Tag: suffering

Vedic Scriptures on Why God allow people to suffer because of hunger?

Does the Vedic Scriptures have an answer to the question why God allow people to suffer because of hunger? The believers of God are always perplexed with this question. In fact, many people become agnostic seeing people dying because of scarcity of food. But does God really want us to starve? Or is God not capable to provide food to all? Let us try to understand that does God allow people to suffer because of hunger and what Vedic Scriptures say about it.

Man Sharing Milk with Dogs

During Coronava lockdown, there was a heart wrenching video in which a man can be seen sharing milk with street dogs in Agra. It seems a milk container overturned, and milk fell on the road.

While the man is trying to fill his little container with the milk, the street dogs are also hurriedly licking the milk.

Lockdown Impact:
इंसान और जानवर साथ साथ दूध पीने लगे।
आज अगरा के रामबाग चौराहे पर एक दूध वाले की दूध की टंकी गिर गयी।फिर क्या हुआ खुद देखिए। pic.twitter.com/OWvNg8EFIe

— Kamal khan (@kamalkhan_NDTV) April 13, 2020

The dogs are looking at the man with disdain.

“This is our area. How come you are stealing our food?”

An old starving lady is beaten

In India thousands or may be lakhs of people still live in hunger and die of hunger. But such stories never make headlines in the country. Because none of us want those hungry and unclean people to enter our bedrooms and living rooms.

So, the news channels which are run by highly educated marketing professionals cum journalists make sure that such stories are never discussed during their primetime debates. And the leading dailies of India never publish such stories on their front pages lest the people have gut wrenching feeling early in the morning.

I remember a video clipping which I saw almost 8 – 9 years back in which an elderly woman was being beaten by security guards. Her crime was that she was collecting some grains lying near the door of a godown in Danapur, Bihar. And the same clipping showed that there were dozens of mice inside the godown feasting on the grains.

The godowm was stuffed with sacks of grains. The elderly woman was not collecting any premium quality rice or wheat, but she was collecting rotten grains which were half eaten by the mice. She was beaten and warned not to do this again.

Are there insufficient foodgrains?

Now the question is, are people suffering because of lack of availability of food grains in India? As per the government data – Definitely Not. The government has ample buffer stock. In fact government has foodgrain stock which is more than the buffer norm. According to Financial Express in 2019 the government accumulated food grains 2.7 times the buffer norm.

So what happens to these foodgrains? Where does it go?  Sunday Guardian in his report in 2017 writes, “Around 62,000 tonnes of food grains, mainly rice and wheat, have been damaged in the last six years in the storage facilities of Food Corporation of India (FCI).”

The unused foodgrains rot in the godowns, insects and mice feed on it but it rarely reaches to the hungry people. The government says that they do not have proper mechanism to distribute the foodgrains to the poor people.

The government has the mechanism to send rockets in space, develop nuclear missiles but do not have the mechanism to feed the hungry people!!!

It has never been the fault of nature that people have to live in hunger. She provides all necessities which are required to live in this world comfortably. But it is because of the exploitative mentality of people and especially people who are in power and position that people struggle for daily food.

In Bengal famine of 1943 around 2 – 3 million people died of starvation. All historians concur that the famine was man-made.

So, before independence people in India was dying of hunger and even after 73 years of independence people are suffering because of hunger.  

Nothing much has changed especially for the poor people. And no one even cares about them.

Vedic Scriptures explain that God provides all the necessities

So, it is not that God is keeping people hungry. Hunger is because people in responsible position are misusing the resources given by God for their selfish purpose.

Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, “In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.” Bhagavad Gita 3.10.

In this world, everything required for our sustenance have been provided by God. But these resources should be utilized properly for everyone’s benefit. This becomes possible and easy when men in power and positions are devotees of God.

As per Vedas a king or the ruler (President or Prime Minister) is the father of all the citizens of the country. And like a father he has to make sure that all his citizens are properly taken care – No one is exploited and no one goes hungry.

One should ensure that no one is hungry

It is not only the responsibility of the rulers to make sure that all the necessities are distributed equally to all but even the ctizens should proactively take responsibility of ensuring that no one around them suffers especially because of lack of food.

In fact, the scriptures go one step ahead and say that all the well-to-do householders should make sure that none of his dependents and no one living near his house should remain hungry.

Before honouring the meal, the householder should go out of his house and shout, “Is there any one hungry?” multiple times and if anyone responds to his call then he should immediately feed that person. Although today this approach will be difficult to implement but one should try to help the needy people as much as possible.

