Whenever something unpleasant happens, a tragedy, a death or a tsunami, people get alarmed and cry, “Why?” Of course, the level of anger, frustration, worry, stress, and anxiety is multiplied many-fold when bad things happen to us and we feel the pain and suffering. But even if it happens to others, a road accident, a sudden death of a young man, a declaration of a presence of a deadly disease, all these make us so unhappy and depressed, that we cry aloud, “Why do bad things happen?”
What is the cause of bad things to happen? Is it just some random bad luck or is it the direction of the Creator that we call God? Some people believe it to be the work of the devil, or Satan or an evil force. Believers in God wonder, “Why God can't stop bad things from happening? Is God not all-powerful? Is God not capable of stopping the evil from unfolding on earth?” It becomes even worse when tragedies strike seemingly good people and the world cries, “Why? Isn't it so sad? What a pity! What injustice!” There seems to be no answer. Bad things seem to happen every day.
Susan was an honest and sincere social worker. She used to reach out to the poor and destitute and serve them. That was her job. She ran an orphanage and took care of the destitute and the discarded. She used to clean them, bathe them, feed them and take care of all their health issues. She had a lovely, happy family – a caring husband and two young children. One day suddenly, without any warning or reason, she died in her sleep, never to wake up. Her family was shattered.
Varsha was a pious woman. She had two children and she loved her husband. One day, her life shattered. Her husband left her and her two children and walked into a new marriage with a beautiful foreign lady. She was broken. She could not believe that this tragedy had struck her.
Charlie was a happy young man. One day he was driving on one of his business trips. As he was zooming to reach his destination, a truck hit his car head-on and it was over. He was crushed beyond recognition. Again, his family had no one to look up to. They were all dependant on him. They were devastated.
Richa was a caring and compassionate young woman. She loved her parents and didn't get married because she thought that she would love them and care for them, always be there for them. Suddenly, one day her father died without any warning. Just as she was trying to cope with the loss of her father, her mother suffered an attack of Alzheimer's and she asked her daughter, “Who are you?” Richa was shattered.
Why do such things happen to people? Is it because these people are bad? We know that bad things happen to good people as well. It is not that bad things happen only to bad people. Why then do bad things happen? Is it because the Creator of this universe who we call God is cruel? Does God enjoy seeing humans suffer? Is God sadistic and He enjoys the misery of human beings? Or is it something else? Is it that the Creator is not powerful enough that he is unable to prevent such things from happening? Is there an evil force, a devil, Satan, who works against God and every time God makes good things happen, evil spirits and ghosts appear and create tragedy for mankind? What is the reason for bad things to happen?
Many people believe that bad things happen because we don't have a good relationship with God. They think that evil unfolds because we do not pray enough, we do not visit our temple, church or mosque regularly and therefore, we are punished. But there are devout believers whose life is full of tragedy. There are people who pray every day and don't miss a single opportunity to go to their religious institution and follow religious practices that are laid down, but they still suffer. Why? Is God not satised by their devotion? Does God expect more from humanity and because we do not meet his expectations, He inicts suffering upon us? Or, is it because man is cruel, unkind, and unethical? Do bad things happen because man is a sinner? Is that the reason why suffering strikes man, as a reaction to his own evil deeds?
Bad things can't just happen randomly. Sometimes, it is a tsunami that wipes out lakhs of people, an epidemic that destroys communities, or a re that burns down an entire city. Why do such things happen? Humanity is unable to decipher why bad things keep happening on earth.
It is not rare to see a drunkard coming under a car and die. We realize that he himself caused the suffering to happen. There are people who are chain smokers and end up dying of cancer. They dug their own graves. There are even others who drive recklessly at breakneck speed. We are not surprised to hear of a road accident of such people. Humanity is quite aware of tragedies that befall man when man ignores risks and warnings. We hear of people drowning because they did not wear a life jacket when they were on a boat on high seas. There are people who tame tigers and one day if the wild animal gets them, we are not surprised at their demise. There are also people who die in accidents because they are re dancers by profession. Would we be surprised when bad things happen to such people?
While people's choice of action causes tragic events in life, we human beings somehow can't digest when tragedy strikes.
Bad things keep happening in this world, just as good things also happen. While we enjoy the good times, it is the tragedies of life that makes an impact on us, impacting our memory and stealing the gleam of our dreams. We celebrate the good times and forget about them, but the bad memories live forever.
But why do these bad things happen? People wonder, “Could life not be without these tragedies? Could the world not be devoid of such pain and suffering? Why is there so much disappointment and devastation? Why do we experience disease and death? Why do we get so discouraged and disillusioned with endless tragedies that destroy our joy, peace, and bliss?”
What is the cause of these calamities that strike us? It's not that only misery knocks at our door. There are moments of joy and celebration. People achieve success, enjoy holidays and celebrate birthdays. Life is a mix of both good things and bad things. Whenever something good happens, most of us spend a moment in gratitude to the Divine, but when bad things happen, we sometimes think that God is cruel.
Bad things cause misery, pain, and suffering. Is this necessary? A beautiful world becomes difcult to live in and cope with as we see suffering unfold day in and day out. But what can we do? Can we stop bad things from happening? Can we stop a hurricane from killing a community? Can we stop a disease from wiping out hundreds of people? Bad things happen and we seem to be helpless spectators.
Many philosophers in this world have pronounced that this world is full of suffering. They have analyzed that any human being who is born, experiences pain. No human being can escape from misery. While we experience physical pain of the body, common aches that knock at each of our doors, we also experience misery of the mind. We live with fear, worry, anger, hate, and revenge and we are victims of our own mind. We also suffer the agony of the ego when we get angry, upset, and disappointed. Things happen to us causing us pain of the mind, body, and ego and it seems that none of us can escape from suffering and misery. The Buddha, the awakened one, made the world accept the reality that we cannot escape from suffering. While we all accept suffering in their life, the only pity is when we see suffering strike good people and the scoundrels of this world who apparently seem to go scot-free! While we can do very little to stop bad things from happening, and we can digest tragedies from striking dishonest people, our heart breaks and cries when we see a misfortune falling upon good people. When bad things happen to bad people, we can somehow accept it. But why do bad things happen to good people? This question constantly haunts us.
