Derivative Images

If God expresses His will through, and in, the universe then why are the horrors we find there unbeatable by any of the tortures perpetrated by man? The wanton malignancy of certain parasites, ants, worms; the poisonous bites and stings of certain insects and reptiles; the dreadful fish like piranhas which strip unfortunate wretches to a skeleton in a few minutes; the infectious germs in jungle and city alike; the intimidating hordes of vermin which threaten to multiply and destroy other forms--are they all God's goodness?

Even believers may sometimes ask themselves the question: "Is God blind and unseeing to human suffering--so small an item in the vastness of His universe--or callous and indifferent to it?" Those who see no sign of God in the universe, and leave it at that, are at least in a better position than those who think they can detect an underlying hostility in the universe. The absurdity of life and the insanity of man cast doubt upon the sanity of their Source. But this is a surface point of view. The order which has been established throughout the cosmos is a perfect one. If the human mind fails to see this fact, it is partly because human feelings, prejudices, aversions, and attractions sway it and partly because the World-Idea unveils itself only to those who are ready.

The universe is perfect because God is perfect. But it is for each man to find and see this perfection for himself, otherwise the trouble and tragedy in life may obstruct his vision and obscure his path. If the Mind behind this universe is perfect, then the pattern of the universe itself must be perfect too. And so it will show itself to be, if we muster up the heroism needed to cast out our feeble, sentimental, and emotional way of looking at things, if we put aside for a few minutes our personal and human demands that the universe shall conform to our wishes.

The more intellectual they are, the more they feel that God has somehow blundered, that they could have made a better or kindlier job of the universe than he has, and that too much unnecessary suffering falls upon his creatures. The sage, however, with his deeper insight and his serener mentality, finds the contrary to be the case and is set free from such bitter thoughts. It is preposterous presumption to look in the divine Intelligence for what can only be found in the limited and little human one. Men judge the world without knowing the World-Idea, certainly without conscious contact with the World-Mind. The moment we establish a right relation with the Mind behind the Universe, in that moment we begin to see as ultimately good certain experiences which we formerly thought to be evil, and we begin to see as dreamlike many sufferings which we formerly saw as real.

The answer to those who admit they can understand and accept the existence of suffering when it is the result of karma caused by man's conduct toward man, but cannot understand and accept it when caused by Nature's havoc, by earthquakes and floods, by wild beasts and tornados, may not be a palatable one. It is that calamity and suffering, destruction and death, are ordained parts of the divine World-Idea, which needs them to ensure the evolution of entities. It is also that, after all, these things happen only on the surface of their consciousness, for deep down in the Spirit there is perfect harmony and unbroken bliss.

Just as we find strife, violence, and evil on the surface of human existence but divinity, harmony, and peace at its core, so we find cruelty, suffering, and malevolence on the surface of the world's existence but intelligent beneficent purpose at its core. It is ultimately an expression of God's wisdom, power, and love.

The World-Idea is perfect at every point and every stage of its eternal unfoldment.

In glimpses of the World-Idea, human observational and intellectual beings discover an arrangement of things and creatures, of activities and circumstances, whose beauty and wisdom in one place evokes their constant wonder, but whose ugliness and horror in another place draws forth their strong protest. There is no answer to this enigma but simple religious trust for the shallow multitude and movement to another level by mystical experience for the serious seekers. In the first case there is the hope that in a God-governed world all is arranged for the best, while in the second there is the overwhelming feeling that it is so. The philosopher is also possessed of hope and feeling but, venturing into a wider area, adds knowledge. We see the underside of the pattern only--and merely a part of it at that--and inevitably judge Nature to be cruel, "red in tooth and claw." If we could see the upper side and the whole of it, the pattern would show itself perfect.

From this ultimate point of view there are no sins, only ignorance; there are no clumsy falls, only steps forward to the heart's wiser levels; there are no misfortunes, only lessons in the art of disentanglement. Pain and suffering belong only to this physical world and its shadow-spheres. There is a higher world, where joy and happiness alone are man's experience.

The structure and working of the universe may not be stamped with "goodness" as we understand it, nor with "perfection" as we envisage it. Consider them from all aspects, however, in a philosophical manner and you will find them essentially "right." Because there is a Divine Mind back of the universe, there are Divine Wisdom and Goodness in the universe.

The universe of our experience is governed by justice and wisdom, by ultimate goodness and infinite power. The universe has infinitely more intelligence behind it than the men who live in it. This remains true even though there is much that seems unnecessarily brutal and unacceptable to compassionate believers in a divine order.

Let evil appearances be what they are, the revelation of insight contradicts them and shows the divine presence throughout the whole universe and behind all happenings. Even the violent, sudden, and unwanted decease of such a multitude of persons in war, pestilence, famine, or eruption has a positive meaning in the divine World-Idea and is not at all vain or useless.

The truth about cosmic laws is sometimes terrifying to our human fears, sometimes repulsive to our human feeling. It may fitly be called ugly at such times. But the infinite power behind those laws is always beautiful.

In spite of contrary appearances this is still God's world.

We live in an orderly world but not in a humane one.

Passages from https://paulbrunton.org/notebooks/26/1