28 May 2015 - QA 1

Gurudev, when something good happens, we say it is Guru kripa (grace). Then what do we say when something bad happens? You say that having a Guru means one is protected, then why do bad things happen to Good people?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Well, the divine loves everybody, however they are. If the happening of bad things takes your faith away, then it is no longer faith. But if faith stays in spite of all the bad things that are happening, then the end result will always be great and wonderful.

Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas asked Krishna for a very peculiar boon. She said, ‘Lord Krishna, let bad things happen in my life.’
Krishna was shocked, he said, ‘Why do you ask for this?’
Kunti said, ‘Whenever bad things happened, I know you were with me, and helped me get over that, so I don’t mind. Every time I was in danger, I knew you were always with me.’
A realisation like that is very unique. Bad things do not happen because you are good or not, but because you must have done something bad in the past; that karma is showing up now, and we have to face the consequences. If we had wrong food, it will show up as some disease. If your state of mind was very tense, then it will show up in your body as some disease.