the speaking tree - Disasters: Making Sense Of Human Suffering
Rajiv Vij
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Over two million children were impacted by the recent Nepal earthquake; over half a million people rendered homeless; and thousands dead. More recently, floods in eastern India have caused suffering to many . The impact of natural disasters on human life is staggering. These events shake up our faith. We wonder about the existence of God or another higher force and its justice why would it want millions of innocent people to suffer this way? Here's an attempt to make sense of such suffering.Firstly, natural disasters are not disasters in themselves. They are events that emanate from the natural working of the universe and follow its laws. The sun rises and sets as it needs to, the clouds turn into rain as they need to, and the plants are born some to become trees and some to die early as they need to. However, we are conditioned by our judgmental evaluation of every situation as good or bad based on how it affects us. We clearly take the havoc caused by such disasters personally and experience them as evil.
Having said that, these events are sometimes an expression of the growing ecological imbalance with which humans are collectively living with mother earth. They are an alarming reminder that the excessive focus on mate rial progress at the cost of negative environmental impact could eventually kill the whole.
Collectively aligning our ac tions with the rhythm of nature and its laws will eliminate the excessive reactions of the earth.s Secondly , when impacted by these events, we tend to wonder if it's our personal fault or bad karma. Questions like, why is this happening to me, what have i done to deserve this, is this God or Universe's way of punishing me, flood our mind. The reality is these events are agnostic to the goodness, integrity , faith, race or colour of their victims. They are in no way a form of punishment directed at the affected individuals.
As per the law of karma, what we experience at the level of our psyche and inner state is a direct reflection of our cumulative thoughts, intentions and actions. However, what manifests in our lives at the physical level is influenced by another dimension as well that of the superseding laws of nature. That's why a corrupt businessman can be wealthy and a saint could meet with an accident. Thus, it's futile to blame our individual selves for being a victim of any of nature's tragic events.
Further, it's important to recognise that it's not what happens to us at the physical and material level, but how we respond to it, that has a deep impact on our inner state and on the ongoing cycle of karma. Starting with learning to not blame or pity ourselves, we can practice meditation or other reflective techniques to reframe our outlook, connect with our inner source of strength and wisdom, and make peace with our reality.
Lastly , witnessing tragic death of loved ones, particularly of young children, creates insufferable pain for the survivors. Living through it plainly seems pointless. However unbearable and despairing our lives may appear in such circumstances, there's potential for a meaningful purpose to every human life. Every personal crisis can be a powerful teacher towards fulfilling our deeper purpose. Experiencing irreparable loss could become a pathway to deepening our sense of detachment, softening our ego, acquiring resilience, and learning to be compassionate towards ourselves and others. (The author is a life coach.)
Having said that, these events are sometimes an expression of the growing ecological imbalance with which humans are collectively living with mother earth. They are an alarming reminder that the excessive focus on mate rial progress at the cost of negative environmental impact could eventually kill the whole.
Collectively aligning our ac tions with the rhythm of nature and its laws will eliminate the excessive reactions of the earth.s Secondly , when impacted by these events, we tend to wonder if it's our personal fault or bad karma. Questions like, why is this happening to me, what have i done to deserve this, is this God or Universe's way of punishing me, flood our mind. The reality is these events are agnostic to the goodness, integrity , faith, race or colour of their victims. They are in no way a form of punishment directed at the affected individuals.
As per the law of karma, what we experience at the level of our psyche and inner state is a direct reflection of our cumulative thoughts, intentions and actions. However, what manifests in our lives at the physical level is influenced by another dimension as well that of the superseding laws of nature. That's why a corrupt businessman can be wealthy and a saint could meet with an accident. Thus, it's futile to blame our individual selves for being a victim of any of nature's tragic events.
Further, it's important to recognise that it's not what happens to us at the physical and material level, but how we respond to it, that has a deep impact on our inner state and on the ongoing cycle of karma. Starting with learning to not blame or pity ourselves, we can practice meditation or other reflective techniques to reframe our outlook, connect with our inner source of strength and wisdom, and make peace with our reality.
Lastly , witnessing tragic death of loved ones, particularly of young children, creates insufferable pain for the survivors. Living through it plainly seems pointless. However unbearable and despairing our lives may appear in such circumstances, there's potential for a meaningful purpose to every human life. Every personal crisis can be a powerful teacher towards fulfilling our deeper purpose. Experiencing irreparable loss could become a pathway to deepening our sense of detachment, softening our ego, acquiring resilience, and learning to be compassionate towards ourselves and others. (The author is a life coach.)
