Why does God allow suffering?
From one perspective suffering is often considered to be due to the vengefulness of an angry God as retribution for some horrible mistake we have made, or as the punishment of a loving parent again for some form of ignorance we have engaged in, some error committed, or some expected good not performed. In any case, it is the action of some entity, however divine or well loved, outside of ourselves who calls all the shots.
From a different angle we might imagine that our suffering is nothing other than the result of some action which we ourselves have put into play at some time in our past; the effect of our cause, our karma. The word karma means simply that every action we make sets into motion a series of events which ultimately results in the present moment of our circumstances. Thus taking the reins out of some other hands and setting us directly in the middle of our personal responsibility. There is no good or bad karma, there is only cause and effect. By removing the judgment around the word we begin to realize that it was simply a series of inappropriate choices that has brought us to where we are. And that we are, in fact, in the only place we could be, given those choices. Once the archer releases the arrow from the bow he has no further control over where the arrow will land; and once we undertake an action we release a series of events we also no longer have control over. Our karmic arrow will hopefully land on target, but there will always be other factors that we may not have anticipated which will affect its ultimate destination.
From this understanding we begin to recognize that we are the designers of our future based on the choices we make today. If I desire a particular outcome it should be as simple as asking “how do I get from here to there?” With this answer I then go on to create the future I believe I want based on my current information. This is one reason it is important to set goals for ourselves. Without a goal we flounder haphazardly hoping that by some chance we will end up landing on target. If we set a specific goal, and design our desired outcome, we are much more likely to achieve the future we have in mind.
Unfortunately, our current information is limited by the fact that we are in a body. From our bodies, grounded upon the Earth, it isn’t possible for us to always know what is in our best interest. Remember that suffering is rooted in the afflictions present as a limited, embodied manifestation of The One. Until we transcend this limitation we may as well accept that troubles will come. Thank God they are all transitory in nature and will always, ultimately, lead us onward to that True Self which is calling us home. Remember, anything with a beginning or end is nothing other than an appearance of separation, and has no truth in our Divine Life.
For now, we need a different set of eyes; spiritual eyes which allow us to see our lives from a larger perspective. We already have this capacity. When we are viewing our experience from the perspective often known as “the witness” we are able to more clearly see the likely outcome of our actions. Our “witness” is present when we are able to view whatever situation we find ourselves in from a higher place; one where we step away from our emotions and attachments, hopes and fears. Thus, by allowing ourselves to be more present in the now of our lives, rather than caught up in the drama of maya, we begin to see the truth of our present appearance of reality.
As to whether God even recognizes our situation as one of suffering; I wonder if God really cares if we are suffering. I don’t intend that to be meant as a belief that God is some sort of uncaring Presence, but if we choose to not see Creation from the perspective of dualism, choosing instead to believe that God is that Life which flows equally throughout everything everywhere, then God is not the ego, or that which cares. God is Life itself and therefore can only love. I don’t know if God even has the sort of a consciousness to care. If we truly are all One, then our suffering is part of that One as well. Knowing that we are perfectly capable of experiencing joy only moments after immersion in the depths of our grief, we know that these are both impermanent and so not worth placing our attention upon. As the Tirukural says (KURAL 627 Knowing this body to be the prey of misery, high souls, expecting troubles, do not find them troublesome.)
Certainly this idea may seem revolutionary to some, and heretical to others; but as immense as the universe is, if God is thought of in the dualistic manner as being separate from us, how would that Spirit have time for worrying about our minute lives as grains of sand in that extremely vast Ocean of Mercy.
We are, in fact, so immersed in that Ocean we don’t even recognize how wet we actually are.
Taking a droplet of water from the ocean doesn’t mean you are taking the Ocean from the water. The understanding that God is here, within, as, and manifesting through us may be a new idea, or it may be something you have realized all along. Either way it can be challenging to live in such a way that allows you to deepen your experience as Life in a body. I say Life because there is nothing other than That which expresses as All. And Life is that Presence which is eternally manifesting itself through form, function, and idea. Life is that Animating Essence which breathes existence into all things, all beings, thoughts, actions and experiences. There can be no where this life is not for without it existence cannot occur. It is truly the Mother of the Universe giving birth to all of us, animate, inanimate, sentient and non-sentient. It is God, Spirit, and That which cannot be named. God could not possibly care, or even believe in, suffering. To do so would mean that God recognizes seperation from It's own manifestation.
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