Inner Transformation Series – 4 - Why Undergo Suffering? - Last Part

[Ravishankar.G]

Dear All,

Contd from Part-2

Sant Kabir das says the very same thing in his couplet,

'dukh me sumiran sab karey sukh me kare na koi'

Everyone remembers God when they suffer and pray to Him for relief. It's a fact however that one does not think of the Lord as much when he is happy as when he faces some trouble.

Swami Vivekananda has said that adversity is a better teacher than prosperity. Joy does not teach us the lessons that sorrow does. Our sufferings are the ones that make us stronger.

Is it not true that it is indeed when we suffer that we are reminded of the Lord?

I was once sitting on a bench in a beautiful garden. A soft breeze was blowing and it thrilled my whole body. The gentle breeze took me to a state where I was half asleep and half awake. I totally lost consciousness of my body. At that time a friend came there and gave me a friendly but hard slap on my back. Pain seared through me. I looked up to see my friend and greeted him.

It struck me then that when our body has the luxury of gentle breeze, we totally forget its existence but a sharp pain makes us extremely conscious of our body. Thus pain makes us aware of our body is it not? Similarly, we think of the Lord incessantly when we suffer and almost forget him when we are happy.

Now we understand why the Lord gives us suffering. Because only then will we remember Him. He gives us suffering so that we can remember Him and overcome the suffering. Only when we suffer does our ego get a beating. At such times, we also learn a wonderful lesson because the thought that we are capable of everything gets a blow too. Thus when we suffer, let us remember and thank the Lord. Why thank? Thank him for the reminder! This very thanking will give us immense strength to wade through any problem effortlessly.

So let us all thank the Lord, gratefully when are happy and for His reminder when we suffer. When we do this, our sufferings will simply cease to give us pain.

From a lecture series by Sri M. K. Ramanujamji ([e-mail]), inspired by teachings his Master - H. H. Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji.
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