Thank you for answering my question on fear. But this is continuation of same. You said God must be having bigger, brighter plans. When I see my parents now in their sixties, having a troubled and painful marriage, fighting and bitter language.. almost every day, what better and brighter plans should I hope for, I only have the option to see them go through this and i really dont feel to seek or thank god.
—Tanya, India
Yes, it’s painful to see loved ones suffering, but God won’t force happiness upon us. That would take away the gift of free will, and without free will, we would merely be robots. There’s no true joy in that.
So it’s up to each person to figure out what direction happiness lies in, and use free will to move in that direction. Until we figure that out, it’s as though we are trying to escape a maze: We bump into wall after wall—happiness isn’t here, nor is happiness there, etc. So couples fight, family members bicker, employers and employers complain, thieves steal, people cheat, exploit or even kill others—all mistakenly thinking that their actions will bring happiness. And yes, people do suffer for it, even as your parents are suffering because of their fighting. For most people, the route to happiness is a long, painful process of trial and error. That must be very saddening for the saints who try to help us shorten the process.
You ask, “What better and brighter plans should I hope for?” There’s one “better and brighter plan” that you don’t have to hope for, because it’s within your power to implement it: You could send positive, loving energy toward your parents. You could practice the Peace & Harmony Prayer; it has helped bring many “miracles.” You cannot give your parents happiness, but you can bring Light into their situation and thereby help them see more clearly—even if only a tiny bit more clearly—where their happiness lies. As you do that, you begin to generate a magnetism that can draw divine grace into this situation.
In the process, you just might become happier yourself.
Blessings,
Nayaswami Gyandev
