Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 173, Why do bad things happen togood people, even devotees?

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Digest 173, June 19th, 2006. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja

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Why do bad things happen to good people, even devotees?

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Q) Even after doing lot of pious activities, devotional services one still

undergoes lot of suffering? Why?

What is the solution?

Good people go through bad things and Bad people go through good things? Why?

 

Ans) The root cause of suffering is ignorance, which results in sin. When

someone has a contagious disease, we can invariably conclude that they must

have contracted the infection somehow, even if it may not be apparent

wherefrom, how and so forth. Similarly, when there is some suffering we can

conclude that there must have been some past sinful act committed by the person

in question, either in this or a previous lifetime, knowingly or unknowingly.

 

Everyone in this material world, even those who are pious and reasonably

good-hearted, still performs many sinful activities. Even seemingly harmless

acts such as our cooking and eating food or even in walking or breathing, we

cause suffering to other living entities, what to speak of other acts of

deliberate harshness in speech & action, and our exploitation of Krishna's

energies for selfish ends! Each of these acts bears consequent reactions.

 

Pious activities have their own good karmic reactions (viz. "punya") but punya,

even volumes of it, does not negate or counteract the sinful reactions. One has

to both enjoy the results of punya as well as suffer whatever sinful reactions

are due them. A good example is the story of King Nrga found in the Krsna Book

(Ch 64) When we see a so-called "bad" person flourishing, it is to be

understood that they are simply reaping the results of some past piety.

 

If any activity involves some good or bad karma, are we to resign that

suffering is inevitable? No, Bhagavad-Gita gives a solution to this

predicament: all work should be done as a sacrifice to Vishnu for such work has

no pious/sinful reactions and causes no bondage. (Please study BG 3.9-14, 4.31)

There are also specific ways by which our past sinful reactions can be

countered and the best of these methods is performing pure devotional service

by taking shelter and careful guidance of pure devotees. You can find a more

detailed discussion of this topic in the Inquiries into Absolute - Digest 2 Q

12, Digest 4 Q2, Digests 117 and 120.

(http://vcal.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?ndx=132)

 

You have raised the question that even after performing much devotional

service, one may experience some suffering. But this suffering is not the same

as that of an ordinary fruitive worker. What seems like suffering in the case

of fully surrendered devotees like the Pandavas or Srila Prabhupada is in fact

not at all suffering, but a type of transcendental exchange with the Lord. But

even in the beginning stages, pure devotional service brings relief from all

distress, as explained in NOD Ch1. You can find further discussion on this

point in http://vcal.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest53

 

You may also find it insightful to go over the previous digests where I have

addressed various topics and many such commonly raised questions.

 

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All previous digests in one file (with responses to about 460 questions):

http://vcal.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest00

 

This digest can be accessed at

http://vcal.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest173

 

Responses to some very frequently asked questions (Karma, free-will, demigods,

Lord Siva, why are we here, how to control the mind, Deity worship, marriage,

Jesus Christ, spiritual and material relationships and morality of Lord Krsna's

conjugal pastimes, spiritual master, spirit soul/jiva/living entity):

http://vcal.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest999_faq

 

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** A brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami is available at:

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