This is just to share what I read recently.
Sharath Chandra Chattopadhyaya, a celebrated Bengali Novelist (then an unknown young man) accompanied Swami Ramakrishnanda ( one of the 16 monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa) on his walk. He asked lot of questions to Swami who answered to him patiently and succinctly. Sharat's conversation with swami is recorded in "The story of a Dedicated life."
Here is a small portion of their conversation:
Sharath: "If GOD always thinks of the welfare of human beings, why then have they so much misery?"
Swami: "GOD is all-auspicious and all-powerful. Whatever he does is always for the good of all beings.Our parents wish for the welfare of their children, but they are not all-powerful. Endowed with these two qualities, if GOD allots sorrows and suffering to anyone then know for certain that it is His Blessing in disguise. What we call as misery is in fact His kindness. We forget God in our greed for transient pleasures. So He makes us remember Him by these little miseries. His kindness is expressed through both favourable and unfavourable circumstances. When He adorns our coveted playhouse of life with wife, wealth, friends, fame and so on- it is the PLEASANT kindness of God. But when He takes them away one after the another, makes us shed tears and drags forcible towards Him- it is His UNPLEASANT kindness."
Similar to this, I have heard from my mother about Kunthi stuti, where one day it seems she prayed to the Lord, "Krishna, give me lot of miseries, because it is at all those times that you were with us."
I am just wondering "Do any of us have the guts to repeat that prayer"???!!!!!
