1. Sri. B.Narasimhulu

Dear brothers and Sisters,

We must be wondering why there should be suffering when we have come from the center (Ultimate Reality) where bliss rains supreme. God is bliss. He is happiness. He is love.

Hence man is essentially of the nature of bliss, perfection, peace and freedom. Man is made in the image of God. Therefore godliness is the essence of his real inner being. The loss of his awareness of that oneness with the Infinite, All Perfect source of his being is the very cause of his involvement in this earthly process called life, which is full of defects and imperfections.

Besides, if God is love, why is there so much misery, so much violence, so much criminality, so much of everything, disease, warfare? Babuji said “ because they are not in the presence of God. So when we remove ourselves away from His presence and go farther and farther, it is impossible to feel the affinity of the lord. We will be away from the unceasing proximity to Him. All the divine virtues of the lord are lost to us”.

The reason why we are getting so hopelessly scorched and burnt by the world’s heat why everywhere we see nothing but the naked dance of destitution, fear, sorrow and destruction is that we see the world as void of God. Wherever God is imagined to be non-existent, it is there that destitution, fear, sorrow and destruction come marching along with all their terrible troops and establish their camp. We cannot get out of the ring of these enemies, unless knowing God to be present everywhere, complete by Himself and realize the truth that supreme happiness lies only in God.

When an abhyasi put up the question, “Babuji ! what is your opinion about sorrow or happiness?” He replied in a natural voice,” our lalaji’s reply on this topic is uncomparable. Our lalaji sahib had said, that the sorrow and happiness are like the two ends of this shawl. One end which is joined with the universe or the origin of creation is the symbol of eternal happiness and peace. The other end is linked with the world which appears to be the shadow of sorrow for the humanity. Sometimes we enwrap ourselves with one end and sometimes with the other end. In the same way we feel the presence of sorrow and happiness”.

Babuji had written about the affliction, that when man assumed his physical form, coming out of the original source, he brought with him the thing opposed to the real nature of his being and the thought of diversity began to acquire prominence. Thus activity sprang up which was opposed to the real nature of the soul. The outbursts which resulted from these actions appeared in the form of suffering and miseries. There was nothing wrong with the things descended to us but the mis - utilisation of these purest things made them transform in to afflictions. It is very important for us to realize that affliction / misery / sorrow is the only thing that revives in our heart a consciousness of the real and help us to march towards our spiritual goal. More over, the sufferings and diseases are the boons of nature in disguise, which help deliverance from the effects of sanskaras. In relation to problems, Master said, that as we advance more in spirituality, we are faced with bigger and more difficult problems in life, only to give us an opportunity to undergo bhog of our sanskaras, provided we take (treat) them in the proper perspective. It is like gold made to pass thro’ fire to make it refined and pure. So also we have to undergo the fire of sorrows, miseries, problems etc., to make us pure and deserving for the Divine to express Itself. Having misery or trouble is a blessing because then God is attentive to us as observed by Babuji.

Babuji had great sympathy for the suffering humanity, suffering much for its sake and yet rose far above His own suffering. He stated convincingly that the only solution to end all suffering is to take refuge in the Divine or the Divine personality who alone can bestow inner strength to take miseries as Divine blessing and remain happy under all circumstances.

Babuji in His commandment no 5, stated as follows.

“Even as the harshness of the beloved is appealing to a lover since it contains a gentle tenderness which reflects love all thro’ and attracts him all the more, the rebukes of the beloved are very pleasant to him and offer him greatest joy. If we take a cruder view of these scoldings they assume the form of painful experiences which people call by the name of miseries which are so easily endurable to a true lover who takes them with delight even in their grossest form”.

Rev. Brother. Narayana Garu in his notes on Shri. Ramachandra’s ten commandments stated as follows.

“If we are totally dependent on Him (Master / God) it does not matter much what happens to us. There is neither misery nor happiness. So all happiness and misery have to be accepted as something of a Divine gift because we are dependent on Him. When the consciousness that Divinity knows what is best for us percolates thro’ every pore of our being, we can accept every misery as something of a Divine gift and also be thankful because God is making us remember Him more and more”.

Rev. Brother. Raghavendra Rao Garu in his book “Panoramic View of Sahaj Marg” stated as follows. “Life has got the tendency to grow. Growth involves struggle. The struggle for growth is more evident in man. When man becomes too much conscious of the struggle he feels pain and misery. Many a time the idea of growth vanishes from view and only struggle remains for his lot.

It becomes necessary to clearly understand the nature of struggle going on in man. As every man is aware, there is an animal in man and also there is something greater than it. Man finds out this by his thinking. Sometimes the animal in him becomes stronger and some other times, the other aspect in him becomes stronger. So long as his animal aspect is stronger, his pain and misery due to his struggle is cruder and grosser. In such a condition, his struggle will be directed either for gaining power to compete with and subdue his fellow beings or for gratification of baser urges. This will appear to be never ending problem with the consequent experience of never ending miseries and sorrows. When the superior aspect in man takes the upper hand, the struggle in him is directed towards a higher evolution with a consequent experience of a different kind of pain, misery which is at once sweet, ennobling and subtle. Therefore, the struggle in man can be said to be either physical or spiritual. Happier and nobler is he who opts for the spiritual”.

It is said that pain and affliction draw out the powers of the soul and make character.

Happiness and pain or disease or misery are not things which we seek and find, they are things which happen to us because of our samskaras. Suffering and disease are the boon of nature in disguise which help deliverance from the effect of samskaras besides they help us to remember our original nature (home) so that we may strive to be with Him duly doing our sadhana, of course, with the Divine grace showered on us day in and day out by Babuji.

Let me conclude this article with the following poem by Swamy Paramananda.

“These dark shadows that fall

upon the path of my life,

causing me sadness, distress and pain :

I have learned to welcome these

Thro’ Thy holy grace.

They show me how I lack wisdom;

How failing and faltering is my strength.

These shadows have taught me I am

nothing save when I walk in Thy light.

With grateful heart I bless these ills

That teach me to love Thee and Thy light”.