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Unlock This CourseThe lesson The Problem of Evil and Suffering asked why a powerful, loving God would allow moral evil and natural evil. Hinduism gives its own answer, and it rests on karma. Remember, karma means action and its results: good actions bring good results and harmful actions bring suffering.
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Most Hindus believe that the suffering a person meets is the result of their own past actions. Those actions may belong to this life or to an earlier one. This is how Hindus explain why a kind person may have a hard life, or why a small child may suffer. Hindus reason that if the cause is not in this life, it must lie in a life before it.
A well-known example comes from the Ramayana, the story of Rama. As a young man, King Dasharatha shot an arrow at a sound by a river, thinking it was an animal. He had killed a boy who was fetching water for his blind parents. Years later Dasharatha died grieving for his own son, Rama, who had been sent into exile. For Hindus the story shows that actions come back to the person who did them, even after a long time.
This means that, for Hindus, God is not to blame for suffering:
So Hindus do not see God as cruel or unfair. They believe the law of karma is fair: in the end each person meets the results of their own actions, not someone else's.
Hindus believe that people harm others because of avidya (ignorance), maya, greed and anger, as you saw in Avidya and Maya: Why People Go Wrong in Hinduism. A person who forgets that the same atman is in everyone finds it easy to be cruel. Moral evil is a human choice. The wrongdoer builds up bad karma and will meet suffering later. Hinduism has no devil who is God's equal and who is behind evil.
Hindus believe the natural world is always changing. Bodies age, fall ill and die. The universe itself is made, kept going and destroyed in great cycles, so floods, storms and death are part of how the world works. Many Hindus say that who is caught up in a disaster also depends on karma. Others say disasters are just part of a changing world and are not a punishment aimed at the victims.
Hindu tradition also sorts suffering into three kinds:
For Hindus, suffering is not an accident. It is part of life in samsara. In chapter 8 of the Gita, Krishna calls this world a temporary place that is full of suffering. No life in samsara can avoid birth, old age, illness and death.
This links suffering to the purpose of life. Remember, the final goal for Hindus is moksha: freedom from the cycle of rebirth. Suffering matters in three ways:
In another scripture, the Bhagavata Purana, Queen Kunti even prays for troubles to keep coming, because in hard times she remembers Krishna.
Hindus differ on how real suffering is. Followers of Advaita say that pain belongs to the body and mind. The atman, the true self, is never harmed. A person who truly knows this is free of suffering even now. Hindus who worship a personal God are more likely to say that suffering is real, and that God's grace helps people through it.
If suffering comes from karma, should people be left to suffer? Some people have used karma in this way, saying that the poor, or people with a disability, must deserve their lives. Most Hindus say this is a serious misuse of the teaching, for three reasons:
In chapter 6 of the Gita, Krishna says the best yogi feels the joy and pain of others as their own.
Swami Vivekananda taught that serving the poor is serving God, because God is in every person. He founded the Ramakrishna Mission, which runs hospitals and relief work.
In chapter 2 of the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that pleasure and pain come and go like heat and cold, and should be borne patiently. Detachment is for facing your own pain calmly. It does not mean being cold towards the pain of others.
Many Hindus turn to God in hard times through prayer, puja and singing. They trust that God's grace can give them strength.
Do not write that God punishes people through karma: Hindus see karma as a law of cause and effect, and say God is not to blame. Do not write that Hindus think people who suffer should be left alone: most Hindus teach the opposite.
Paper 1 style. (a) and (b) test AO1; (c) and (d) test AO1 and AO2.
(a) Identify three ways in which religious people may respond to suffering. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two beliefs about the causes of suffering in this religion. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why followers of this religion believe they should help people who are suffering. [6 marks]
(d) 'Karma is the best explanation of why people suffer.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
(a) 1. Praying (1). 2. Serving people in need (1). 3. Bearing their own pain patiently (1).
(b) Hinduism. Hindus believe suffering is the result of a person's own karma (1), which means harmful actions in this life or an earlier life come back to them as pain (1). Hindus also believe suffering is part of life in samsara (1), because every life in the cycle of rebirth includes birth, old age, illness and death (1).
(c) Hinduism. Hindus believe they should show daya, compassion. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says the best yogi feels the pain of others as their own, so a Hindu cannot ignore someone who is suffering.
Seva, selfless service, is a duty. Swami Vivekananda taught that serving the poor is serving God, because God is in every person.
Karma is also a reason to help. Walking past a person in need is an action, and it brings bad karma, while helping brings good karma.
Finally, nobody can see another person's karma. This means Hindus have no right to judge those who suffer, and their dharma is to help them.
(d) Plan. For: karma explains suffering that seems unfair, such as the suffering of a child, by pointing to an earlier life; it keeps God free of blame, as Shankara's picture of the rain and the seeds shows, so the problem of evil is less sharp for Hindus; Hindus see it as fair, because each person meets the results of their own actions; it gives suffering a purpose, as a teacher and a spur to seek moksha.
Against: atheists and humanists say there is no evidence for past lives, and that science explains natural evil through natural processes and moral evil through human choices; karma can be misused to blame people who suffer, though most Hindus reject this; other believers say suffering is better explained as a test or as the result of free will.
Possible conclusion: judge each point as you go, then pick a side. For example: karma is a fair and complete explanation for people who already believe in rebirth, but it cannot be 'the best' for everyone, because it depends on past lives that cannot be checked.
In part (c) the question asks why Hindus should help, so do not spend your answer explaining why suffering happens. Turn karma into a reason for helping: ignoring someone in need is itself an action that brings bad karma.