Why good people suffer?

The eternal question, you have seen it many times. Being a physician I have seen many good folks who suffer a lot.

Is the world fair: We are told, in simple terms - be good so that you are not punished by God. If you do evil, you will get punished.

Let us take an example: A child gets an illness at a very young age and is made to suffer through out its life. How can one explain that? The child hadn’t committed any sin?

A man, who has led a noble life, always on the path of righteousness gets an illness or suffers an accident or a close family member suffers an accident, so on - various examples we have seen. We say - why did such a tragedy happen? Does it lead to frustration? Don’t some people stop believing all that is truthful and honest?

This is my explanation (given my limited understanding and being a humble tiny winy creature in this whole world).

Firstly - this is a second dimension to this world of ours. Our senses perceive only what we see, hear, feel, smell or taste. Our brain only interprets only what we can understand. It is finite, limited by the capacity of our understanding. Imagine there is another dimension to ‘life’. Christianity, Islam, Judaism believes in heaven and hell (almost similar); Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation. There is the ’soul’ in each human being which after his/her death goes to a ’second dimension’. It will suffer for all the sins done in this ’second dimension’ or it will be reborn in another human body. That human body will suffer for the sins committed in the last birth. Irrespective of religious beliefs - there is the concept of a ’second dimension’ which we probably cannot understand or perceive.

Secondly - Everything that happens in this world has a reason. There is a reason why a 2 year old will have an illness making him/her suffer through out life, there is a reason why a noble man has an accident. Many a times we cannot explain this. We can assume and surmise, however we cannot be right. Every person, every soul on this earth/world is linked. If you start from person ‘A’ and look at the happenings in his/her life you can find reasons (looking back in time) and this influences person ‘B’ and hence forth finally arriving at person ‘Z’. This world is huge but it is still a small circle. Every thought, emotion, feeling, happening is interlinked. Think and you will realize.

Thirdly - There is GOD. Man is the only animal gifted with an immense thought process. Look at the distance between ‘man’ and his evolutionary ancestor, the ‘chimpanzee’ - this is a huge difference in the way we are gifted. Further there are a zillion natural phenomenon which cannot be explained by science alone. What is GOD -? GOD is supreme power manifest in every soul. GOD is there all the time, GOD is awakening, GOD is omnipresent. Every religion in this world has a GOD. Mankind has prayed for this supreme power from the time man existed. GOD is a concept which we HUMANS have to realize. Realization comes by practice. There have been many GODLY men and women who have lived on Earth and they are those who have been ‘awakened’. They have spread the message of GOD. It cannot be a blind belief. There is a power beyond what I can understand. That power has helped me and I am indebted to that power. That power is all about being and doing everything that is good and noble.

Fourth - Meditation. It is said we only use 10-20% of our brain most of the time. Again talking about perception. What if we could use and apply 100% of our neurons? Brain and central nervous system hasn’t been completely understood by science. Meditation makes us more wise and intellectual. The more wise we get - we probably start applying more of our neurons. Meditation improves our concentration. A person who meditates will have a sharp intellect even at the age of 80. Meditation is neurochemical evolution of brain. It is a hard practice but there is nothing more beneficial than meditation. The more smart, intellectual and wise you get; you will realize and see things in a different perspective. Perhaps you will realize one of the greatest realizations - that life on earth is like a dream for our soul and you see the ’second dimension’. You will probably be not affected by misery, sorrow and will take happiness and sadness equally.

So where does all this leave us?

I think..Life for our soul is an experience to be better oneself. It is a constant challenge and one has to face it chest forward!! We can get into many philosophical debates and religious arguments - however those will be in vain. What is important is to be ‘good’. Christ sacrificed his life for the betterment of the world. So did many other saints sacrifice all materialistic happiness only to help others.

Analogy (although it doesn’t explain all concepts): There is a big big big swimming pool (the world) and many people are swimming at any given instant (people). Some of them happily floating (happiness), some drowning (misery). Then there are these lifeguards (Godly men/women) who dive in to help those drowning. They teach the people how to swim and not to drown. Some of them follow, some don’t. The whole pool with the people and the lifeguards are all bound by this unifying power called GOD.