Why do Bad Things Happen to Us?

WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

QUESTION: Why do Bad Things Happen to Us? If there is any God why bad things are happening? How does all that come into play? Is everything karma or can anything just happen? How would a KC devotee deal with let’s say he’s on the road preaching and someone stabs him badly, how would you view that? Or would you say that while in KC it would not be possible to be stabbed because Krishna is watching over us?

Although some people are bewildered by these questions, the answer is not difficult to understand. It’s the nature of conditioned souls in the material world to always try and find fault with someone else. Therefore it should be no surprise that there are ignorant people out there that even want to blame God. But, it’s not very sensible to blame God for the sufferings of this world, which are created by man, transgressing the laws of God.

In the Bible it is stated, that man is made in the image of God, that means man also has godly qualities within himself. But if man acts evil or demoniac, and gets the reactions for his evil doings, than how can he hold God responsible for his suffering? Or just like lord Jesus said very beautifully in the bible, As you sow, so shall you reap. The mills of God grind exceedingly fine. But sometimes very slow as well. What ever you do what ever you speak there is going to be a reaction. That is called the law of nature. For every action there is an equal correspondent reaction. That is scientific.

Most of the time we complain. Sometimes we may be vocal about it but most of the time we silently complain. Why did it happen to me? Why always bad things happen to good people like me? We always consider ourselves a victim of an unjust system. Occasionally we console ourselves philosophically that may be its happening because of my some previous bad karma which I might have done unknowingly! Whatever may be the situation we are never ready to accept any blame. One person started having lung problem due to excessive smoking. When reminded that he had been advised to give up smoking several times then instead of accepting his mistake he blamed God saying that why did God create tobacco.

God is both all-good and all- powerful. But He does not engineer our suffering—we do ourselves. We are the authors of our own karma, good or bad. And it is our decision to act against the laws of God, not His, and that brings us down into the material world, into the realm of suffering.

So the answer to the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is “They don’t.” All of us here in this material world are here for a reason. The criminals in the prison house are there for a reason. We are sent here because we seek a life independent of God, and He grants our desire as far as possible. But since the position of God is already taken by God Himself, we can only play at being God, imitating Him, while deceiving ourselves that we are independent of Him.

At the same time, the material world reforms us through suffering, teaches us through reward and punishment to acknowledge God’s supreme position. For by natural law we are rationed out the pleasures we desire according to our observance of the divine regulations, following the ways of good karma. The practice of good karma, then, amounts to a materially motivated religion, an observance of God’s orders on the inducement of material reward. By this practice, spanning many lifetimes, I may, it is hoped, become habituated to following God’s commands and reconciled to His supremacy. Thereupon I become eligible at last to take up the pure and eternal religion, in which, completely free of all material desires, I serve God in loving devotion, asking nothing in return. This religion, called bhakti in the Vedas, causes my return to the kingdom of God. The acts of bhakti are karmaless: they produce no future material births, good or bad.

THE MATERIAL WORLD, PRISON HOUSE FOR CONDITIONED SOULS

As the state-government has a prison house for people who break the law, similarly this material world is considered a prison house for conditioned souls, who wanted to be independent of God.

Srila Prabhupada explains, that in every government there are various departments but they always have a prison department, because there will always be people breaking the established laws, becoming criminals that cause sufferings to others. For their own good they have to be punished and locked away in the prison cell. So this material world of suffering is the prison department of material nature and the purpose is to rectify the rebellious souls, to bring them back home, back to godhead, to the spiritual world.

This world is planned for the living entities who wanted to foolishly imitate God. So actually, the plan is according to the desire of the living entities who wanted to lord it over the material nature. God’s plan is not this. It is exactly like the prison house is planned by the government because there are criminals. But the government dont want any criminals. God’s plan is “Come back home, giving everything up.” Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar iti mām eti. His plan is to invite all the conditioned souls back to home, back to Godhead. He doesn’t like the living entities to live in the material prison house. But because people wanted to lord it over the material nature, they have been given that facility, but they have to suffer the consequences and reactions.

