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Spirituality
Tsunami :
Should We Lose Faith in God?
Tragedy of the Century
 Millions
have perished, and millions have been wounded and left homeless. Tsunami
has shown its lethal power. Somehow, due to unknown reasons, India has
remained in the ire of nature. We have been suffering consistently due
to natural calamities. One after another, deadly blows are being given
to the nation. Whenever we are trying to rise our head, we are given a
blow. But this time, it is not just India, but a huge chunk of
Aryavarta, the land of the Aryans, now called Asia, that is suffering
immensely. Indonesia has suffered the utmost, with over 80,000 passing
away. Sri Lanka comes next. And then, it is India.
No one has the strength to stop the heartrending cries of the bereaved.
Children, helpless because of having lost their homes, parents, and
everything else, don't even know how to cry. They are shocked. Elders
are suffering mental torture. Thousands have been orphaned. There can be
no power to wipe the tears that have been flowing since the tragedy
struck Asia. The heartfelt condolences, sympathies, and affection of all
sane individuals go to everyone who is suffering today. The physical
shock, the mental agony and trauma, the spiritual loneliness- - all have
joined together to attack the soul of the suffering. Let there be
strength enough in everyone’s heart to bear the pain of suffering, is
our earnest, humble prayer.
The Questions
Tsunami now, and earthquakes and tornados earlier, have been raising
some important questions in our minds.
1. Why do such things happen?
2. Is there a merciful God?
3. Why are innocent people suffering?
4. What can we do to the suffering?
These are very important questions, and should not be brushed aside.
Such disasters definitely bring faithlessness in human hearts. When even
ordinary blows can shake our faith in God, such colossal incidents will
definitely create many atheists. It is therefore good to think of these
questions.
Question 1: Why do such things happen?
Everything was all right before the incident. Perhaps mothers were
cradling their children, thinking how big and great these little ones
would become in time. Perhaps fathers were concerned about the education
of their sons and daughters. Perhaps, since it was a Sunday, many were
dreaming of a wonderful day ahead, and a wonderful new year. But it
came. And it swept away not only dreams, but the dreamers, their
possessions, their all, and everything too. Why? What went wrong?
The simple answer is, it is not possible for human beings to be
all-knowing. If we had been all-knowing, we could have announced that
tsunami could strike any time. We could have saved countless lives. We
can’t say what will happen the next moment. We can’t understand why
things happen the way they do. What to speak of our human capacities, we
in spite all the scientific advancement couldn’t measure this event
beforehand, and when we tried to do that, it was a false alarm, creating
panic and confusion.
Therefore we must understand that there is a complex process going on in
this universe. It is impossible for limited minds to understand the why
and wherefore of things. Being involved in the process, we cannot
understand the process fully at any time. We cannot, for instance,
understand why some are good and some bad; why some are happy while
others are miserable; why some suffer while others enjoy, and so on. No
genetics can explain why someone is born blind, while others are not.
Genetics cannot say why someone has congenital disease, while others do
not. All logic fails here.
The Law of Karma
There is, however, a great theory of Karma, a contribution of India to
the world. ‘Karma’ means ‘action’; it also means ‘reaction’ to action.
Whatever I do is karma: breathing, blood circulation, every voluntary or
involuntary act is karma. But what we do will not end in our doing. It
will produce its effect - - good, good; bad, bad. So that also is
generally called karma. The actual word should have been karma-phala. As
we sow, so we reap: this is the fundamental principle of karma. We are
what we are today because of our karma. This is NOT fatalism. We must
remember this. Hinduism, or Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion, is
never fatalistic. It is optimistic. How? If I am what I am today because
of my past deeds, I have absolute freedom to do such things as to
improve my condition tomorrow. I am my own master. I am my own creator.
This, then, is the great law of karma.
The sages of India were not just mendicants; they were scientists. They
wanted to know why some children are born blind while others are not.
They wanted to know the reasons behind congenital diseases. They wanted
to know why some are deprived while some are not. They wanted to know
why some are suffering while others are not. They studied everything
thoroughly and came to great conclusions. So they contributed the theory
of karma. This is one special theory that fits in very well into many
things. It is an extremely reasonable argument too.
Yet karma should not be used to explain everything according to our
viewpoint. We sometimes try to twist things according to what we think
is true, and use karma theory. We want to look at the world according to
our viewpoint, and we therefore make use of whatever law we can to suit
our purposes. If something wrong happens to me, it is because God is
merciless. If something wrong happens to my enemy, everything is his
karma!
