Along with free will comes responsibility

This year, in 2019, Belgaum witnessed torrential rain for continuous twelve days. There was so much destruction and some loss of lives. We had multiple leakage points inside the house, even above the cooking area in the kitchen. To add to that, the water filtration plant stopped working due to the accumulation of dirt from the muddy water. So, more than days (still waiting, as of 13^th August) there has been no water supply!

Lot of humanitarian work was also going on. Our friend who was marooned in his house with his bed ridden mother told us that they were being supplied with food and drinking water daily. It is then that I got this message from a friend:

“Beena, what is happening around you, does not disturb you? I have high fever cold and cough. I feel so helpless.”

I was thinking that she felt so helpless because she was ill. But her message told something else:

“For me anything that happens outside me, disturbs me a lot. I can’t bear to see anybody suffering. I don’t know when I’ll become emotionally strong. Do we have special prayers for the suffering? Some groups posted some mantra to stop the rains. Does that work?”

 I replied’ “Mantra to stop the rains, I don't know its effect. Why don't you try and see? Nature is managing everything wonderfully, we need to have faith in that. Happiness and suffering are both part of Maya, this basic understanding is very important for a stable life,” to which she commented:

“True, but when thousands become shelter less, no food to eat, then what is our duty towards them? Is this destruction God made? Why will God want good people to suffer?”

Me:  “Our duty is to help them, by donating things, going and distributing things to them, praying for them and sending Reiki to them. At the same time, keep our inner self clear and blissful. We need to understand we have no control over external incidents.

One saying helps me so much and that is ' God, give me the courage to change the things I can, serenity to accept things I cannot change, and wisdom to see the difference.' The sad fact is majority has lost that wisdom :( ”

She replied: “You believe this is God’s plan? How can destruction be God’s plan? Even in Mahabharata, Krishna could certainly change Duryodhana’s mind, but he didn’t do it. He gave Duryodhana choice. I think weak people should not be given a choice.

Tena vina tra na mapi chalati - without Krishna’s will, even a grass reed cannot bend.

My own experience- I lost so many good opportunities in life because of choice - I chose a wrong one. If God had to control my choice, I would have reached perfection now.”

My response was “If there is a story with only heroes, all doing only good work, will there be a readership for that?

God controlled all our actions when we had lives of animals. In human form, we are the images of God, he wants us to have free will and develop wisdom to make right choices.  Lord Krishna, after giving all the advice to Arjuna, finally told him that he was free to choose the line of action. Why, as humans, we want to run away from our responsibilities and dump the selection of choices to God?

If weak people are not given choice, how will they learn from their mistakes and become strong?”

If one is running away from the responsibility of making right choices in life, believe me, there is no escape (I know as a past life regression therapist). You will keep on incarnating till you learn your lessons well and graduate. In this journey, spiritual lessons and practices definitely help.