BECOMING THE LORD OF ALL I SURVEY

Everyone is trying to become “the lord of all I survey.” Yes I want to become lord of this universe. I want to become minister. I want to become president. I want to become business magnitude. He wants to lord it over others. He’s servant, but artificially, he wants to become Lord and controller. That is the disease. And if everything fails, then he wants to become God. That is also māyā. That is not possible.

“In the lower stage of human civilization, there is always competition to lord it over the material nature…” That is the lowest stage of human civilization. But that is passing on as the highest stage of… Anyone who has developed to how to exploit the resources of nature, that nation is called to be very highly civilized or advanced. But that is the lowest stage of civilization. Everyone is trying to make economic development by exploiting the world—digging the earth, the mines, the… This is lowest stage, just like animal civilization.

This modern, materialistic civilization is a soul-killing civilization; people are killing themselves because they do not know what real life is. They are simply living like animals. The animal does not know what life is, so he simply works under the laws of nature, undergoing gradual evolution. But when you get this human form of life, you have a responsibility to live in a different way. Here is a chance for you to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and solve all problems. But if you don’t—if you continue to act like animals—you will again have to enter the cycle of birth and death and transmigrate through 8,400,000 species of life. It will take many, many millions of years to come back to the human form of life.

STEALING FROM THE LORD

When a man steals some money, if he is caught and agrees to return it, he is not freed from the criminal punishment. By the law of the state, even though he returns the money, he has to undergo the punishment. Similarly, the money earned by a criminal process may be left by the man when dying, but by superior arrangement he carries with him the effect, and therefore he has to suffer hellish life.

Everything is belonging to Kṛṣṇa. Why you claim this is your property? You are born naked, without nothing, and when you die, you will leave with nothing. So why are you falsely claiming? So you must suffer. You are a thief. That is your fault. Stena eva sa ucyate [Bg. 3.12]. Anyone who does not offer things to Kṛṣṇa before using, he’s a thief. That is prasādam. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The whole process is to accept the Supreme. So long we do not accept the Supreme, that is māyā. That is māyā. That is going on. Nobody wants to accept the Supreme everyone wants to become Supreme. Even after performing severe austerities, penances, still, they want to become one with the Supreme. This is also māyā.

Śrī Īśopaniṣad explains: “One should 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.” Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to understand things as they are. So if we simply understand these principles, we will be well situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Just like somebody wants to drink liquor, the government gives license for liquor shop. Now, it is not that everyone is drinking, but there is facility for the drunkards. Because the drunkards want to drink, so government gives facility: “All right. Here is a liquor shop. You drink.” But as soon you commit some offense by drinking, you are arrested. So this arrest of the drunkard, is it the government’s will or the person created such situation to be arrested? So in this way, the whole world is going on. Samo ‘haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ‘sti na priyaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says, “I am equal to everyone. I don’t…, I’m not envious of everyone, or anyone, or I am friendly to everyone.” He’s friendly, actually He’s friendly. But people, they accuse Him: “Why God has created this distress? Why I am suffering?” You are suffering for your own fault. God created you to become happy. He’s happy. You are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. You should be happy. But you don’t accept the way of happiness. That is your fault. You don’t accept… Kṛṣṇa says that you shall be happy in this way:

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
[Bg. 5.29]

Why you claim this is your property? Why you claim? Everything is belonging to Kṛṣṇa. That is your fault. So you must suffer. You are a thief. Stena eva sa ucyate [Bg. 3.12]. Anyone who does not offer things to Kṛṣṇa before using, he’s a thief. That is prasādam. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The whole process is to accept the Supreme. So long we do not accept the Supreme, that is māyā. That is māyā. That is going on. Nobody wants to accept the Supreme everyone wants to become Supreme. Even after performing severe austerities, penances, still, they want to become one with the Supreme. This is also māyā.

We are receiving so many benefits through the agents of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and if we do not acknowledge even, “God is great, He is so kind, in spite of our so many faults He’s supplying us nice foodstuff, nice everything,” so how much ungrateful the human society has become, just imagine. And they want peace and prosperity. Nonsense. Where is peace and prosperity? You must suffer. You must suffer. That is your due.

We Reap What We Sow – What are You Sowing in this Life?

