Tough Answers, part 1

Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy

uly. Warm evening air. But nothing to write about. My mind was blank. Then I saw an article on Microsoft News (MSN).

The title: “Nineteen Tough Questions Atheists Want to Ask People Who Believe in God.”

But the questions were not so tough. After all, Lord Krishna is tougher than any atheist. And I needed a topic to write about anyway.

So I decided to answer the questions with the teachings of Hare Krishna. It will take more than one post, of course. But please bear with me and see if my “tough” answers to “tough” questions are not also logical.

Question 1. Why Does Evil Exist?

If Krishna is all-loving, you ask, why does he let evil, or any kind of suffering, exist?

I’ve been wondering about this too since I was four. Why did God make winter? If you’ve ever lived through a winter in Chicago, you’ll know what I mean.

The freezing wind whips across Lake Michigan, and it makes no difference how many sweaters and coats and leggings and galoshes you’re wearing. That wind grabs you with icy tentacles. It jabs you and penetrates through your body. You might as well be made of gauze.

Later, in school I wondered why God created prissy old teachers and frowning principals. Nowadays I wonder about Republicans and Democrats. Always some stew simmering and bubbling in my brain.

But at last I know about Krishna, and I know the answer. We like to complain about evil in the world, yes, but we came here just for that. And on purpose too.

Planet Earth, you see, is not our home. It is a penal colony for those who have rebelled against Krishna. Did you know that in Sanskrit, the Earth is also called Martya Loka “The World of Death”? Who can deny it?

All right… Then where did we come from? When I was a little boy, I asked my father. But he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell me. It was a deep dark secret. But the Bible didn’t tell me either. Nor did my Zen books. Would I ever find out?

Well, you guessed it. Krishna told me in the scriptures. My home, your home, is in a far-away universe called Vaikuntha “the World of No Anxiety.”

No Anxiety? That must mean no winter winds and no Republicans or Democrats. It also means no death. Everyone there lives in an eternal body.

And Krishna lives there too, as he explains in the Srimad Bhagavatam (4.28.54)

My dear gentle friend, both you and I are exactly like two swans. We live together in the same heart, which is just like the Manasa Lake. Although we have been living together for many thousands of years, we are still far away from our original home.

Srila Prabhupada elaborates:

The original home of the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the spiritual world. In the spiritual world both the Lord and the living entities live together very peacefully.

[As long as] the living entity remains engaged in the service of the Lord, they both share a blissful life in the spiritual world. However, when the living entity wants to enjoy himself, he falls down into the material world.

Oh, my dear atheist, out of the corner of my eye, I can see you laughing. I know what you’re thinking. You think I’m chasing after pie in the sky. Right? Why am I taking someone’s word for what I cannot see?

Well, take a look at your own beliefs. Here’s what Prabhupada says:

You may say [to me] that ‘You have not practically experimented.’

But what [have you] experimented [yourself]? You also hear from others. You believe that they have gone to moon planet.

You have not gone. You have heard from somebody in the newspaper, that’s all. That is your authority. So if you can believe in the newspaper, then [can’t I] believe in the sastras [scriptures]?

Now you may say that the videos are proof of the moon landings, but we all understand that videos can be faked. Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?

And what about the Big Bang and evolution? Are there even videos? Or are you simply taking someone’s word?

(And speaking of videos, I have just seen one of Buzz Aldrin, the second astronaut filmed stepping on the moon.He is punching a doubter who taunted him and challenged him to swear on a Bible that the landing was true.)

Still, your belief and my belief are not the same. Why? Well, do the scientists offer any method for directly seeing the moon landing or evolution or the Big Bang?

But in the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna tells us how we can see him:

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. (10.10)

and

“My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding. (11.54)

Again, you ask, What’s the proof? Well, you know the old saying, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” It would be worth our while to taste it and find out, wouldn’t it?

But let’s go back to the original question, Why does God allow evil?

As Prabhupada mentions above, the problem starts here:

However, when the living entity wants to enjoy himself, he falls down into the material world.

It’s more than a question of enjoying oneself. The fallen soul actually wants to become God. Prabhupada explains:

If one is not jealous, one can serve Krsna very well, because jealousy and envy begin with being jealous of Krsna. For example, some philosophers think, ‘Why should Krsna be God? I am also God.’

This is the beginning of material life—to be envious of Krsna. ‘Why should Krsna be the enjoyer?’ they think. ‘I shall also be the enjoyer.

India’s Mayavada school of philosophy even teaches that one can become God through meditation. But what happens when everyone_— from the big yogi to the tiny covid virus— wants to become the supreme?

Conflict arises, and conflict breeds evil.

But Krishna shows us the way out:

This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it. (7.14)

It’s even easy, but still we refuse. Krishna has given us different paths to choose from but still we refuse. We prefer to stay in this world of evil.

Well, that’s the answer to your question, Why does God allow evil?

Because we want it.

The buck stops here.

⁓Umapati Swami, August 3, 2024