The God Principle

(c) John, Rekesh 2004-2008. No part of this work may be copied or reproduced without the author's permission

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The Nature of Suffering

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It is recommended that the reader go through other prior notes in this section before tackling this one.

Suffering is one of the ways that a Being experiences the separative principle at work. As covered earlier, both the separative and the cohesive principles are absolutely essential to the functioning of the universe. Therefore suffering, in one form or other, is an integral part of the natural order of duality.This however does not mean that one MUST inevitably suffer, but only that the experience is governed by laws. The experience of suffering is meant to facilitate one's evolution in a chosen direction, helping to navigate an array of choices and outcomes. 

There is one main or root cause for suffering: viz. the use of free will along the separative principle (see foot note). Such actions bring suffering to oneself as well as to others. The law of returns (law of retribution) forces consequences to be met, which can also manifest as suffering. The feedback and amplification effect of this law has already been described here. The end result is to accelerate a Being on its chosen path of evolution. This inherent acceleration of choices is covered in detail in the chapter 'Chaos'. The 'chosen path' need not be one of love, and may exclusively be along the separative principle. Nothing in duality mandates alignment with love, and this nature of duality is essential to the functioning of the universe. It is by choice that a Being enters duality and the domain of reflection, knowing its risks and rewards.

But man is appalled by the sheer magnitude of what appears to be meaningless and needless suffering on the planet. There are nations that are torn asunder by war and genocide. Some suffer from poverty, famine and disease. Some are beset by so-called 'acts of God', such as earthquakes, floods and tsunamis. What lies behind these manifestations? The Principle of Reflection offers the answer.

In all such instances Being meets itself. Nations and geological locations provide avenues for expressing various aspects of Being, and this includes the expression of both the cohesive and separative principles. The latter principle when prominent, engenders violence - sometimes in the extreme. Add to this any effects from the laws of retribution, and the end result is often seen in the drama playing out in some of the nations of the world. Circumstances precipitated in these nations are collective reflections of Being who have gravitated to these locations. And they have gravitated there by the law of attraction 'like attracts like', or by explicit choice of purpose (such as to help).These are also lands that are worst affected by 'acts of God', such as tsunamis, famine, earthquakes and so on. These too are hardly by accident. For example, retribution that comes to a warring soul group that cared little in its soul history - about its own pillage, destruction and their effects on their victims - need not come from another warring group. An equivalent devastation is equally made possible by the phenomenon of the earthquake. Just as retribution for torture need not come as torture, but as a debilitating, long drawn out and painful disease - there are provided natural ways of meeting oneself. Thus the term 'acts of God' is not without some merit. In this process Being is often cleansed of its burdens and many times acquires a higher perspective.

The preceding discussion by no means denounces one group, or elevates one group over another. Every human being, without exception on the Earth, has committed the most grievous mistakes in its own soul history - leaving absolutely no room for illusions of superiority of one over another. Nor does it condone inaction, for offering a helping hand through benevolent intervention is exactly what the situation calls for, as it greatly accelerates the evolution of both the helper and those helped.

There may be found even deeper roots behind suffering. A key point to be understood is that humanity is really ONE at a fundamental level (see chapters 'Tree of Life' and 'War'). Whether we like it or not, we are truly our brothers' keepers. From the standpoint of higher law, the actions or the downfall of any one human being casts responsibility on ALL of humanity, though to a lesser degree than the specific individuals involved. The fragmentation and individuation of Being is only an apparent and temporary one, facilitating diversity and exploration, but the underlying deep unity of Being is in no way disturbed. The spiritual or religious exhortation to serve one another comes from an understanding of this deeper unity of the human race and that higher laws perceive humanity as though it were a kind of individual. Therefore when one human being inflicts suffering on another, he or she is indirectly imposing a  burden on oneself, as well as the rest of humanity. This has been expressed in religious texts that emphasize the brotherhood of man as: "If you kill one man, it is as though you have killed all humanity". From this perspective, suffering is self-inflicted during our process of exploration and self discovery, rather than imposed from outside; and as in the case of individual suffering highlighted earlier, the end result is an acceleration of the human race on its chosen path of evolution. In its workings, suffering helps meet one of the more important purposes of the race, i.e. to align itself along the principle of cohesion and to eventually create a society based on love and oneness. Whether it can truly succeed in this endeavor without a significant portion of it lost along the separative path, remains an unanswered question. A more detailed description of these, and the part played by the Christ, are offered in the chapters 'Mountain', 'Chaos' and 'War'.

The above notion of responsibility extends to the animal and other kingdoms of the earth as well. The underlying degree of 'unity' of the human race with beings of other kingdoms is less pronounced, and therefore the degree of inherent responsibility for actions of those kingdoms attributed to the human race is also likewise - nevertheless it exists. In the ultimate analysis, all beings are united in the manifested Godhead and therefore ONE, and in this sense all suffering anywhere is self-inflicted and facilitates collective evolution. But such an exposition offers no practical sense to the individuated human being, as proper understanding of higher laws can sometimes require keeping one's individuality aside. Therefore, for human beings and for the human race at this time, much of 'meaningless' suffering in a spiritual universe remains largely an enigma.