THE LAWS OF NATURE

The laws of nature work collectively, as well as individually. In the following brief but cogent statement, Srila Prabhupada explains that if we want to break out of the tangled web of collective karma that is wreaking havoc in present-day society–if we want peace both collectively and individually–we need to take to Krsna consciousness seriously.

The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon others’ property as though it were one’s own and thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the laws of nature. These laws are very strong. No living entity can violate them. Only one who is Krsna conscious can easily overcome the stringent laws of nature and thus become happy and peaceful in the world.

As a state is protected by the department of law and order, so the state of the universe, of which this earth is only an insignificant fragment, is protected by the laws of nature. This material nature is one of the different potencies of God, who is the ultimate proprietor of everything that be. This earth is, therefore, the property of God, but we, the living entities, especially the so-called civilized human beings, are claiming God’s property as our own under both an individual and collective false conception. If you want peace, you have to remove this false conception from your mind and from the world. This false claim of proprietorship by the human race on earth is partly or wholly the cause of all disturbances of peace on earth.

Foolish so-called civilized men are claiming proprietary rights on the property of God because they have now become godless. You cannot be happy and peaceful in a godless society. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna says that He is the factual enjoyer of all activities of the living entities, that He is the Supreme Lord of all universes, and that He is the well-wishing friend of all beings. When the people of the world know this as the formula for peace, it is then and there that peace will prevail.

Therefore, if you want peace at all, you will have to change your consciousness into Krsna consciousness, both individually and collectively, by the simple process of chanting the holy name of God. This is the standard and recognized process for achieving peace in the world. We therefore recommend that everyone become Krsna conscious by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

WHAT IS THE LAW OF KARMA

The Vedic literature explains that human activity, when devoid of service to the Lord, is governed by a subtle law known as the law of karma. This is the familiar law of action and reaction as it pertains to what we do in this world and the enjoyment or suffering we experience as a result. If I cause pain to another living being, then as surely as the wheel of life turns, I will be forced to suffer similar pain. And if I bring happiness to another, a like pleasure awaits me. At every second, with every breath, our activities in this material world cause enjoyment and suffering. To facilitate these endless actions and reactions, there has to be more than just one life. There has to be reincarnation. Until recently the idea of reincarnation, while universally accepted in India and other Eastern countries, had found few adherents in the West.

UNDERSTANDING THE LAW OF KARMA

Srila Prabhupada explains that karma is like a binding knot. As a person tied with ropes loses his independence; similarly laws of karma completely bind and controls a person. It’s a control mechanism which ensures that nothing gets unchecked. If such a mechanism would not have been in place then neither the wrong doers would had any fear of punishment nor there would have been any motivation to do something good. Laws of karma ensure accountability. It makes an individual completely responsible for the action he performs.

But why do infants or innocent people suffer? What wrong did they do? Sceptics use this reasoning to argue against karma philosophy and gullible people get bewildered by this challenge. The answer is too simple. This life which we are presently living is not all in all. We have lived several such lives in the past. We are also accountable for our past lives actions and will also face the reaction of the action of our present life in this very life or in next life. But I don’t remember my past life so why to suffer for it now, people generally ask. True we don’t remember our past but Krishna remembers it. Bhagavad Gita 4.5 confirms this, “The Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot”. It is because of past karma only that someone is born in the family of a beggar and someone takes birth in the family of a billionaire.

When Dhritrarashtra asked Krishna that why he had to witness the death of his 100 sons then Krishna informed him that his past life’s sins had fructified in this life. 50 lifetimes back he was a hunter and had killed 100 offsprings of a bird and so in this life his 100 sons got killed in the Mahabharat war. But why after 50 lifetimes, Dhritrarashtra asked. Krishna then said that it was because it took 50 lifetimes of pious activities to get 100 sons.

Both the Svetashvatara Upanishad (5.12) and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.45) states that the gross and the subtle bodies which we acquire in this life is based on the activities which we have performed in our past lives. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad further explains that if we act saintly then we acquire saintly qualities and if we act immorally then we will have to bear the karmic consequences of our actions.

