Coping with and Transcending Suffering

An unavoidable aspect of material life is suffering. Sometimes it is mild. Sometimes it is acute. And sometimes it is absolutely devastating. Since devotees also have material bodies, they are also subject to these sufferings of material existence. So how do devotees cope with and transcend these unavoidable sufferings?

The first point is that they realize that they are not their bodies. By taking complete shelter of Sri Guru and Krishna they gain a vantage point of being solidly situated in the Lord's internal energy, His spiritual energy. From this position they view all of their suffering in a detached way seeing it as something that does not actually touch or affect them. They see it instead as something happening out there in the external energy, the Lord's material energy. In this way, they never feel themselves threatened by even the most devastating of suffering situations within this material existence.

This is described as follows in the Bhagavad-gita:

yo 'ntaḥ-sukho 'ntar-ārāmas
tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaḿ
brahma-bhūto 'dhigacchati

"One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme."
BG 5.24

They also understand that in everything there is a purpose. In this way they put their complete trust and faith in Lord Krishna knowing full well that every arrangement He makes is perfect. This gives them the strength to patiently endure and blissfully transcend whatever suffering may come their way within the divine plan of the Lord.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Sri Sri Radha Damodar in Melbourne
(These are the unlimitedly beautiful and merciful Radha Krishna deities that travel all over the world with Sriman Sankarshan Das and his wife, Vishnupriya Mataji.)

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Was the Entire World India?

I am so very grateful for coming across your websites. Your wisdom is like a well that never goes dry and it quenches my thirst to drink of its nectar, which is the sweetest gift of love that man can receive. Please forgive me of my ignorance on this subject. India is known as the land of great wisdom and spiritual wealth. Was the world once just India? And if this is so, is that why the Bhagavad-gita was only originally from India? When was the world divided into different continents, and how did the different languages and races occur? Please be merciful, Your Holiness, and instruct me on this matter.

Your servant of the servant.

Kathy

Answer: Vedic Culture All Over the Universe

I am very happy that Krishna has blessed me with such a sincere, devoted reader as you. This is a great encouragement to me to carry on with my life's mission of trying to ignite a spiritual revolution on this planet for the deliverance of every man, woman, and child back to home, back to Godhead.

Yes, India at one time included this entire earth planet and this Vedic knowledge was thus naturally known throughout the world including even other planets.

The different continents have existed from ancient times. Originally Sanskrit was the world language for all civilized peoples, but with the advent of the Kali Yuga 5,000 years ago, Sanskrit gradually degenerated into the multi-languages that we find in the world today.

The different races have always been there. This is confirmed in the ancient Vishnu Purana where it confirmed that there are 400,000 different types of human species. These different human species have existed from the very beginning of the universe.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari