People often ask:
“If there is a God, why does He allow so much suffering in this world?”
“If there is a God, why does He allow so much suffering in this world?”
We witness pain, injustice, disease, and loss, and wonder:
If God is all-knowing, does He not see it? If He is all-powerful, why doesn’t He stop it?
These are heartfelt and sincere questions. Let's explore them through the lens of divine wisdom.
📌 Is It Reasonable to Question God?
Scriptures describe God as sarvajña (all-knowing) and sarvaśaktimān (all-powerful).
So why doesn't He eliminate suffering altogether?
So why doesn't He eliminate suffering altogether?
Why doesn’t He:
- Make us all-wise instantly?
- Free us from the cycle of birth and death?
- Make us saints without effort?
These may sound like valid demands, but let us pause and reflect:
👉 Are we placing expectations without first understanding the purpose of life and the justice of divine law?
👉 Are we placing expectations without first understanding the purpose of life and the justice of divine law?
🏛️ The Analogy of the Prisoner
Consider the example of a prisoner saying:
“The government has the power to release me. Why doesn’t it?”
“The government has the power to release me. Why doesn’t it?”
The government replies:
"You are here because of your own actions. You are not being punished unfairly—you are being reformed."
👉 Likewise, God’s laws are perfectly just. He is not to blame for our suffering. We are in this material world not by accident, but by our own past choices.
🔁 Why Are We in This World?
It is said:
“You do not get what you desire. You get what you deserve.”
This material world is a realm of dualities—joy and sorrow, success and failure.
👉 We are here because we once turned away from God and sought independent enjoyment, forgetting our divine origin.
Just as a hospital is filled with patients, this world is filled with suffering souls. Should we blame the hospital for the illness of its patients?
No. The hospital exists to heal. So too, this world exists not to gratify us, but to awaken us.
🎓 The World is a School, Not a Paradise
We often wish for a life free from pain, but pain has a divine purpose.
Just as a student may dislike exams, yet they are necessary for growth, suffering is the soul’s examination.
👉 If we could be happy without becoming better, the purpose of God’s creation would fail.
Suffering exists not to punish us, but to transform us.
🌋 What About Natural Disasters?
Sometimes, suffering comes not from personal wrongdoing, but through natural calamities—earthquakes, floods, pandemics.
👉 These may be due to collective karma—societal or planetary—and often serve as global wake-up calls.
Yet, even in such disasters, we often hear of miraculous rescues—people spared against all odds.
👉 These are not coincidences. They reflect God's mercy even within the framework of cosmic justice.
❓What About Innocent Suffering?
One of the most difficult questions is:
“Why do innocent people, like children or the good ones, suffer?”
“Why do innocent people, like children or the good ones, suffer?”
To understand this, we must know that the soul is eternal.
This life is a continuation of countless past lifetimes.
👉 What seems “undeserved” may be karma we no longer remember, but which still bears fruit.
Also, a child's suffering may be linked to the karma of their parents or family—a concept known as collective karma. The soul chooses a particular womb based on its karmic needs.
In all cases, God’s justice is never blind or cruel—it is precise, purposeful, and ultimately compassionate.
🔥 Pain: A Divine Alarm
If you put your hand in fire, it burns (which is bad), but you feel pain (which is a good thing).
Pain warns you to pull back.
Pain warns you to pull back.
👉 Similarly, suffering is the soul's alarm, alerting us that we are separated from God.
From God's view, even pain is a blessing, guiding us back to the path of truth.
🕉️ A Higher Realm Exists
This world is temporary and full of suffering, but God has created a divine realm, free from misery.
As He says in Bhagavad Gita 8.15:
मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दु:खालयमशाश्वतम् |
नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मान: संसिद्धिं परमां गता: ||
mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśhāśhvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ sansiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ
👉 “Having attained Me, the great souls are no more subject to rebirth in this world, which is transient and full of misery, because they have attained the highest perfection.”
That divine abode—Golok, Vaikuntha, Saket—is:
- Eternal
- Overflowing with divine knowledge, divine love, and divine bliss
- Free from disease, fear, and ignorance
👉 This is our true home—our divine inheritance.
💖 God’s Love in Our Suffering
Even when we suffer, God never abandons us. Like a loving parent watching a child try to walk. He lets us struggle, but lovingly supports us.
👉 “I am seated in the hearts of all living beings,” says the Gita.
Suffering is not proof of God’s absence—it is the very place where His mercy becomes visible.
🌱 The Purpose Behind Suffering
God allows suffering not out of cruelty, but compassion.
It is meant to:
- Turn away from sin
- Free us from ego
- Reconnect us with the Divine
👉 It is God’s whisper: “My child, you are meant for more. Come back to Me.”
🪔 Strengthen Your Faith, Deepen Your Understanding
When we see suffering, let our faith not weaken, but deepen, rooted in understanding.
Understand:
- The soul is eternal
- Karma is real
👉 God’s justice is perfect—every soul reaps exactly what it has sown. But His mercy is deeply personal.
He does not see us as case files in a karmic system—He sees us as His children.
When we turn to Him with sincerity, He often intervenes beyond the rules, guiding, protecting, and uplifting us in ways only a loving God can.
Justice is the law. Mercy is love. And in God, both coexist perfectly.
Even one tear shed in remembrance of Him does not go unnoticed. That is the sweetness of His personal grace.
He does not see us as case files in a karmic system—He sees us as His children.
When we turn to Him with sincerity, He often intervenes beyond the rules, guiding, protecting, and uplifting us in ways only a loving God can.
Justice is the law. Mercy is love. And in God, both coexist perfectly.
Even one tear shed in remembrance of Him does not go unnoticed. That is the sweetness of His personal grace.
👉 Faith built on comfort is fragile. Faith built on truth is unshakable.
🌟 In Conclusion
This world is not a paradise—it is a purification ground.
God did not design it for pleasure, but for progress.
God did not design it for pleasure, but for progress.
Let every sorrow remind us of our spiritual purpose.
Let every pain turn us toward divine love.
Let suffering become the stepping stone to eternal bliss.
👉 And even in hardship, never forget: God walks with us through every trial.
✨ Reflection Prompt
Is there any suffering in your life that might be God’s gentle whisper, asking you to turn inward?
Could that very pain be a hidden doorway to your greatest growth?
Could that very pain be a hidden doorway to your greatest growth?
