Why is there poverty and suffering in the world?

Poverty and Suffering in the World

Poverty and suffering is pointed out by the atheists to prove that God does not exist. 

Before we try and find the reason for the above problem, we should understand how the world works, how the Universe works.

Whether God exists or not, the Universe operates upon certain rules.

Once we understand how the Universe works, it becomes easy for us to know the answer.

So, How does the Universe work?

The Universe works on the cause and effect principle. When we do a certain thing, we get something back in return. It is true for even the simplest of thought, speech and action by us.

So, how do we prove that Karma or Cause and Effect works?

To find out if a certain thing works or not, the use of probability is used. To know if a certain thing will work, a miniature of the same action is tested to find out if it will work. Generally, that is how it is done. 

For example, we all know that when we make a deposit in the bank, we get interest in return. We all know that when we say good things to people, we make them happy and get their good will in return.

We also know that when we take a loan from the bank, we have to repay it, with interest. We know that when we speak harsh words to people, we kindle their anger with the possibility of getting hurt by them.

We know that when we sow a mango seed and water it till it grows, we are presented with a fruit bearing tree for a life time. While we would have sown the mango seed, the fruits of the tree would probably be enjoyed by our children and grand children.

We all know that when we build a company that makes its customers happy, their reference brings us more customers and so on.

So, we see that in everyday life, there is enough proof for us to understand that our actions define the results that we get in the future.

Now, the question arises. Why is somebody who is a good human being put to so much suffering? He has not even had a harmful thought on other people.

The Cycle of Birth and Death

This brings us to the topic of continuous experiences. When you run a company and run into losses. You close the company down and open another company. You still are liable to make good the previous company's payments, isn't it?

It is the same concept here. We are all in the continuous process of birth and rebirth.

We have no clue about who we were, what we were doing in an earlier experience, wherever in this world we were.

So, the only thing to do is to ensure that we put a full stop to this suffering right here. Since, we know that our actions define our future experiences, we have to ensure that our present actions do not harm anybody through thought, speech or action.

Essentially, our present sufferings are the interest we are paying on our past loans. Once the interest and principal is paid in full, we can again start with a clean slate.

Based on how Nature works, poverty and suffering in the world is a result of the past actions of those in suffering.

To understand this, we should know that every person is not in poverty and suffering, literally. Some of us, will have enough money and wealth, but will not be able to even eat and enjoy material life properly, due to medical and other compulsions.

In the minds of those people, a poor but healthy person is more blessed than them. It is relative.

So, What do we do to alleviate poverty and suffering in this world?

For our part, we can try and alleviate the poverty and suffering of those we encounter in our day to day lives, by helping them out, as a repayment of our interests and create a deposit for the future.

And also by not indulging in anything that is physically or emotionally harmful to others, either by thought, speech and action.