Why do bad things happen to good people?
Charlotte Bhakti Yoga
th August 13, 2006)
Why do bad things happen to good people?
---H H Radhanath Maharaj
The recent blasts in Mumbai killed hundreds of people in a matter of
minutes. The suffering and loss of loved ones will remain etched in our
memories forever. Why were so many innocent killed?
We have often seen the most kind, pious and generous people suffering
from diseases and leading miserable lives. Why is that so?
The greatest disasters in human history - earthquakes, famines,
diseases, terrorism - pose many questions. If God is good how could he
possibly co-exist and do nothing about the evil and apparent injustices
of this mortal world? This question encapsulates many people's reason
for having great difficulty with the idea of God.
Why were we born in this material world?
According to the Bhagavad Gita, we are part and parcel of the all
powerful Supreme Being, God. As fragmental spirit souls we are
qualitatively one with God, in that we are eternal, full of knowledge
and full of bliss. But quantitatively, we are always subordinate to the
Supreme, as a child to a Father.
When we want to enjoy separate from this loving relationship with God
and want to be the proprietor rather than serve God, then we enter into
material energy. Here we slowly evolve through 8,400,000 species of
life to get the very rare human birth. In lower forms of life, there is
no free will. In human life, we have the advantage of free will but we
are held responsible for our actions.
Laws of karma
One can get away with certain things under the state laws. If one kills
100 people; the laws of the state can kill him only once. But the laws
of nature will kill him a 100 times. Everything we say and everything
we do is recorded by the laws of nature and we get a reaction.
According to Bhagavad Gita there is sukarma - for every good action we
get good result, vikarma - sinful activities produce suffering and
akarma -activities which produce neither good nor bad karmic reaction,
i.e. service to God.
Why are the good suffering and bad enjoying?
Sometimes, a person may engage in sinful activities but through
association and the learning process becomes pious and good. All the
sufferings of previous sins have to come upon him; but his future is
very bright because he is good.
Similarly, there are sinful people who may have been pious and good in
the past and they are enjoying the fruits of prosperity and happiness
now but it is just a matter of time till it all comes upon them.
Why do disasters occur?
Slaughterhouses where hundreds and millions of innocent God's children
are being killed every year, exploitation of resources and pollution of
Mother Earth for greed - are producing massive planet wise reaction.
When millions of people across the world indulge in illicit sex and
intoxication every day, not only individual reaction but also enormous
cumulative reaction is caused. Material nature then reacts in the form
of earthquakes, famines, major disasters. Unfortunately, most people do
not turn to God unless they suffer.
The most important question is not why I am suffering but how am I
going to respond to the suffering and how am I going to help others
respond to the situation? Death is ultimate, but old age and disease
bring suffering. How does one deal with that? If we live with
integrity, faithful to the principles of ethics and morality with faith
and devotion to God, then we can pass through all circumstances and
attain the ultimate destination of eternal love in His kingdom. One may
not understand specifically why one is suffering, but one thing we
know, if one turns to God in his suffering with a sincere heart, his
suffering will cleanse him.
Lord Krishna concludes in Bhagavad Gita "Abandon all varieties of
religions and surrender unto me, I shall relieve you from all sinful
reactions, do not fear." This is akarma, a universal principle.
Surrendering to God means surrendering to His will out of love and
affection.
God has appeared within His name and in any situation of life, whether
it be prosperity or misery, we can connect our consciousness to
perfection by simply calling out with sincere feeling his holy names.