Why Good People Suffer

It is difficult to comprehend why some good people suffer badly in life. People who are sincere, hardworking, compassionate and helpful do suffer due to various unfavorable conditions. Everyone expects that good deeds ought to be rewarded both by societies and the Divine. However, it does not always happen. How many times we observe some good people suffer due to bad health, stressful relation and financial crisis. On the contrary, someone who adopts manipulative practices is seen to flourish and gain in material possession and wealth. It makes us to lose faith in goodness and fair dealings.

The answers to these anomalies cannot be found by just limiting our existence to this life. While it is true that bad governance and ineffective legal system works to the disadvantage of good people, but it does not explain fully their suffering. At times, nature also treats them unkindly by inflicting some physical ailment or other pain. While, we try to explain this dichotomy by talking about luck and chance, however it does not explain the real issues affecting our lives. The problem lies in expecting results of our actions to come in this life. It appears that in the divine scheme of things, it does not happen as divine time frame is much large than our perception.

Why good actions are not rewarded? It can be best understood by thinking beyond this life. Life in actuality both body consciousness and inner consciousness. The body consciousness is provided and taken away by God in the course of birth and death. However, inner consciousness (soul) remains with us from one life to another. It is immortal. It is thus evident that our existence is not limited to this life alone. Hence, it is proper to think of rewards of our actions not confined to this life but being carried forward from previous so many lives and taken forward to next births. I think this is the only plausible explanation that can mystify our role in this life despite some sort of suffering. Divine lifespan is much larger than the one life in which we are placed presently. The purpose of life is best understood when we think it as a continuum from earlier lives to this life and hereafter. People often avoid accepting this truth due to fear of leaving this life and in facing death. They often move away from reality.

It will be difficult to understand so many things happening around us without thinking of reincorporation. Hindu Mythology and so many other religious doctrines talk about rebirth. The body consciousness goes off after death and is reinforced again on rebirth with a new set of body, and a new memory. Even though we have forgotten past memories of body consciousness, it is still with us. It is therefore logical to think that everything of the past cannot be washed away as we are to bear the rewards and punishment of previous lives. Reincarnation is the outcome of our previous actions. We have to take rebirth to bear the impacts of earlier deeds.

There can be four plausible explanations based on the overall understanding of our real self for the good people to suffer in this life:

• All sufferings may not be bad. Some of the suffering in the form of material and physical discomfort may appear to be bad but it provides enough resilience to remain connected with other people and God. When everything is moving well, people often become egoistic and self - centered. Such people accumulate negative attitudes without self -introspection. Suffering is helpful for inner purification. You tend to become grateful, compassionate and humble during the moments of suffering. In the divine wisdom, some good people are made to suffer so that they improve on their real consciousness that talks about love, peace, bliss and compassion. A person can best inculcate these virtues through own suffering. This is the reason that great saints and men of spiritual wisdom abhor luxuries and suffer in their material life for remaining in touch with reality.
• Our sufferings and rewards in this lifemay not be necessarily outcome of this life but due to previous births. This makes people to adhere to life of virtues and abhor momentarily pleasures that are out of context with the flow of life. If people enjoy life by creating pain and suffering to others, it returns pain in some other form to be borne if not in this life but sometime in subsequent lives. This divine justice is the belief carried out by so many people holding spiritual perspective. This explains why some good people suffer may be due to some previous actions not known. These people through good deeds during this life are overcoming the bad effects of earlier action. This is the opportunity nature provides to improve by bearing some sort of suffering.
• Suffering is subjective in context. You may find a person suffering due to lack of material possessions and wealth. He may be finding it difficult to live a comfortable life, compared to the other person who is financially secure. However, a person facing lack of wealth may be quite comfortable in dealing with other issues in life. He may be experiencing inner peace, contentment and ideal relations. It does not necessarily mean that so called good person is suffering in all fronts. Such people are often rich in their inner condition that takes them through the rough and tough of life with courage and contentment. We are not able to notice their inner condition and only see outward suffering.
• Good people often shy away from fighting against the system. Lot of atrocities and excesses are committed by governments, societies and religious bodies. It is often observed that unless people raise their voices in somewhat violent and provocative manner, their demands will not be met. Good people do not have this nuisance value. Hence, other people often ignore them. Present day problems are the outcome of this trend which is gradually percolating in various levels in the government and societies. Legal system is found lacking in protecting the goodness of the people. Corruption, nepotism and favoritism are at the peak in many societies. This degradation is the cause of suffering by good people. Wickedness is gaining at the cost of goodness. Spiritual and social awakening of some sort will only be able to reverse this trend.