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Why do Good People Suffer?

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prasad1

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By: Swami Tejomayananda:
Objective suffering befalls all people, good or bad. Situations leading to suffering could have their roots in past actions. Objectively, the existence of pain or any other physical handicap cannot be denied, but the degree of sorrow this leads to is entirely subjective. Riches or positions of power do not guarantee happiness. People become miserable over small matters. If a person claims that he is good and is suffering, while the dishonest person is flourishing, we can be very sure that the person is not good. For a good man, the real suffering is to do something against his convictions. Suppose a pure vegetarian is faced with a situation of remaining hungry or eating beef, the chances are that the former option would be more acceptable.


All our spiritual practices cannot eliminate suffering, but they protect the mind and make suffering acceptable, just as on a rainy day, we cannot stop the rain, but can protect ourselves from getting wet with an umbrella. Bhagavan Krishna says, “A good person never suffers.” By some logic we feel that suffering and enjoyment is related to past actions. If we observe at the subtle level, we find immediate results of our actions. The moment a good thought enters our mind, we feel elation, and similarly a wicked thought causes agitation.


Real suffering is when we lose our goodness. Compromising with goodness is the greatest suffering. Even though superficially it may appear that evil doers are flourishing, it should not be an excuse to compromise. The problem arises when one does not have an ideal or when one is not able to live up to one’s ideal. But the greatest problem is when one believes that the ideal is not worth living up to and has lost its utility. Remember, a good man will stand by his convictions, because “If you do not stand for something, you will fall for everything.”
 
Sri. Prasad, Greetings.

I do not know about others. But I do not know what is suffering and I do not know who are good people. One can experience suffering in an activity usually considered as an act of pleasure; a person may be branded as a 'bad person' just by prejudicial circumstances.

In my opinion, pleasure and suffering are just subjective terms, can't be really justified even by the peson going through such experiences. Well, it's a very vague subject, open to lot of interpretations.

Cheers!
 
Technically there is no good nor bad and there is no enjoyment nor suffering.
As long as bodily identification remains, pairs of opposite will be visualized.

Can we really call anyone a good person or a bad person?
There is no one 100% good or 100% bad..most of us are somewhere in between.

What might be good for me might be bad for you and vice versa.

Many a times people think that good people suffer.
But suffering is just a perception,assimilated and it becomes an assumption.

Everything in life is an experience and experiences come from either end of the spectrum most of the while.

When face with any situation in life..most of us adapt.
Adaptation is a change in the state of mind.

So to a certain extent suffering is also a state of mind.

Facing adversity need not always mean suffering.

Adversity is facing a situation but letting the situation affect us is optional.

Most suffering brought about these days are becos of lack of contentment.

A man full of desires suffers the most and a man who is contented knows no suffering and neither is he carried away by enjoyment.
 
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I want to reproduce a poem which I had already mentioned earlier in this forum:

No one is wholly good,
No one is wholly bad;
Each one could make us glad
If we but understand.
 
If you give polished brass as gold to goldsmith he will scratch it. If you give gold then also he will scratch it. If someone suffers it may be because of his past sins and the way he reacts to that suffering will tell how good is that man. Otherwise, some one inflicting that suffering is committing a new sin. One has to harden himself against sufferings. The account book is there in the heavens.
 
I would like to add another angle. Perhaps the so-called bad people have been put there for a reason. If there were only good people the world would be rather vanilla and boring. I think even the Creator does not like playing chess only with white pieces ...
 
I think even the Creator does not like playing chess only with white pieces ...

Dear Biswa,

God might play chess with both white pieces and black pieces but He does not get involved in the outcome of the game.

He might just sing you "It doesn't matter if you're Black or White!!"

[video=youtube_share;1dgAaCUa4nM]http://youtu.be/1dgAaCUa4nM[/video]
 
I believe that everyone is a combination of good and bad. Nobody is absolutely good or bad. What is good or what is bad is also debatable....generally our inner voice guides us if we are doing the right thing or not. But the problem is we do not listen to it sometimes. Ask to keep it shut up. Good and bad.....we feel good if we buy a car...but if our neighbour buys a better or costlier one we don't feel good. When problems come in life....everyone has problems. We fight with them and try to solve. Can we say we are suffering? No. We have survived. Isn't that a good thing. So, nothing is completely black or white. Many shades of grey would be there and they make living.Birth is not in our hands and death is neither in our hands. But the period in between and how to spend it is in our hands. It is a mixed bag. Nothing absolute.
 
