmind.com) With love! Amir ### Links: Sthaneshwar Timalsina's upcoming book [Reframing Dynamism](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/reframing-dynamism-9781350576261?ref=withrealityinmind.com) will be available [here](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/reframing-dynamism-9781350576261?ref=withrealityinmind.com). You can learn more about his approach here: [Vimarsha Foundation | Gurukula Shaivism, Tantra & Indian PhilosophyVimarsha Foundation is a modern school (gurukula) for teaching and reflecting on the ancient wisdom of rishis and siddhas. Learn more today![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Vimarsha Foundation![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0d44ef_9b89d6d0015f4802a428fb9979f2e6e4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_2500,h_1330,al_c/0d44ef_9b89d6d0015f4802a428fb9979f2e6e4~mv2.jpg)](https://www.vimarshafoundation.org/?ref=withrealityinmind.com) Speakers Sthaneshwar Timalsina Speakers Ravi S. Kudesia Speakers ![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c5/20/c520bbe6-927b-460d-bf38-d4f48d5dc338/content/images/2026/09/Bernardo-Kastrup-profile.jpg) Bernardo Kastrup Analytic idealism Bernardo Kastrup is the Executive Director of Essentia Foundation and Founder/CEO at AI systems company Euclyd BV. His work has set off the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, he has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the ‘Casimir Effect’ of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has also been creatively active in the high-tech industry for almost 30 years, having founded parallel processor company Silicon Hive (acquired by Intel in 2011) and worked as a technology strategist for the geopolitically significant company ASML. Most recently, he has founded AI company Euclyd BV. Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured in **Scientific American*, the magazine of **The Institute of Art and Ideas*, the **Blog of the American Philosophical Association* and **Big Think*, among others. His most defining book is **Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century’s only plausible metaphysics.* [Explore Bernardo’s work →](https://www.bernardokastrup.com/?ref=withrealityinmind.com)