If God is Merciful, Why do we Suffer?

(written on June 18, 2020)

Perhaps the most famed question which atheists and mayavadis use to defer the existence of God is: “If God is all merciful, then why is there so much suffering?” Less intelligent people argue that God doesn’t exist because there is evil in the world. They believe that if God was really so benevolent, then He would be sure to not give us so much trouble in this material world.

However, the truth is that it is actually our fault that we have to endure such difficulties. The purport of BG 5.15 perfectly answers this question which many have failed to understand. Srila Prabhupada writes that the Lord is not at fault. According to the Vedanta-sutra 2.1.34, “The Lord neither hates nor likes anyone, though He appears to.”

The living entity falls down to the material world due to his desire to enjoy independently. The Lord did not force the living entity to come to the material world: it is by his own free will and desire to forget Krsna and to be an independent controller (ishwara) that he comes down and gets conditioned by the modes of material nature. This has been happening since time immemorial. This is explained in the purport of BG 5.15, “He does not create a particular situation for any living entity, but the living entity, bewildered by ignorance, desires to be put into certain conditions of life, and thereby his chain of action and reaction begins.”

Because of ignorance, the living entity experiences suffering. Srila Prabhupada explains this in the purport of BG 5.14, “It is ignorance acquired from time immemorial that is the cause of bodily suffering and distress.” The Lord explains in BG 2.14 that the material world is filled with nonpermanent happiness and distress which keep coming and going, like the seasons. This material world is dukhalayam-ashaswatham or full of miseries and temporariness. However, it has a specific purpose.

The Lord has specially created this material world in such a way that the living entity can realize his constitutional position and relationship with Krsna and go back to Godhead by perfecting his life. He comes down to this world to give us the knowledge of isvara, the Supreme Controller; jiva, the living entity; prakriti, material nature; kala, time; and karma, activities. It is our duty to surrender unto Him and follow his teachings. By this, we can understand the extent of the mercy of the Lord: He is giving us ample opportunity to engage in Krsna consciousness, without forcing us or inferring with our free will. Infact, the Lord is the constant companion of the living entity in the form of the Supersoul.

The Lord knows everyone’s desires: according to BG 5.15, “The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it.” Srila Prabhupada explains in BG 5.15, “The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires of the minute independent living entities. However, when one desires Kṛṣṇa, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy.” Here, one can understand that the Lord fulfills the desires of everyone, but especially for those who desire Him.

However, due to being under the spell of ignorance, the living entity forgets about his constitutional position and believes that the Lord is at fault although that is not factual. Srila Prabhupada explains this in the purport of BG 5.15, “Therefore the embodied soul, by his immemorial desire to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness, causes his own bewilderment. Consequently, although he is constitutionally eternal, blissful and cognizant, due to the littleness of his existence he forgets his constitutional position of service to the Lord and is thus entrapped by nescience. And, under the spell of ignorance, the living entity claims that the Lord is responsible for his conditional existence.”