I would like to add another angle. Perhaps the so-called bad people have been put there for a reason. If there were only good people the world would be rather vanilla and boring. I think even the Creator does not like playing chess only with white pieces ...
Yes. It is perhaps this thinking that has given more bad men to the society! We have a choice to think we are men and different but the Lord might be laughing slyly at 'this' specie of animal's thinking! Every thinking leads to chaos and I think it is better not to think!
 
I believe that everyone is a combination of good and bad. Nobody is absolutely good or bad. What is good or what is bad is also debatable....generally our inner voice guides us if we are doing the right thing or not. But the problem is we do not listen to it sometimes. Ask to keep it shut up. Good and bad.....we feel good if we buy a car...but if our neighbour buys a better or costlier one we don't feel good. When problems come in life....everyone has problems. We fight with them and try to solve. Can we say we are suffering? No. We have survived. Isn't that a good thing. So, nothing is completely black or white. Many shades of grey would be there and they make living.Birth is not in our hands and death is neither in our hands. But the period in between and how to spend it is in our hands. It is a mixed bag. Nothing absolute.

Welcome..welcome Syamala [shakuntala] Madam... happy to see your comments here.. Hope many more will flow...

TVK
 
Real suffering is when we lose our goodness. Compromising with goodness is the greatest suffering. Even though superficially it may appear that evil doers are flourishing, it should not be an excuse to compromise. The problem arises when one does not have an ideal or when one is not able to live up to one’s ideal. But the greatest problem is when one believes that the ideal is not worth living up to and has lost its utility. Remember, a good man will stand by his convictions, because “If you do not stand for something, you will fall for everything.

I like that quotation. There are times otherwise good people loose their plot. It takes a long time time to built up goodness in a person. It takes only few instances to lose the balance. If ego takes over, everything gets lost. Then a good person becomes not so good anymore. I have seen that too many times. Loosing the goodness is the biggest suffering for a person to go through. Sometimes in life we learn lessons from situations out of the blue. I put them down to a burst of unguided energy. Almost everyone stands for their ideals. Such ideals differ from person to person, depending upon their exposure in life and exposure to knowledge.

A nice topic. My belief is, good persons never suffer that includes pain and suffering from any illness. Not so good deeds take place when a good person becomes not so good due to internal and/or external factors. When two persons are involved in such a scenario, it becomes loose/loose situation for both persons. Analysing thesituation closely becomes necessasary.

Thanks.
 
Renuka,

So to a certain extent suffering is also a state of mind.

Facing adversity need not always mean suffering.

Adversity is facing a situation but letting the situation affect us is optional.

Facing adversity is not always suffering. Facing adversity can be a challenge too. In most situations when we go through a turbulant period, we try to get on top. That struggle is suffering; but that same struggle is also facing the challenge. Sometimes the situation would end up affecting us. it may be inevitable. Purely depends upon individual situations. We may not have any option at all.

Thanks.
 
I believe that good and bad are relative terms. A person is a combination of both. Nobody is absolutely good or absolutely bad. I am not talking about saints or sanyasis. About common people like all of us including me. To some we may be good and to some we may not be.
 
I believe that good and bad are relative terms. A person is a combination of both. Nobody is absolutely good or absolutely bad. I am not talking about saints or sanyasis. About common people like all of us including me. To some we may be good and to some we may not be.

Shakuntala,

All persons are basically good. There is nothing as a bad person. Circumstances and opportunities are the prime reason to attract a person to perform a not so good deed. When we look at "absolute level", we all are good.

There two types of not so good deeds. One involves property, money and such objects. The other involves psychological. Most preople falter in the psychological set up. The boundaries in such situation is very fluid; psychological damages can be inflicted quite easily. The hardest part is, once such a damage is inflicted, only those peole involved can sooth the suffering, which may not happen due to ego conflicts. But sometimes, one person or both persons may realise the pain caused to each other and try and succeed in soothing each other. In such situations, they may also know the boundaries crossed and take extra precautions not to cross any boundaries in the future date; that is, if both the parties value each other's company that much.

Psychological impact in not so good deed is not uniform for everyone. It depends upon the persons involved, their values involved and the circumstances involved. But if both the parties are trying to sooth each others pain, then both the parties are good, aren't they?

Thanks.
 
It is good to see positive discussion. Usually it degenerates to sadness, and misery. I am happy that new people are bringing the spirit up and are sharing their positive thought.
 
Renuka,



Facing adversity is not always suffering. Facing adversity can be a challenge too. In most situations when we go through a turbulant period, we try to get on top. That struggle is suffering; but that same struggle is also facing the challenge. Sometimes the situation would end up affecting us. it may be inevitable. Purely depends upon individual situations. We may not have any option at all.

Thanks.