Laws of karma are very complicated and it is very difficult for us to understand (Bhagavad – Gita 4.17). Our previous sins are present as seed, it can fructify any time. The only way to burn our sins is by taking shelter of Krishna and Krishna promises us that He will completely burn all our previous sins. “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)

OUR CHOICE DECIDES OUR DESTINY

Our previous karma does not necessarily seal our future; our future mostly depends on how we react in a precarious situation. During the recession period, a person in Kolkata lost his job and was not able to find one quickly. He became so upset and mentally disturbed that once during an altercation with a shopkeeper he lost his cool and stabbed him. This not only landed him in prison but completely ruined his life and career. A person with a balanced mindset might have used that period to upgrade his skill or to go for higher studies.

Krishna has bestowed upon us sufficient intelligence to convert any problems into an opportunity. So, whenever we find ourselves in an unpleasant situation then instead of giving a knee – jerk reaction we should contemplate for a while and then make the next move. During those perilous times, if we judiciously use our spiritual intelligence then that insidious situation may even become a springboard to reach closer to Krishna. The altitude which we will reach in our life depends on our attitude.

When Vidura was rebuked, humiliated and was practically forced out of the kingdom by Duryodhana then Vidura did not lament and said that why did it happen to me. He did not grumble that although he was on righteous path and on the side of truth then why did miseries impinge him. Instead of getting caught in all these negativities he simply went on a spiritual mission – on his spiritual sojourn he met sages like Maitreyi and devotees like Uddhava; he practically used all his time to get closer to God. Similarly, when Vibhishana was humiliated by proud and lusty Ravana then Vibhishana immediately took refuge of Lord Rama. On the other hand we see that when Karna faced unpleasant situations in his life then his reaction was appalling. He went into a confrontonist zone and sided with evil Duryodhana. Karna initially thought that his miseries will get mitigated but actually his miseries got aggravated. Along with Duryodhana he also lived in constant anxiety and fear.

Vidura, Vibhishana and Karna – all three had the option to choose. What then followed in their lives was the outcome of their personal choices. Life always presents us with various opportunities. Our reaction to the situation determines our destiny. We can choose to be Krishna conscious or we can decide to be ego conscious. We are independent to choose our path but we become utterly responsible for the path which we chose. So before taking any decision in our life we should introspect and see where we are heading towards – are we getting closer to Krishna or are we moving away from Him. So, when next time we come through any unpleasant situation and circumstances then let us not simply feel like a victim and complain “Why bad things happen to good people like me?” but instead let us try to do something outstanding and meaningful. And the best is to utilize it to get closer to Krishna.

KARMA – THE LAW OF ACTION AND REACTION

The law of karma is not subjected to interpretation. It will act whether you believe in it or not. As natures laws act independent of believes, so do the laws of karma act. If you put your hand in the fire, natures law is such that it always will burn, whether you believe it or not.

The law of karma is as strict, relentless, and impartial as the grosser natural laws of motion and thermodynamics. And, like them, it applies to us whether we know about it or not. For example, the Bible says: do not kill, but if you eat the flesh of killed animals even though you can live as well without it, your bad karma will force you to be born as an animal and to be slaughtered yourself. Or if you arrange to have a child killed in the womb, with the help of abortion, you simultaneously arrange for yourself to be killed in the same way, again and again, without ever seeing the light of day.

THREE TYPES OF KARMA

Every thing you say and everything you do, the law of nature records it all and you will get the resultant reactions for it, that is known as the laws of karma. There are three types of karma according to Bhagavad Gita. There is Karma, Vikarma and Akarma. Karma means, good action according to the scriptures. That will bring good results to us. If you giving charity you are going to receive fold more, if you are kind to others you are going to receive many fold more kindness. That is good karma. If you perform proper sacrifices and religious rights you are going to get good benefits from that. Vikarma means going against the laws of nature. To engage in sinful activities, Vikarma. Now what happens when we engage in sinful activities.

CREATING BAD KARMA

As there is good karma, conversely, there is bad karma also. We create bad karma when we disregard scriptural injunctions and restrictions in our pursuit of sense pleasure—that is, when we act sinfully. Bad karma brings us suffering and misfortune, such as birth in a degraded family, poverty, chronic disease, legal problems, or physical ugliness. Exceptionally bad karma will take us into animal bodies or down to lower planets of hellish torment.

