Q: Is the world created for happiness or misery?

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Question: Is the world created for happiness or misery?

 

Sri Ramana Maharshi: Creation is neither good nor bad; it is as it is. It is the human mind which puts all sorts of constructions on it, seeing things from its own angle and interpreting them to suit its own interests. A woman is just a woman, but one mind calls her '‘mother'’ another '‘sister'’ and still another '‘aunt' and so on. Men love women, hate snakes, and are indifferent to the grass and stones by the roadside. These value-judgements are the cause of all the misery in the world. Creation is like a peepul tree; birds come and eat its fruit, or take shelter under its branches, men cool themselves in its shade, but some may hang themselves on it. Yet the tree continues to lead its quiet life, unconcerned with and unaware of all the uses it is put to.

It is the human mind that creates its own difficulties and then cries for help. Is God so partial as to give peace to one person and sorrow to another? In creation there is room for everything, but man refuses to see the good, the healthy and the beautiful. Instead, he goes on whining, like the hungry man who sits besides the tasty dish and who, instead of stretching out his hand to satisfy his hunger, goes on lamenting, ‘Whose fault is it, God’s or man’s?’

It is true that we are not bound and that the real Self has no bondage. It is true that you will eventually go back to your source. But meanwhile, if you commit sins, as you call them, you will have to face the consequences of such sins. You cannot escape them. If a man beats you, then, can you say, '‘I am free, I am not bound by these beatings and I don’t feel any pain. Let him beat on’? If you can feel like that, you can go on doing what you like. What is the use of merely saying with your lips

‘I am free’?===================================