HDG on the disaster

[Guest guest]

"What was my sin?" wailed a Sri Lankan woman, arms raised to heaven, as

she wandered through her village, dazed and shattered by the sudden loss of

her son. "What was my sin?"

Reeling from the shock of cataclysmic tidal waves that suddenly devoured

impossible numbers of humanity, many people of faith question the motives of

a God who deals out death so massively to the apparently innocent. The pain

of those who lost loved ones, and the pain of those who suffer for unknown

human brethren, seem to render philosophical justifications of God's killing

inappropriate, as if adding insult to injury. Talk of karma, cosmic justice

or God's hidden ways, may offend more than comfort, outrage more than heal.

So what does a devotee of Krishna say at a time like this?

First, let us keep in mind that trauma, grief and healing all come in

stages. When people experience terrible pain, physical or emotional, their

entire being cries out for relief. Extreme pain is traumatic. It produces

trauma. A trauma is "an extremely distressing experience that causes severe

emotional shock and may have long-lasting psychological effects." The recent

natural disaster in South and Southeast Asia produced trauma on a fantastic,

almost incomprehensible scale. Thus our response, as dedicated servants of

Krishna and of all Krishna's creatures, must be unfailingly sensitive to the

various stages of grieving and trauma recovery. As timing is essential to

successful narrative or drama, so in the often ghastly drama of life, the

devotional healer must practice his or her art with precious timing so that

deep philosophy enters the stage to good effect, and not to bad. After all,

Lord Krishna Himself states in the Bhagavad-gita that austerity of speech is

to indeed speak truth, but a truth that is beneficial and satisfying.

Yet sooner or later one must speak the truth. The sincere devotee must

comfort, but enlighten as well. The best understanding of God and His work

may not always penetrate, nor proceed from, the shattered cognition of awful

trauma. Yet some day, when awful pain, like the murderous waters, subsides

and calms, the truth of Krishna consciousness must be learned. It is not an

ugly truth that mercilessly condemns the victim for his or her suffering.

Rather it is a hopeful message, that beneath the shell of our suffering

bodies, we are all divine and eternal, that for everyone of us, our worst

troubles will one day pale beside the happiness of our sure redemption by

Krishna and that true empowerment requires that we take responsibility not

only for our joy but for our grief as well.

Krishna consciousness is a supreme wisdom that must be administered by

the gentle, firm, loving hands of the Lord's servant who has deeply grasped

Krishna consciousness both as a spiritual science, and as a human art.

 

Hridayananda das Goswami