A genuine devotee of the Lord can never tolerate others’ suffering. He will do his best to alleviate the suffering of the people and will make sure that no one around him/her is hungry.

When Srila Prabhupada had tears in his eyes?

Once in Mayapur, devotees celebrated Govardhan Puja. They cooked huge quantity of rice and distributed the prasada (sanctified vegetarian food) to many people. People ate the prasada on a leaf plate and threw the plates near a building where Srila Prabhupada was staying.  Prabhupada after some time started hearing dogs barking and children yelling.

He looked over and saw a big pile of leaf plates. The dogs and the children were fighting for the food left on the plate. The children carrying the stick was trying to drive away the dogs, but the hungry dogs were not relenting. Prabhupada’s eyes got filled with tears.

He immediately called the devotees and said, “Make sure that nobody goes hungry within the 10-mile radius of the temple. Temple is the place of god. And all are God’s children. And in the presence of the supreme Lord, the Supreme Father his children should not remain hungry.”

This is the guiding principles of all the devotees of Iskcon. And so we see that Iskcon has always tried to serve free prasad to thousands of people all over the world. 

Iskcon’s contribution in alleviating hunger

During this coronavirus pandemic ISKCON and its affiliate foundations have served more than 1.22 crore (12 million) plates of meals across India till now. And they are still distributing food to people not just in India but in different parts of the world.

So, the solution to all the problems of the world is lack of God consciousness.

Gifts of God should be shared by all

If the entire people of the world become devotee of the Lord, then they will start seeing each and every other living being in relationship with the Lord. They will start seeing everyone as their own brothers and sisters.

And then no one will exploit others but all will happily share the available resources with others with an understanding that these are the gifts of God and it should be shared by all.

“Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.” Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1

The people who are in governance will consider it as their divine duty to honestly and selflessly serve the people.

In such a God conscious society no one will die of hunger and no one will have to lick the milk fallen on the road with the street dogs.

Vedic scriptures clearly say that God does not allow and does not want people to suffer from hunger. Hunger is due to lack of God consciousness.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught how to overcome our suffering?

Most of us do not know how not to suffer. So, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came and taught us how to overcome our suffering?

Who does not want freedom from suffering? Is it not true that none of us want to suffer in this world? Have you seen or met anyone who desperately want to become miserable? No sane man would even think of it. But we suffer. Whether we want it or not some unfortunate things happen in our life.

So, is there any way by which we can free ourselves from all suffering?

The answer is yes.

God does not want us to suffer. So, he gave us Vedic scriptures. This transcendental literature teaches us how to live happily in this world. But in spite of that we disregard the teachings of the scriptures. So, the Supreme Lord personally appears in this world to teach us how to lead a pure life so that we attain complete freedom from all suffering.

In this age of Kali Yuga the Supreme Lord appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he taught us how to overcome all our suffering. Before discussing further, let us know who Lord Chaitanya is?

Knowing Lord Chaitanya

Lord Chaitanya is the Supreme Lord. He is Lord Krishna and He is Lord Jagannath. So, Vasudeva Gosh while extolling the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sings, “jei gaura sei kṛṣṇa sei jagannāth.” Lord Chaitanya appeared around 500 years ago in Mayapur.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura elaborately explains it, “Caitanya Mahāprabhu [Lord Chaitanya] was born in Māyāpur, in the town of Nadia, just after sunset on the evening of the 23rd Phālguna, 1407 Śakābda, answering to the 18th of February 1486, of the Christian Era.” Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Prologue by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was unhappy when he saw his unfortunate children, you and me, suffering in this world.

Why you & me suffer?

We the people of Kali Yuga are unfortunate. We are unfortunate because we have chosen to be unfortunate. Intentionally, we disregard the teachings of the Vedic scriptures given to us by the Lord. Instead, we like to live independently or rather whimsically. We explore all means to enjoy in this ephemeral material world with our temporary material body and constantly flickering senses. In our pursuit of enjoyment, we fail again and again. In fact, instead of enjoyment we mostly get suffering, but the saddest part is that sometimes we do not even realize that we are suffering.

Even the greatest material accomplishment cannot satiate our heart and is taken away from us at the time of our death. 

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, our creator, our father, was sorry to see the plight of his children. So, he came.

Most important reason for suffering

We have forgotten our true spiritual identity that we are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. We have forgotten that we are spiritual beings and not material beings. And because of this ignorance, we get entangled in this material world. We try our best to gratify our material body and material senses hoping that it will give us joy. We even indulge in sinful activities. Sinful activities mean those actions which are prohibited by the scriptures. Sin causes suffering.

