12 December 2014 - QA 3

Gurudev, it is often said that these are bad times for good people. We see this in our society that many times the wrong people end up winning and dominating others and come out as winners. They seem to be enjoying their life. What should we do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, you said it yourself. They only seem to be enjoying their life, but it is very temporary. See, when someone has to suffer greatly, they first climb to a greater height and then they fall. All such people who rise through wrong deeds or by having wrong intentions ultimately end up being very miserable. They are not able to sleep in peace at night, nor are they able to be at peace during the day. Their fall from greatness is so sharp that it completely shatters them. You on the other side, are content with yourself and get and sleep peacefully.

See, you cannot simply say that the people who are good keep suffering, or keep going through difficult times. People suffer or face difficult times because of their own foolishness, and because of their ignorance.
If someone says, 'I am very good and noble', and then goes and puts his hand in fire, then he is bound to get burnt. And when you put your hand in fire, it will burn and hurt immediately, not anytime later.
Sometimes you feel that you have not harmed anyone in your present life, or even thought ill of anyone, yet you are suffering and going through misery. This question is very common.
We often have a very limited understanding of our own life and think that life is just limited to this short time span of 50-60 years. If you look back, you will realize that somewhere you have sown the seeds for a tree of thorns, so today or sometime later you will surely have to reap the thorns of that tree.

See, there are two types of karma:
1. Those that immediately give fruit
2. Those that yield fruit sometime later
For example, if you place your hand in a fire, you will immediately get burnt, right now, not tomorrow or anytime later But if you sow a mango seed today, it will take ten years for it to grow into a tree. You will be able to reap the fruits of the mango tree only after ten years of hard work. In the same way, some karmas yield their fruits almost instantly, while some take time to bear fruit.
But do not think that every problem or suffering that you go through is only because of your actions from past lifetimes. Some of it also comes because of the foolishness and ignorance you have in the present lifetime also.

To free yourself from the results of past actions, you should regularly practice your sadhana. It definitely helps to nullify the bad influences of the past karmas. But at the same time, we should act with intelligence as well.
Do not think that 'Oh, I am so noble and good-natured, so only good things should happen to me', no. You should also have a presence of mind and use your intelligence from time to time before you act. Do not keep your intellect locked up somewhere. Use it wisely.