CYCLE OF SINFUL REACTIONS

There’s a whole cycle that takes place. Which is to be carefully understood. Sinful activity is called as papam. When you engage in sinful activities due to ignorance. The source of all bondage is ultimately avidya, ignorance. The eternal spirit soul which is meant to love and serve the absolute, the indestructible, eternal, constitutional nature of the soul is source of all the bliss in relation to God. But we have forgotten. We identify with this body, this mind and with this false ego. And on the basis of this misidentification we are acting in sinful ways. So first there is ignorance and then there is sinful activities. The reaction of reaction of sinful activities is two fold. Prarabdha, prarabdha means the affect of suffering, You do something wrong you get a disease, You get put in the prison, you get smashed people behave with you in such a way that pains your heart. Yes, How many ways are there in this universal creation to suffer, has anyone ever calculated the number? Countless ways to suffer and why are there countless ways to suffer because there are countless ways to sin. HARI BOL!

The eternal spirit soul which is part of god, has also godly qualities. But when the soul misuses it’s divine energy, engaging in sinful activities, it can create multi ferrous ways, isn’t that incredible! So Prarabdha means we get the suffering results. The other is aprarabdha which means unmanifested, immature sinful activities. This is very, very serious what happens. When you engage in sinful activities you may not get the suffering reaction, that’s going to come later, but in the mean time what happens is we create kutam. That means we increase the inclination towards that sinful activity. When we sin, the desire to do that again and again increases. It becomes exaggerated. And when that proclivity becomes very, very intense it evolves into bijam or a specific desire to enjoy through sinful acts. And that sinful desire pushes one, forces one,

yatato hy api kaunteya
puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ
indriyāṇi pramāthīni
haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ
[Bhagavad Gita 2.60]

Krishna tells Arjuna, the senses are so strong and impetuous that they forcibly drag one down to abominable activities. And then again we engage in papam, sinful activities. And that then again increases our inclination, increases our desire and we do it again and eventually we are going to have just keep suffering again and again reactions. That is Vikarma, vicious cycle. And practically the whole world is entangled in this cycle of sinful activities. But then there is akarama. Akarama means to engage in activities that neither have good or bad karmic reactions. That is to engage in transcendental activities which is the nature of the soul or service to God.

BREAKING THE BONDS OF KARMA

In conditioned life we are committing sins at every step, even without knowing it. The reason we are sinning unknowingly is that we have been in ignorance from our very birth. This ignorance is prominent despite so many educational institutions. Why? Because despite so many big, big universities, none of them is teaching ātma-tattva, the science of the soul. Therefore people remain in ignorance, and they continue to sin and suffer the reactions. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.3): parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. This foolishness will continue until one comes to the platform of understanding self-realization. Otherwise, all these universities and institutions for imparting knowledge are a continuation of that same ignorance and foolishness. Unless one comes to the point of asking “What am I? What is God? What is this world? What is my relationship with God and this world?” and finds proper answers, one continues to be foolish like an animal and is subjected to transmigration from one body to another in different species of life. This is the result of ignorance.

So, the modern civilization is very risky. One may feel comfortable as a successful businessman or politician, or one may think oneself comfortable because of being born in a rich nation like America, but these statuses of life are temporary. They will have to change, and we do not know what kind of miseries we will have to suffer in our next life because of our sinful activities. So if one does not begin cultivating transcendental knowledge, then one’s life is very risky. Suppose a healthy man is living in a contaminated place. Is his life not at risk? He may become infected by disease at any moment. Therefore we should work to dissipate our ignorance through cultivation of transcendental knowledge.

From the Third Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, we learn the fate of the sinful soul who transgresses the laws of God’s nature and incurs punishment according to the law of karma. In one of his Isopanisad talks, Srila Prabhupada says, “If you do good work, you will have so-called enjoyment in your next life–but you will remain bound up in the cycle of birth and death. And if you do bad work, then you will have to suffer the sinful reactions and also remain bound up in birth and death. But if you work for Krsna, there are no such reactions, good or bad, and at the time of death you will return to Krsna. This is the only way to break the bonds of karma.”