Many times, we become so habituated to commit sinful activities that in spite of knowing that our action is bringing misery we continue committing it. It increases our suffering, we become helpless and slowly hopeless. Everything starts with ignorance, ignorance of not understanding our relationship with the Supreme Lord.

Attaining freedom from never ending suffering

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this age of downfall to deliver us, the unfortunate souls of Kaliyuga, from our never-ending suffering. He gave us the medicine of the holy names of Krishna, the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, which has the potency to give us freedom from all our suffering. He asked everyone to sincerely and attentively chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Chanting the Mahamantra not just frees us from suffering, but it also fills our heart with unlimited bliss.  

Glory of Hare Krishna Mahamantra

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu extols the glories of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra beautifully in his Siksastakam Prayers, “Glory to the Sri-Krsna-Sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon.”

Just as sun appears darkness disappears. Similarly, as soon as the holy names of Krishna, appears in our heart by our sincere chanting, our ignorance disappears which is the root cause of our suffering. When our ignorance starts disappearing, we start understanding that we are souls eternally related to Lord Chaitanya. When this understanding dawns upon us, we start putting our best efforts to re-establish our relationship with the Lord.

With determination we try not to indulge in any sinful activities. Slowly because of the mercy of the holy name, our heart gets purified of all sinful desires and proclivities. And what about our past sins? It gets burnt to ashes. So, just by chanting the names of Krishna, our life becomes all auspicious. We attain love of Krishna and even become qualified to return back to the spiritual world, our original home. This is the greatest gift of Lord Chaitanya to us, to the entire human civilization. 

Srila Rupa Goswami, a great Vaisnava acharya, glorifies Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in these beautiful words, “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatāra, even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given — pure love of Kṛṣṇa.” Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya Lila 14.16”

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s greatest gift

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gifted us the holy name and taught us that just by chanting these transcendental names of Krishna we can overcome all suffering and can attain Krishna.

So, if we should sincerely take up this process of mantra meditation. Anyone can chant this great mantra – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, men, women, young, old, Indians, non- Indians. For chanting no qualification is required, we just need to have sincere desire to chant in our heart. We can chant at anytime and at any place.

Although best is to chant early in the morning and at a place where there is no distraction. But if we are not able to chant in the morning then we can chant at any time of the day which is suitable for us. And even if we do not find any quiet place still we can chant at public place quietly without disturbing others.

Whenever and wherever we are chanting we should sincerely try to absorb ourselves in holy name. This will make our life auspicious and as promised by the Supreme Lord, will grant us freedom from all suffering.

In Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī writes,”In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”

What is the attitude of devotees of Krishna towards suffering?

Everyone in this world has to suffer but our attitude towards suffering determine how much we are going to suffer. Devotees of Krishna suffer too. But Krishna’s devotees are sure that if they continue practicing unflinching devotion to Krishna then eventually, he will become free from all the sufferings. But as long as we remain in this world, we have to suffer for the sins which we committed in past.

Devotees patiently tolerate suffering

Materialistic people are heart broken when suffering befalls upon them, but devotees of Krishna do not become disheartened. Because they know that Krishna is always with them whatever may be the situation or circumstances. They do not give up their Krishna Consciousness in adversity. In fact, they become more serious in their devotional life understanding very well that the current suffering is because we forgot Krishna and forgot to live as per the instructions of Krishna.  

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8 beautifully explains devotees attitude towards suffering. The verse says that devotees tolerate suffering and continue his spiritual journey even during difficult circumstances which makes them eligible for liberation. “My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.” 

Suffering does not go immediately because

Srila Prabhupada explains, “A devotee should not expect immediate relief from the reactions of his past misdeeds. No conditioned soul is free from such reactionary experiences, because material existence means continued suffering or enjoying of past activities.” So, in this world we will have to suffer. But our suffering will eventually end, we should have faith in Krishna. But suffering will not go away immediately, we need to have patience.

For example, if we switch off a ceiling fan then it does not stop immediately. As soon as we press the off button the speed of the fan gradually starts reducing before it completely stops. Similarly, as soon as we start practicing Krishna Consciousness then our suffering starts reducing.

For example, for a particular sin we might had to suffer a terrible reaction, but Krishna mercifully reduces our suffering. So, when we are suffering, we should be thankful to Krishna that he has minimised our suffering. During our suffering phase we should continue practicing Krishna Consciousness with sincerity and should patiently suffer the reactions of our sins. And we should also have complete faith that Krishna will ultimately end all our suffering. 