Dear Athreyan,

To a certain extent most of my opinions are influenced by my profession.

As a doctor..I have seen the worst cases of disease and situations in life and also how some people meet death with a smile on their face.

Life is so unpredictable and transient that adversities do not seem too much to complain about these days.

Frankly speaking I can safely bet that most of us in forum have not faced adversities in the real sense of it.

Some might even view an unhappy marriage as an adversity but actually an unhappy marriage can be viewed as using up one's Sanchita Karma at a faster rate or settling a Karmic Debt.

As long we are not dependent too much on others to make us happy..life is always much easier.
 
.we feel good if we buy a car...but if our neighbour buys a better or costlier one we don't feel good..

Dear Shankuntala,

I have seen many people like what you wrote in this line.

They are so jealous of others and only want good to happen to them.

Especially relatives tend to have this type of thinking.

But frankly speaking a car is just a mode of transport which depreciates in value the moment it hits the road.

So it does not really matter who drives BMW or Mercedes at the end of the day.
 
Dear Shankuntala,

I have seen many people like what you wrote in this line.

They are so jealous of others and only want good to happen to them.

Especially relatives tend to have this type of thinking.

But frankly speaking a car is just a mode of transport which depreciates in value the moment it hits the road.

So it does not really matter who drives BMW or Mercedes at the end of the day.

Making comparisons are inevitable. Whether it is car or house or spouse. But it should not result in jealous or hatred feeling about the others. Be happy with whatever your are having and if something better can be attained - by legal ways - try at attain the same. Anything can be compared and we can aim to attain the same (except spouse - pl don't jump to Chinna Veedu thread).

Venkat K
 
Dear Shankuntala,

I have seen many people like what you wrote in this line.

They are so jealous of others and only want good to happen to them.

Especially relatives tend to have this type of thinking.

But frankly speaking a car is just a mode of transport which depreciates in value the moment it hits the road.

So it does not really matter who drives BMW or Mercedes at the end of the day.
dear renukaji!
if the same realization comes in purchasing Flats,mobile phone,TV sets and any other electronic consumer items many problem can be avoided.many purchase things even when not required or high capacity since another person is having it.

மொபைல் எல்லாம் பேசுவதற்கு மட்டும் தான் .ஆனால் அது இப்போது எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் வந்ததால் தேவை இல்லாமல் பார்ப்பதை எல்லாம் படம் பிடிக்கிறார்கள்
guruvayurappan
 
dear renukaji!
if the same realization comes in purchasing Flats,mobile phone,TV sets and any other electronic consumer items many problem can be avoided.many purchase things even when not required or high capacity since another person is having it.

மொபைல் எல்லாம் பேசுவதற்கு மட்டும் தான் .ஆனால் அது இப்போது எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் வந்ததால் தேவை இல்லாமல் பார்ப்பதை எல்லாம் படம் பிடிக்கிறார்கள்
guruvayurappan

Yes I know..one has to be very careful in spending money as not to waste...so that extra money can be used for charity.

Even to decorate house..you know what I do?

I go to some expensive showroom and only look at designs but do NOT buy anything and then go to medium cost show rooms and try to recreate the same look!

We can recreate a classy design by using less money.
 
dear renukaji!
if the same realization comes in purchasing Flats,mobile phone,TV sets and any other electronic consumer items many problem can be avoided.many purchase things even when not required or high capacity since another person is having it.

மொபைல் எல்லாம் பேசுவதற்கு மட்டும் தான் .ஆனால் அது இப்போது எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் வந்ததால் தேவை இல்லாமல் பார்ப்பதை எல்லாம் படம் பிடிக்கிறார்கள்
guruvayurappan

I like the comment and agree with it, in my personal lifestyle. It helps that you do not have craving for material goods.

Having said that, let us take the other side of the equation. In a consumer driven economy, Gandhiyan philosophy will be the last nail on the coffin.
For younger people (except Dr. Renuka) it might be better to have a different perspective.
Every statement is appropriate in its own time and place. What was true before Independence is not true after Independence. Similarly what is normal in India is not same in Saudi Arabia.
If we all live the austere life style of Mahatma Gandhi, we will have to shut down all factories, and people will loose jobs and there will be chaos in the country. We should live within our means, but credit is the engine of growth. So home loan, car loan and credit cards should be accepted life style.
"want not - Have not", sometimes greed is the driving force.
Let us not condemn all those people who are chasing after the next BMW. I am an INVESTOR lol.

Greed is Good: Why You Need to Tap Into Your Inner Gordon Gekko - CBS News
[video=youtube;ONXpaBQnBvE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONXpaBQnBvE&feature=player_embedded[/video]
 
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