Therefore, if we think that it because of our karma that some of us
suffer in life, we must also think that it is our karma to serve the
suffering. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), the prophet of the modern
times, declared this great truth. If it is in someone’s karma to suffer,
it is in our karma that we must help that someone. If we don't serve our
fellow beings who are suffering from calamities, we may have to endure
similar suffering- - this is using karma theory again. Who knows who is
safe in this world? So karma theory, if it can be applied to negative
things, can also be applied to positive things. The wise will apply this
theory only to positive aspects of life: of improving oneself by good
work, of serving others, and so on.
The direct offshoot of this reasoning is that we are all one. All human
beings - - though we are from different races and colors, different
castes and religions - - are one. There is only One, manifesting as
many. That One is wearing countless bodies.
This leads us to another theory: that of collective karma. “Collective
karma” shouldn’t be misunderstood as the karma of a country or group.
People of similar karma come together. So the evil done by others may
affect us, even as good done by others affect us. It is like this: when
we are in the company of evil-minded people, we suffer. Just the
opposite is the case when we are with good people. So we are all
collectively heading either towards glory or towards disaster. But the
thinkers of the theory of karma never say that anyone is doomed.
According to the eternal religion (Sanatana Dharma) everyone will
attain the highest - - from the lowest little amoeba to the greatest
man, all will attain liberation or the highest. So all are one; and all
are marching towards Light. This world is a school: we learn lesson
after lesson here and thus march towards our Self. Until then, we must
know that we are all one—whatever be our religion, culture, faith, etc.
All our karmas are a comprehensive whole. If someone is suffering, it is me
that is suffering in him. If someone is enjoying, it is me that is
enjoying. So tragic events like the tsunami disaster show us that we
must be wide awake.
Thus the answer to the first question, as to why such things happen, is
not necessary. On the contrary, let our karma now be to serve the Lord
through the suffering masses. Let us think in this way:
‘We don’t
understand why so many died; why so many are suffering. But we
understand that we have an opportunity to serve our fellow beings that
are in deep trouble.’
We cannot understand why things happen the way
they do, we cannot anticipate events, we cannot stop unwanted events—all
because our vision is myopic.
Why can’t we understand events? It is like this: We see only one little
piece cut off from a reel of a big movie, say of about 30 reels, and
comment that we know the whole story. How can we? One still picture from
a big movie can never tell the whole story of the movie. But we say we
are able to understand the whole story, just by seeing a still picture.
Therefore we should not try to explain away every thing using our little
minds. Rather, every event should make us learn lessons: that we are
helpless creatures; that we are here to know ourselves; that we should
serve fellow beings with devotion, and so on.
Question Two: Is God Merciful?
The second important question is: Is God merciful? Swami Vivekananda
remarks:
‘Today God is being abandoned by the world because He does not seem to
be doing enough for the world. So they say: “Of what good is He?” Shall
we look upon God as a mere municipal authority?’
This is the answer to this question. God is not a municipal authority,
who must go on giving everything to us as we want. Further, we ask
another question: “What is He doing when such things happen?” It is as
if we have been paying him to be there. These are interesting questions,
though. But God must have become tired of hearing people criticizing and
insulting Him. Or, God is perhaps the most patient person, because he
has to endure such a lot of criticism always. For anything that happens,
our first victim is God.
For everything that happens, we blame God. But if something good
happens, we don't thank God for it. On the contrary, good, we say, came
because of our intelligence, our power, and our capacities. Only
whatever bad happens is because God is ruthless. And all that is bad
happens because some fools created a theory called God. This is our
usual argument.
We should be reasonable in blaming anybody or anything, what to speak of
God. Let us take two consecutive incidents for instance. Let us say that
we see a tragedy in which some innocent lives are lost. We begin to
blame God: ‘Ah! What is God doing?’ Let us say God listens to it. A few
decades later, we see some rich persons. Comparing ourselves with their
fortune, we blame God: “Ah! Just see how unjust God is! He has made them
rich, while he has left others poor.’ Now let us say God will think in
this way: ‘What sort of people are these? When the innocent persons
died, they blamed me. In their next birth I made them rich and happy,
and these people again blame me. If I do good, I am blamed. If I do
something ‘so-called’ bad, I am blamed. What shall I do?” This is just
by way of example.