My Experience with suffering

Devotees of Krishna experiences that how Krishna intervenes and minimizes the suffering of his devotee.  I have also personally experienced this. Once I fell off from my bike on the road. There was heavy traffic. Somehow people who saw me falling down signalled the vehicles which were coming at high speed to stop. I would have met with a fatal accident but was fortunately saved. However, my leg got crushed under the bike. I had to go to hospital and the doctor said that the entire muscle of my foot has got crushed.

Doctor said that there is no medicine which can develop the muscles. But he said that these muscles will grow on its own and my foot will gain strength and I can then walk normally. I was bed ridden for many weeks. There used to be terrible pain in my foot, and I could not do much about it. But as the doctor had said, slowly the muscles of my foot got build up. And today I can walk normally and can again ride a bike.

As per my past sins I was supposed to suffer a lot. I may have lost my life or would have become handicapped. But Krishna mercifully reduced my pain and my suffering. I am extremely grateful to him.

To reform us, Krishna gives token punishment

In my day-to-day life there are many challenges which keeps on coming. Sometimes it is relationship issue with my spouse. Sometimes it is work issue or financial issues or health issue and so on. I have observed that sufferings keep on coming in different ways. And actually, I am responsible for all my suffering. Because in the past I misused my free will and I committed sins for which I am suffering now. After coming to Krishna Consciousness, I realize that if I do not want to suffer then I should not do anything which is against the scriptures. For my past sins, Krishna is giving me token punishment just to remind me that I should never commit any sins. So, even during suffering, we should never lose hope, should have faith and positive attitude.

Devotees great hope while dealing with suffering

To devotees, Srila Prabhupada gives a lot of hope when he says, “A devotee who is not perfectly freed from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously, even though there may be so many impediments. When such impediments arise, he should simply think of Kṛṣṇa and expect His mercy. That is the only solace. If the devotee passes his days in that spirit, it is certain that he is going to be promoted to the abode of the Lord. By such activities, he earns his claim to enter into the kingdom of God.” Nectar of Devotion, Chapter Ten, Techniques of Hearing and Remembering

So, by suffering patiently and practicing Krishna Consciousness with determination in adversity devotees become qualified to return back to Krishna. This is the reason that even during suffering devotees have positive attitude.

As long as we are in this material world, we have to suffer because this world is full of miseries. This is confirmed by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita 8.15 when he says that this world is duḥkhalayam asasvatam. “After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” Bhagavad Gita 8.15.

So, when suffering comes, we should become more serious in our spiritual life. This is the only way by which we can free ourselves from suffering. Also, we should remember that if we want to lead a sin free happy life then we should do our best to return back to the spiritual world which is our original home. Because in that spiritual abode there is no suffering. There is only bliss.

What are the three main causes of suffering & how to get relief from all the sufferings?

There are three main causes of our suffering – papam(sin), bijam(desires) and avidya(ignorance). Srila Rupa Goswami explains in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu (Nectar of Devotion) that we suffer because of the sins which we have committed not only in this life but also in previous lives.  Let us explore the causes of our sufferings and most importantly how to get relief from all our sufferings. Srila Rupa Goswami explains about this in his book Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu (Nectar of Devotion).

Three causes of suffering

The three causes of our suffering are:

1. Papam: We suffer because of our sins.
2. Bijam: We suffer because of our material desires. This is the secondary cause of our suffering.
3. Avidya: Our material desires are because of our ignorance. We fail to understand that we are in reality spiritual beings, and our eternal identity is that we are eternal servants of Krishna. Ignorance is the root cause of our suffering.

Four kinds of sinful reactions

Padma Purana explains that sinful activities causes four kinds of sinful reactions:

Four kinds of sinful reactions are:

• The effect which is not yet fructified (aprarabdha)
• The effect which is lying as seed (kutam)
• The effect which is already mature (prarabdha)
• The effect which is almost mature (karma bijam)

And because of these sinful reactions we have to suffer a lot in this material world. However, if we take shelter of Krishna and engage in pure devotional service then these sinful reactions immediately get vanquished.

Let us see how devotional service destroys each of the sinful reactions:

1) Devotional service destroys unmanifest sinful reactions (aprarabdha-papam)

In Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna says to Uddhava, “My dear Uddhava, devotional service unto Me is just like a blazing fire, which can burn into ashes unlimited fuel supplied to it.” Srimad Bhagavatam 11.14.19. Srila Prabhupada explains, “The purport is that as the blazing fire can burn any amount of fuel to ashes, so devotional service to the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can burn up all the fuel of sinful activities.” Nectar of Devotion, Characteristics of Pure Devotional Service Purport.