Saṁsāra – the circle of birth and death

CUTTING THE BINDING KNOTS OF REACTIONARY WORK

How hard we may try but cutting the impregnable knot of karma is impossible. The vicious cycle of karma sometimes brings joy in our life and sometimes makes us miserable. When will the seeds of karma fructify in our life none of us know. It may happen now or tomorrow or after 20 years or it can be in next life also. But it will definitely fructify.

This world is a very dangerous place to live. Every sane man who is serious about his future should endeavour hard to get out of the clutches of karma. And the only way to come out of karma’s vicious cycle is by taking shelter of the Lord. “With sword in hand, intelligent men cut through the binding knots of reactionary work [karma] by remembering the Personality of Godhead.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.15). And the only way to cut the knots of karma is by chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra,

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Srila Prabhupada explains that “The contact of the spiritual spark (the soul) with material elements creates a binding knot which must be cut if one wants to be liberated from the actions and reactions of fruitive work. Liberation means freedom from the cycle of reactionary work. This liberation automatically follows for one who constantly remembers the transcendental pastimes of the Personality of Godhead. This is because all the activities of the Supreme Lord (His lila) are transcendental to the modes of the material energy. They are all-attractive spiritual activities, and therefore constant association with the spiritual activities of the Supreme Lord gradually spiritualizes the conditioned soul and ultimately severs the knot of material bondage.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.15 purport)

Chanting Krishna’s name and getting completely engaged in His devotional services will free us from all karmic reactions and will help us to return back to the spiritual world where life is eternal and full of bliss. “After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” (Bhagavad Gita 8.15).

THERE IS NO DARKNESS IN THE SUN

This human form of life is so precious you should know that God is not evil, God has not created the evil. God has created the spirit soul, God has created all the species of life, God has created the laws of nature and the reactions but because we have the free will, man is the cause of evil. God simply gives. He is the cause that facilitates us to choose either Good or evil. There is no darkness in the sun. If you look at God, you will see there is only light. But if you look away from God, then you are going to see darkness caused by your shadow. Now, God is ultimately the cause of the shadow because he gives you the free will to turn away from him. Man creates evil, and evil creates suffering.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF HUMAN FORM OF LIFE

The human being has the ability to discover what is good. But even after discovering it, you have the free will to either act upon it or not act upon it. We also have the free will not even bother about what’s right an what’s wrong. And we are responsible for every action we take. So this is very relevant because if we don’t follow the laws of nature, the laws of god carefully then we can create minor or major disasters. Just like a surgeon, is doing a surgery. If due to laziness or neglect he doesn’t follow the proper procedure , the proper rules, he could kill the patient. Yes, it happens all the time it is called as ,malpractice. Similarly in the pilot. Yes, how many of you have flown in the airplanes raise your hands, please. When you go in the airplane, you are in the hands of the pilot. I mean your life is 100% in the hands of that pilot. And the amazing thing is you are putting your life in the hands of someone you never met, you have never seen him, you don’t even know his name, you don’t even know how he looks like. After the plane is already going you just hear his voice. Yes, that’s faith. Now, if the pilot of the plane ignores to follow the airline rules properly then what happens, major airline disaster everyone is dead. And if everyone is dead means, hundreds and thousands of people are suffering the loss of their loved ones. So it’s very important to understand in our life if we don’t properly follow the rules of god we could not only cause immense personal injury to our self, our family members and others but there can be one man in a high position who acting recklessly can create the fall of the entire government . we have seen. One person who is acting without the guide to the proper laws of nature and God, can create the entire world war, where tens and thousands and millions of people are killed. Yes, in human life we have responsibility to discover what’s good and to do what’s good. So within this material nature, according to our activities, we are held accountable for everything we do.

PRAYING TO GOD FOR REMOVING SUFFERING

When you or your loved ones having some problem you are praying “Oh god please save us.” But when everything is alright, then you forget about God, searching for sense-gratification! So that is just human nature. For sincere people suffering brings them closer to God.

HOW DOES A DEVOTEE RECEIVE DANGERS?

There must be dangers because this material world is full of dangers. But foolish people who do not know this try to avoid the dangers. Thus they struggle for existence. Everyone is trying to become happy and avoid danger. This is our material business. Everyone is trying for ātyantikaṁ sukham, ultimate happiness. A working man thinks, “Let me work very hard now and put money in the bank, so that when I get old I shall enjoy life without working.” This is the inner intention of everyone. No one wants to work; as soon as one gets some money, he wants to retire from work and become happy. But that is not possible. One cannot become happy in that way.