Therefore, when such things happen, let us not blame God. Let us not use
our little minds to understand cosmic phenomena and to judge God.
Millions of sad events—earthquakes, cyclones, famines, floods—have taken
place on this earth, and we have died millions of times over and over
again. Many more may come in the future, who knows? Yet we have also
been experiencing the joys and pleasures of the earth. We are not always
sad and gloomy. Nobody is dying every day. It is not always that we
suffer.
God is Compassionate
Is God merciful then? Of course He is merciful. He sends us knowledge
always. He wants to help us out of suffering always. Sri Ramakrishna,
the great master of Swami Vivekananda, says: ‘God is the Kalpataru, the
Wish-fulfilling Tree. You will certainly get whatever you ask of Him.
But you must pray standing near the Kalpataru. Only then will your
prayer be fulfilled. But you must remember another thing. God knows our
inner feeling. A man gets the fulfillment of the desire he cherishes,
while practicing sadhana. As one thinks, so one receives. Pray to God.
He is full of compassion. Will He not listen to the words of His
devotee? He is the Kalpataru. You will get whatever you desire from
Him.’’
But we are ourselves weaving the cobweb of suffering around us. What can
He do? Are we seeking Him? Are we praying to Him earnestly? Are we doing
our daily duties which have been prescribed by our scriptures? Are we
free from sins? Are we just? Are we free from corruption? Are we
truthful? Let us judge ourselves before judging God. ‘Aye, says the
Vedanta, it is not the fault of God that this partiality exists, that
this competition exists. Who makes it? We ourselves…. The mercy of God
is eternal and unchangeable. It is we that make the differentiation,’
says Swami Vivekananda.
Question Three: Why should innocent people suffer?
The third important question that comes to our minds when we witness
tragedies like tsunami is, why should innocent people suffer? The
answer, again, is nobody knows why. We cannot understand everything in
creation. Therefore Sri Ramakrishna said: “You are here to eat mangoes;
not to count the number of leaves in the mango tree.” Eating mangoes
here means to serve the Lord and His creation, thereby uplifting
ourselves. Eating mangoes means to live for the purpose we have been
born. Our purpose of life is to know God, to know who we are. We are not
here to change the world, to teach lessons to God, or to bring about a
revolution in creation.
All through history, thousands and thousands of innocent people have
been suffering from natural and human-made calamities. Good people have
cried endlessly for them. Yet none can stop such things. This world is a
mixture of good and evil. It is always like this. It is like this with a
purpose: and that purpose is to make us realize that this world is not
our final destiny; that the enjoyments of this world are not our final
goal. We are here to work out our bad karma, and to perform fresh good
karma so that we may be released from bondages of limitations. Therefore
let us understand that it is impossible to understand all aspects of
creation.
Why is this world a mixture of good and evil? Why are things like this
here? According to the Indian philosophy, we have lived thousands of
lives in the past, and shall live a thousand more if we don’t realize
that we are not the bodies and the minds, but the Atman. Suppose the
pearl thinks that it is the paper that covers it, how foolish would it
look like! Similar has been our cases. We are the Atman, but we think we
are the outer shell, the body.
Until we know who we are, we shall keep on coming and going. Our lives
on earth are only to work out our karma, express our innate Self, and to
know who we are. Bodies, according to our scriptures like the Gita, are
like clothes worn by us. When they are worn out, they are thrown, and we
wear new ones. We are not the minds either. Mind is fluctuating, and it
also is a product of food. What is eternal, and the real ‘WE’ is the
Atman.
This has a corollary. We and the suffering people are non-different. We
the people of the world, the animals, the plants---we are all one. ‘The
Background, the Reality, of everyone is that same Eternal, Ever Blessed,
Ever Pure, and Ever Perfect One. It is the Atman, the Soul, in the saint
and the sinner, in the happy and the miserable, in the beautiful and the
ugly, in men and in animals; it is the same throughout. It is the
Shining One,’ declared Swami Vivekananda.
There is one Infinite within all of us, though we appear different. This
Atman is the real Truth, God, Omnipotence, etc. Since we are one, we
should consider the sufferings of others as that of ours. Sri
Ramakrishna used to live in different bhavas or moods. He was to be so
because he has to teach the world. In one particular mood, he was
standing on the banks of the Ganga one day. Suddenly, two boatmen
quarreled and one beat another on the back. Sri Ramakrishna, who was
standing far away, writhed in pain: a red mark of fresh beating had
appeared on his back. This is to show that we are all one.