So, if we take shelter of Krishna then the Supreme Lord guarantees that he will completely destroy all our unmanifest sinful reactions (aprarabdha-papam). It means that whatever sins for which we were supposed to suffer gets destroyed. So, in future we will not suffer for those sins which we committed in the past.

For example, Mrugrari was such a cruel hunter that he would half kill animals and enjoy seeing them suffer and die. For this ghastly act he was supposed to suffer terribly in future. But once he took devotional service to Lord Krishna, he completely got purified and got freedom from all future sufferings.

2) Devotional service destroys manifest sinful reactions (prarabdha-papam)

Our present suffering is because of our past sins. If someone is born in the family of beggars or in a criminal family or in a family where many legal issues are going on or if someone is born as blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from other diseases by birth then it is because of their past sins.

However, devotion to Krishna is so purifying that a person who is suffering because of past sins can get relief from all the sufferings. Everyone is qualified to practice devotion to Krishna. Even someone born in the family of dog eaters can take to Krishna Consciousness. And Krishna as a loving father is always ready to free all of us from all kinds of sufferings.

In Srimad Bhagavatam, Devahuti glorifies Lord Kapiladeva by saying, “My dear Lord, there are nine different kinds of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting. Anyone who hears about Your pastimes, who chants about Your glories, who offers You obeisances, who thinks of You and, in this way, executes any of the nine kinds of devotional service – even if he is born in a family of dog-eaters [the lowest grade of mankind] – becomes immediately qualified to perform sacrifices.” Srimad Bhagavatam 3.33.6.

Lord Krishna is so merciful that he forgives us of our past mistakes and purifies us if we take his shelter. However, it does not mean that we should start taking advantage of Lord’s benevolence and keep on committing sins thinking that Krishna will anyway purify us.

A pure devotee of the lord is always careful not to commit any sins.

3) Devotional service destroys Material Desires (bijam)

Getting relief from sins is not enough. It is important that we get freedom from our material desires. Because as long as we have material desires, we will commit sins and so we will suffer.  In Srimad Bhagavatam Parikshit Maharaj says that elephants may enter into a water body to take bath. The elephant may thoroughly clean his body but as soon as he comes out of the water, he takes dust from the shore and puts it on his body.

Similarly, there are people who atone for their sins but as soon there is an opportunity to commit sins, they indulge into it. And because of this they again have to suffer. So, it is important that sinful desires or sinful proclivity should be completely uprooted.

We can get completely purified of our sinful desires when we take shelter of Krishna.

Vedic rituals, austerity, giving charity may temporarily save us from sinful reactions but will not free us from sinful proclivities.  For example, Ajamila was doing his brahminical duties very nicely but since his sinful desires were not burnt completely so he fell down when he saw a prostitute. But later just by chanting the name “Narayan”, he was saved from Yamaduttas. And after that Ajamila practiced devotional life and got purified of his sinful proclivities.

Pure devotional service not just nullify the sinful desires, but it fills our heart with a desire to serve Krishna. Desire to serve Krishna is the antidote of material desire. Once we start experiencing bliss in serving Krishna, we give up all our material desires. When our sinful proclivity is gone, we do not commit any sins and so we do not suffer anymore.

4) Devotional service destroys Ignorance

Srila Rupa Goswami explains that among all the causes of suffering, ignorance is the root cause of all our sufferings. Because of ignorance we identify ourselves with our material body, mind and senses. And so we try to gratify our body, mind and senses in this world.  The more we gratify our material senses, more we get contaminated. We fail to identify that we are spirt souls, parts and parcels of Krishna.

So, instead of cultivating spiritual desires, we cultivate material desires. And because of worldly desires, we keep on committing sins and we suffer. However, when we start practicing devotion to Krishna, we get enlightened. Our true spiritual identity is revealed to us. We start understanding that we are spiritual beings, parts and parcel of Krishna.

Padma Purana explains that “Pure devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest enlightenment, and when such enlightenment is there, it is just like a blazing forest fire, killing all the inauspicious snakes of desire.” Just like when there is forest fire all the snakes of the forest get killed, similarly devotion to Krishna is so strong that it burns the snake of ignorance.