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.8) it is stated:

tat te ’nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam

Whenever a devotee is in distress or has fallen into difficulty, he thinks that it is the Lord’s mercy upon him. He thinks, “Thanks to my past misdeeds I should suffer far, far greater than I am suffering now. So it is by the mercy of the Supreme Lord that I am not getting all the punishment I am due. I am just getting a little, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Therefore he is always calm, quiet and patient, despite many distressful conditions. A devotee is also always kind to everyone, even to his enemy.

Therefore queen Kuntīdevī prays as follows:

vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat tatra tatra jagad-guro
bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād apunar bhava-darśanam
[SB 1.8.25]

I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.

Śrīa Prabhupāda: So that is very interesting verse that vipada, calamities, danger, that is very good if such danger and calamities remind me of Krishna. That is very good. Tat te ‘nukampam su-samiksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam. A devotee, how he receives dangerous position? Danger must be there. Danger… Because this place, this material world is full of dangers. These foolish persons, they do not know that. They are trying to avoid the dangers. That is struggle for existence. Everyone is trying to become happy and avoid danger. This is the material business. Atyantika-sukham. Atyantika-sukham. Ultimate happiness. A man is working and thinking: “Let me work now very hard, and let me have some bank balance so when I shall get old, I shall enjoy life without any working.” That is the inner intention of everyone. Nobody wants to work. As soon as he gets some money he wants to retire from work, and to become happy. But that is not possible. You cannot be happy in that way.

Here Kuntīdevī speaks of apunar bhava-darśanam. The prefix a means “not,” and punar bhava means “repetition of birth and death.” The real danger is the repetition of birth and death. That must be stopped.

So a devotee never takes dangerous position as very reverse position or very calamitous position. He welcomes. Because a surrendered soul, he knows either danger or festival, they are all different demonstration of Krishna. Krishna is absolute. In the sastra it is said that just like there are two kinds, two sides, religiosity and irreligiosity, just the opposite. But in the sastra it is said the religiosity is just the front portion of God, and irreligiosity is the back portion of God. So God’s front portion or back portion, is there any difference? God is absolute. Therefore a devotee, either in opulence or in danger, he is not disturbed. He knows both these things are Krishna. Either in dangerous position… “Now Krishna has appeared before me as danger.”

The material world is full of dangers (padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām). For example, if one is on the ocean one may have a very strong ship, but that ship can never be safe; because one is at sea, at any time there may be dangers. The Titanic was safe, but on its first voyage it sank, and many important men lost their lives. So danger there must be, because we are in a dangerous position. This material world itself is dangerous. Therefore, our business now should be to cross over this sea of danger as soon as possible. As long as we are at sea, we are in a dangerous position, however strong our ship may be. That’s a fact. But we should not be disturbed by the sea waves; instead, we should just try to cross over the sea and get to the other side. That should be our business.

As long as we are in this material world, there must be calamities because this is the place of calamity. But even with calamities our business should be to develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so that after giving up this body we may go back home, back to Kṛṣṇa.

HOW DEVOTEES RESPOND TO CALAMITIES

A devotee, however, is never disturbed by dangers, reverses, or calamities. Rather, he welcomes them. Because he is a surrendered soul, he knows that both dangers and festivals are but different demonstrations of Kṛṣṇa, who is absolute. In the śāstra, the Vedic literature, it is said that religion and irreligion, which are complete opposites, are merely the front portion and the back portion of God. But is there any difference between God’s front and God’s back? God is absolute, and therefore a devotee, either in opulence or in danger, is undisturbed, knowing that both of these are Kṛṣṇa.

When a devotee is in danger, he thinks, “Now Kṛṣṇa has appeared before me as danger.” In His form of Nṛsiṁhadeva, the Lord was dangerous to the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu, but the same Nṛsiṁhadeva was the supreme friend to the devoted Prahlāda Mahārāja. God is never dangerous to the devotee, and the devotee is never afraid of dangers, because he is confident that the danger is but another feature of God. “Why should I be afraid?” the devotee thinks. “I am surrendered to Him.”