Vivekananda further says: ‘Unselfish work is more paying, only people do
not have the patience to practice it.’ Selfish work is that which makes
us work for money, name, and fame. Unselfish work is that which we do
for the good of others, without thinking of personal benefit. Or,
unselfish work is that which we do and offer its fruits to God.
By serving others unselfishly, thinking of them as God, we shall benefit
immensely. Our bodies may be different, but it is the same God that is
inherent in everyone. Unless we accept this spiritual aspect of life, we
cannot comprehend the deeper aspects of existence. We cannot understand
why we are here, why we are experiencing so many things, why we continue
to live life after life, and so on. And this is the fundamental truth.
So the fundamental principle we should understand is that life has a
meaning: it is not meaningless, and that the real meaning to life comes
when we have higher purpose of knowing the Truth.
Here, we may think that this is all high philosophy, and not for us.
Anticipating this, Swamiji said: ‘The hope lies in you -- in the meek,
the lowly, but the faithful. Have faith in the Lord; no policy, it is
nothing. Feel for the miserable and look up for help -- it shall come. …
This is the gist of all worship -- to be pure and to do good to others.
He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really
worships Shiva; and if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is
but preliminary. He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Shiva
in him, without thinking of his caste, or creed, or race, or anything,
with him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in
temples.’
The goal of Vedanta is to make us better persons—better in every way, by
telling us the truth about ourselves. Infinite power of the Self,
brought to bear upon matter, evolves material development. Brought to
bear upon the mind it makes for intellectual excellence. Brought to bear
upon itself it makes of human being a God. These were the words of Swami
Vivekananda.
Let us serve our fellow beings. That much is enough. Yet we don’t want
to do this.
Question 4: What can we do to the suffering?
Finally, the last question. What can we do to the suffering masses? So
many are suffering now. Millions are homeless and without relatives.
There is no water to drink, food to eat, and no facilities for personal
cleanliness. People who had never stretched their hand all their lives
for food are begging food now. What is our duty now?
The rich and the poor, the literate and the illiterate, the wise and the
ignorant -- all are just one Self. Knowing this, we must serve the
suffering with devotion. There are several ways in which we can do serve
the masses:
-
Physical Service: If
we can, we can join hands with some institutions which are serving the
suffering now. Perhaps individual service is not effective in colossal
tragedies like the tsunami disaster. Secondly, we may contribute what we
can to the numerous organizations wanting funds for service. We can also
send clothes, dry food items, medicines, and so on by collecting them
from others. We can organize the youth of our area to help the
suffering. Then there are the schemes of adoption of the homeless
children, caring for the elderly and so on. Countless institutions and
individuals are working day and night now, to alleviate the suffering of
the masses. We too can be one with them. Thus there are countless ways
in which we can serve God in the living beings.
-
Mental Service: We can
keep in touch with those who have lost their near and dear ones and
console them. We can provide moral support to them. Suppose we are in
far off regions from where we can hardly do anything. We can be of such
psychological help to the suffering.
-
Spiritual Service:
Even the field of medicine has accepted now that prayer is the most
powerful tool. Swami Vivekananda says that if we think some noble
thoughts sitting in a remote cave, these thoughts will penetrate through
the stone walls of the cave and influence the world. Such is the power
of thought. Such is the power of prayer. So let us pray day and night
for the well-being of our brothers and sisters who are suffering. We may
collect some of our friends and go to some religious place, and offer
collective worship in memory of the departed. We can do some pious acts
like feeding the poor in memory of the departed. Further, we may light
lamps in our own shrines, or in temples, churches, etc, in memory of the
dead. Through these and several other means we can benefit our suffering
fellow beings in many ways.
We should never imagine that we are safe and it is not our business if
others suffer. Anything could happen any day to anyone. Life is a single
whole. So let us assume responsibility for the tragedy by praying
silently for the suffering. This also indirectly means dependence on
God. Let us depend on the supreme Power rather than depending upon our
own intelligence, or rather than blaming God for all that happens here.
This is the way of wisdom.
We shall end with these powerful words of Swami Vivekananda:
‘This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they
alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.’
– Swami Sunirmalananda
January 2, 2005
Swami Sunirmalananda is a
monk of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, SĂO PAULO, BRAZIL
Image Courtesy:
Hindustantimes.com
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