We see that when Srila Prabhupada went to west then the hippies were indulging in so many abominable activities. But once they started practicing devotion to Krishna under the guidance of Srila Prabhupada their ignorance were destroyed. Once they got the true spiritual knowledge they gave up all their sinful habits and become first class devotees of Krishna and perfected their lives.

Conclusion

Pure devotion to Krishna removes all the causes of suffering. So, devotional service to Krishna is the only way by which we can free ourselves from all the sins. And eventually of all sufferings both present and future. And then we can lead a blissful Krishna Conscious life.

Why do Krishna devotees suffer? A devotee’s complain.

When I am suffering, I always ask myself again and again, why is Krishna not helping me?  Why do Krishna devotees suffer?

“I have been trying to chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra and am trying to dovetail all my activities in Krishna’s service but why suffering comes to me.”

Why is Krishna not protecting his devotees? Why Krishna is allowing his devotees to suffer?

It is easy to say to others to take shelter of Krishna when in misery but when misery befalls upon us, we question, why me Krishna? It is easy to preach but difficult to practice.

And many times, we fail to find anything wrong we did. We wanted happiness but what comes is suffering. We wanted peace but what comes is mental agony. We wanted good relationship but what comes is terrible reciprocation. We want good for others, but the other person wants bad for us.

So, we ask again and again, why its happening to me?

The answer given is, “You are suffering because of your karma.”

But I do not recollect doing anything terrible this life.

“Then you must have done something bad in your previous lives.”

But I do not remember my earlier lives.

“So what? This is how karma works.”

But what about me at least trying to practice devotion to Krishna.

“It means Krishna has reduced your karma else you would have suffered even more.” 

Most of the devotees who have basic understanding of Krishna Conscious philosophy knows this answer. In fact, when any other person will approach us with their set of problems you and I will give the same answer.

But when similar situation arises in our life we are terribly shaken.

How should a devotee of Krishna handle suffering?

So, what is the solution? How should a devotee of Krishna handle suffering? And in suffering how to practice devotional life? 

We get so overwhelmed with suffering that while chanting instead of focusing on Krishna’s holy names our mind forces us to think only about the pain. Deity worship becomes a ritual because our mind is filled with agony. Future looks bleak. We are told to have faith in Krishna. But we develop faith that Krishna will not resolve our problem. It is not that Krishna cannot resolve our problem. But we think we are too insignificant for Krishna and so Krishna does not care for us and so he does not free us from our sufferings. 

Krishna frees us from all sufferings when we take his shelter

But scriptures say something else. Anyone who takes shelter of Krishna gets freedom from all the miseries. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna himself says, “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Bhagavad Gita 18.66

So why our suffering is not taken care. Is it because Krishna has some different plan? Is it because through our suffering Krishna wants to teach us an important lesson? Or is it that Krishna wants to make it clear to us that no matter how hard we try we cannot become happy in this world.

No matter how hard a prisoner tries he cannot remain peaceful and happy in the prison cell. He may do all the things right. But his other inmates will be ruffians and hardcore criminals who will make his life hell. Similarly, in this material world which is compared to a prison house we are surrounded with people who are filled with envy, arrogance, pride, greed, lust, anger and tons of false ego. And these people are never going to allow us to live in peace and allow us to be happy. So, Krishna devotees suffer as long he is attached to the people of this material world who have material consciousness and have desire to enjoy this world.

Return back to kingdom of Krishna

People living in this world are rebellious souls. You and I are also rebellious souls. But at least because of the mercy of Srila Prabhupada we now understand that we have to give up our envy towards Krishna and we should try our best to reunite with Krishna.  We are at least trying.

But there are people who do not even think so. They think they are too great. These people can be hardcore materialists or can be even donning a devotee dress.  So, such people will continue creating trouble for us.

So, what is the solution? If a prisoner wants to save himself from the wrath of the fellow prisoners, then what is the best solution? To come out of the jail.

Similarly, if we want to save ourselves from terrible people of this world then we should get out from the material prison house. Just like a prisoner cannot run away from the prison cell.  Similarly, we cannot simply run away from this world.

A prisoner instead of making plans to improve his life in prison should focus on how to get out of the prison. By good conduct and behavior, he can please the jail authorities and can get his jail term reduced.

Similarly, instead of focusing on how to become happy in this world, we should focus on how to run away from this material world. No matter how hard we try this world will continue to give us suffering, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, Bhagavad Gita 8.15. Either we will suffer physically or emotionally. This is why Srila Prabhupada focused too much on returning back to godhead. This is the only solution to get freedom from all the sufferings.  So, we should put in our best efforts to return back to the kingdom of Krishna.