Therefore Kuntīdevī says, vipadaḥ santu: “Let there be calamities.” Vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat: “Let all those calamities happen again and again.” Because she knows how to remember Kṛṣṇa at times of danger, she is welcoming danger. “My dear Lord,” she says, “I welcome dangers, because when dangers come I can remember You.” When Prahlāda Mahārāja’s father was putting him into dangerous predicaments, Prahlāda was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. So if we are put into a dangerous position and that danger gives us an impetus to remember Kṛṣṇa, that is welcome: “Oh, I am getting this opportunity to remember Kṛṣṇa.” Why is this welcome? It is welcome because seeing Kṛṣṇa or remembering Kṛṣṇa means advancing in spiritual life so that we will not have to suffer any more of these dangers. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna (Bg. 4.9). If one becomes advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the result will be that after giving up the body (tyaktvā deham) one will not have to take birth again in this material world (punar janma naiti). This is to be desired.

Suppose I am very comfortable at the present moment. My body may be comfortable, but there will be death, and then another birth. After giving up my present body, if I get the body of a cat or a dog, what is the meaning of my comfortable position? Death is sure, and after death one must surely accept another body. We may not know what kind of body we shall get, but we can know from the śāstra, the Vedic literature. The śāstra says that according to our particular mentality, we will get a particular kind of body. Although I may be in a comfortable position, if I keep myself in the mentality of a dog, I shall get my next life as a dog.

Therefore, what is the value of this comfortable position? I may be in a comfortable position for twenty years, thirty years, fifty years, or at the utmost one hundred years. Yet if, when I give up this body, my mentality causes me to become a cat, a dog, or a mouse, what is the benefit of this comfortable position? But people do not consider this. They think, especially in the present age, “I am now in a comfortable position. I have enough money and a good estate. I have ample comforts and enough food. When this body is finished, I am not going to take birth again, so as long as I am living, let me enjoy life.” This is the modern philosophy of hedonism, but it does not correspond to the facts.

Kuntī, however, is aware of birth and death, and she is anxious not to repeat this process. This is indicated by the words apunar bhava-darśanam. If one always sees Kṛṣṇa, one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for Kṛṣṇa consciousness means always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. One’s consciousness should be absorbed in Kṛṣṇa thought. Therefore the spiritual master gives different varieties of engagements to devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For example, under the direction of the spiritual master the devotees may sell books in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But if the devotees think that the energy invested in selling books should be diverted into selling jewelry, that is not a very good idea. Then they would become nothing more than jewelers. We should be very much careful not to be diverted from Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even if there is danger or suffering in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should tolerate it. We should even welcome such danger, and we should pray in appreciation to Kṛṣṇa.

HOW DEVOTEES SHOULD PRAY

How should we pray? Tat te ’nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ: “My dear Lord, it is Your great mercy that I have been put into this dangerous position.” That is the viewpoint of a devotee. He doesn’t regard danger as danger. Rather, he thinks, “It is Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.” What kind of mercy? Bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam: “Because of my past activities, I was meant to suffer very much. But You are mitigating that suffering and giving me only a little.” In other words, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa a devotee may receive only token punishment.

In court an important man is sometimes found to be a culprit, and the judge may be able to fine him a hundred thousand dollars and know that the man can pay it. But he may tell the man, “You just give one cent.” That is also punishment, but it is greatly minimized. Similarly, we have to suffer for our past deeds. That is a fact, and we cannot avoid it. But karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.54): the sufferings of those who engage in devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are minimized. For example, one may have been destined to be killed, but instead of being killed with a knife, he may instead get some little cut on his finger. In this way, for those who engage in devotional service, the reactions of past activities are minimized. Lord Kṛṣṇa assures His devotees, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: “I shall give you protection from the reactions of sinful life.” So even if a devotee has a history of very grievous criminal activities behind him, instead of being killed he may only get a little cut on his finger. Why then should a devotee fear danger?

We should simply depend on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because if we live Kṛṣṇa consciously under all circumstances, we shall not return to this material world (apunar bhava-darśanam). (TQK/8)