One evening Krishna and Uddhava went for a walk. Krishna, the avatar in Hindu mythology, joked the whole way with his childhood friend. Suddenly he stopped and said he was thirsty.

Looking around, Uddhava spotted a huge mansion. He went in and asked the wealthy family for something to drink for Krishna. They gladly agreed and invited Krishna inside, offering him fresh juice and fruit.

As they left, Uddhava heard Krishna bless the family with great riches.

A few minutes down the road, Krishna stopped once more—he said he was thirsty again. Uddhava saw the mischief in his eyes. But he looked around and saw a small hut. He went in and found a hermit sitting cross-legged in meditation. When Uddhava appealed, the hermit said that he had little to offer—only the milk of his cow, his sole worldly possession.

Krishna agreed and drank the milk happily.

As they walked away, Uddhava heard Krishna say, ‘Let his cow die!’

Outraged, Uddhava confronted Krishna: why bless the wealthy and take away the hermit’s only possession? How could he be so partial?

Krishna smiled. “Uddhava,” he said, “the wealthy family is not spiritual; the only blessing I can give them is more worldly wealth.”

“The hermit is close to liberation,” Krishna continued. “But his attachment to the cow binds him to the world. I removed that obstacle so he could progress—it was a blessing.”

We have all faced loss—failing careers, fading health, and faltering relationships. And it is painful. Sometimes it even pushes us to the dark valley of grief and depression.

Suffering is hard. We can seldom handle it with poise. We ask, “Why me?” in an effort to find an explanation for suffering.

Unfortunately, suffering often defies explanation.

It clings to us as soon as we take our first gasp and can remain unshakable until the last breath. Rich or poor, powerful or powerless, clever or ordinary—we all face it; suffering is a shared human experience.

But why?

In the Bible, Job wrestles with suffering. Agonized by the death of his children, the loss of his wealth, and the cruelty of his illness, he questions God with clenched fists.

God doesn’t explain. Instead, he asks Job a series of questions about the meticulous orchestration of the universe—from the atom to the galaxy. Job is overwhelmed. He realizes that he is just a speck in the immense universe and cannot comprehend its hidden mysteries.

Humankind has philosophized about suffering since it started thinking. There is no shortage of theories. Still no one seems to have come to a universally agreeable conclusion.

Most spiritual traditions view loss, pain, and suffering as a cleansing phase, inevitable for growth. Seen through the lens of evolutionary biology, the same pattern appears: nature continuously tests all living beings in the search for the fittest.

Krishna, in the story, alludes to this: events that seem disastrous may serve a higher purpose, though human existence is too limited to comprehend the cosmic plan.

Seeing suffering this way may not remove the burden, but it can act as a guardrail—helping us avoid despair and nihilism.

So when suffering comes, instead of sinking into despair, try asking: “What in me needs this cleansing?”

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