Read: Brihad-bhagavatamrita tells the journey of Gopa Kumara to Goloka Vrindavan

Always take shelter of Krishna in suffering, he is the only hope

We may be suffering because of our past karma or this life’s karma or it could be Krishna’s plan, we may never come to know.  So why Krishna is not freeing you and me from suffering? Why Krishna devotees suffer? Because Krishna wants to show us that this world is filled with suffering. So we should make plans to get out of it.

But no matter whatever may be the reason for our suffering and whatever may be the intensity of our suffering we always have an opportunity to be Krishna Conscious. In fact, suffering helps us to go deeper in our life and reflect upon the blunder we committed in our life.  Some of the blunder may be too severe and too late to rectify. But it teaches us an incredible lesson.  But in such a situation too we should take shelter of Krishna.

Devotees suffering ends once they attain Krishna

Because Krishna is our only hope. He is our only saviour. We should never leave him.

ashlishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam
adarshanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah

“I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me broken-hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.” Siksastakam, Text 8

So, in spite of all our sufferings, we should always try our best to take shelter of Krishna. A doctor knows what is best for the patient. The medicine he gives may be bitter, but it will cure the suffering.

Similarly, Krishna knows what is best for us. The suffering(medicine) which we are getting may be too bitter for us. But it will ultimately cure us from all the material diseases and will help us to attain Krishna.  

Once devotees of Krishna attain Krishna all the sufferings end. There will only be happiness which you and I are always looking for.

How to attain freedom from never ending suffering?

We all want freedom from never ending sufferings but in spite of that we are kncoked down by suffering again and again.

The Coronavirus pandemic has killed thousands of people all over the world. Even the wealthiest and the mightiest people of the world are helpless in front of it.

It has plunged the whole world into misery. As we are struggling for survival and trying our best to save ourselves from this tiny little virus, let us pause for a moment and ask ourselves as why we are always subjected to suffering in this world?

Or why suffering never ceases to end in this world? And is there any place in the entire creation of God where there is no suffering and where we can live fearlessly?

Its not that people were free from the diseases before the attack of the virus. It will also not happen that once the cure of the virus has been found people will never suffer from any diseases.  People were dying in the past; people are dying in the present and people will continue to die in the future.

Suffering in this world is everywhere

In fact, Bhagavad Gita 8.16 says that there are no planets in the entire material universe where there is no suffering and no death.

Miseries in this world follow us like a shadow.

We do not want to suffer from any disease but still we suffer. None of us want to grow old but every moment we grow old. In fact, a tiny little kid playing carelessly in its pram is also growing old every second.

We all want to live forever. We all want to remain united with our parents, with our spouse, with our siblings, with our children, with our friends forever. But we are forced to get separated. But we are not able to save them when the agents of death take them away from us. We helplessly watch as they are slowly devoured by death.

Their tears and our tears do not melt the heart of the cruel and emotionless death. A day will come when we will also be forced to leave this world.

As per the stringent laws of the material universe we cannot live here permanently. And as per the laws of this world as long as we live here, we will also have to undergo different types of sufferings.

Three types of sufferings

The scriptures tell about three types of miseries which always afflicts anyone and everyone in this world.

• adhidaivika-klesa: Sufferings caused by the higher powers like the demigods. Droughts, earthquakes, storms and other natural calamities come under this category.
• adhibhautika-klesa:  Sufferings caused because of other living beings like insects, mosquitoes, or fellow human beings.
• adhyatmika-klesa: Sufferings because of one’s own body and mind. For example, mental anxiety, fear, indecision, other mental illness or physical problems related to our body.

Everything ends one day

We make so many plans to mitigate these miseries.  We anchor our hope on technological advancement hoping that it will succeed one day in shielding us against all the miseries which nature inflict upon us. We believe that by creating more wealth, we will attain freedom from never ending suffering. Wealth will help us to secure our future and we can then celebrate our life.

And most importantly we desperately hope that a day will come when the medical science will discover an elixir which will make us immortal.

Like us, our forefathers too had the same wishes. They too did not want to suffer. They too did not want to die.

But history is testimony to the fact that no one has ever succeeded in bypassing the laws of this material world.

The Supreme Lord, our original father, and the architect of this world have clearly said that this world is temporary, this body of ours is temporary, this world is full of suffering, this body of ours is full of suffering and no matter how hard we try everything is going to come to an end one day.

The rebellious child

So, did God create us to live miserably and die miserably? Does God enjoy seeing us, his children, suffer? Definitely Not.

In fact, most of the children of God are supremely blissful and are celebrating their life in the company of God in the kingdom of God. But unfortunate souls like us decided to be here in this material world away from God.

Sometimes a child out of foolishness rebels against his family, rejects his father’s wise advice and runs away from his house. Away from his home, away from his family and away from his loving and caring mother and father he simply suffers.

Our condition is akin to that rebellious son. We are suffering because we ran away from our spiritual homes and came to this material world. In the spiritual world under the shelter of Krishna we were enjoying our life along with the residents of the spiritual world. And away from Krishna here we are suffering every moment.

Are we destined to suffer forever?

So, what is the solution? Are we condemned forever? Are we going to suffer forever.? Are we never going to attain freedom from never ending suffering? Not at all. Although we leave Krishna, but Krishna never leaves us. He always lives with us in our heart as Parmatma. He incarnates in this world again and again to invite us to return back to his abode.

And he is always accessible to us through his holy names. Padma Purana says that the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are identical.

So when we are chanting his names with sincerity, it means we are directly associating with him and taking his shelter. To live a life free of suffering and free of fear we do not have to wait to return back to the spiritual world. In fact, while living in this world, we can experience supreme bliss and live without fear.

Krishna frees us

Sufferings end when we reconnect with Krishna

When we practice devotion to Krishna our sufferings vanish because we get cleansed of all our sins. We eventually attain freedom from never ending suffering. Also, when we take shelter of Krishna then Krishna who is the controller of this material world takes charge of our life.

A tiny little fish can swim against the gigantic waves which can devour gigantic ships because it has taken shelter of ocean. Similarly, we too start living fearlessly in this world which is inundated with unlimited miseries by taking shelter of Krishna.

Prahlada Maharaj while offering his prayers to the Lord says, “O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities.”

Material solution to the material suffering can give temporary relief. But the suffering eventually comes in different form and continues knocking us down again and again.

But Krishna promises that if we turn towards him then he will free us from all past sins and will remove all sufferings from our life. Bhagavad Gita 18.66

Krishna also assures that once we return back to his abode then we will never come again to this material world which is full of suffering.

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.” Bhagavad Gita 8.16

So, let us worship the lotus feet of Krishna, the son of mother Yashoda, which makes one fearless and brings all auspiciousness.  This is the best solution to attain freedom from never ending suffering.

Let The Lord Not Leave Us Again

Is there anyone of us who want to suffer? How many of us want to be insulted by others? How many of us want to fail in our life? How many of us want to be separated from our loved ones? How many of us want to get diseased? But almost all of us go through these phases in our life and most of the time we find we are so helpless to do anything, we silently weep. Suppose our boss in the office shouts at us we feel humiliated but we can’t do anything else we may lose our job. And some people develop thick skin to such an extent that in spite of insults and sufferings they continue with their lives behaving as if nothing has happened.

Just like cats, dogs and donkeys do not bother for self-respect and continue serving their hostile masters for few morsels of food. We two legged being too do the same thing for our survival. We may think that this is an exaggeration but it is not so. Just look around or google and we can find many such instances of people being humiliated at home, at workplaces and even in public sometimes. In fact scriptures tell us that soul even gets used to suffer in hell. Many of us may not be realizing that we are suffering because we have got so used to suffering. Just like a hog, who gets so used to eat stool that even if someone tells that it is abominable he will just ignore the message.

Animals are always helpless they cannot do anything. But human beings have got the opportunity to change their destiny.  We souls are not meant for suffering. We are not meant for humiliation. We are not meant to suffer the cycle of birth and death. We are meant to enjoy eternally just like the Supreme Lord enjoys eternally. As long as our desires are separate from the Lord as long as we try to enjoy with our senses we will suffer. Let us not get fooled by the false promises of enjoyment of this temporary world. Let us stop serving the pseudo masters of this world who exploits us and instill fear in our heart. 

Let us seek shelter of the original master of the entire creation who is the supreme protector who promises to burn all our sins because of which we suffer. Let his glance enlighten our hearts with transcendental knowledge. Let his sharp arrows pierce our hearts to vanquish all our desires, which binds us to this mortal world. Let us bind our hearts to his lotus feet and cross over the turbulent ocean of material existence.  Let his abode become our permanent abode where we can serve him, love him and live with him forever. Let our sweet Lord not leave us again. We without him are like flower without fragrance, river without water and life like a barren island.

Published in ISKCON NEWS

Suffering like a fish out of water