Some things in life are simply… “God Things.”
Before anything else, a moment of silence. 🙏
- For every life lost.
- For every family that lost someone they loved.
- For those who have been displaced.
- For those who may take years to rebuild their homes, their livelihoods and, perhaps most painfully, their sense of normalcy.
- My heartfelt prayers are with everyone affected by the tragedy in Nepal. 🙏
Whenever a disaster of this scale happens, there is immediately an explosion of explanations.
- Was it an ice break?
- Was it an earthquake?
- Was it global warming?
- Was it human intervention?
- Was it a geopolitical project?
Was someone responsible? There will be investigations, theories, experts and debates. And yes, we should seek scientific answers. We should learn what went wrong. We should improve warning systems, infrastructure and disaster preparedness.
But this article is not about identifying one technical cause.
It is about something deeper. It is about the questions that come to us when nature reminds us how little control we actually have. And perhaps, it is also about asking:
What are the things in life that are beyond our immediate understanding?
I call them, for lack of a better phrase:
“Just God Things.”
How Could a Benevolent God Let This Happen?
This is perhaps one of the oldest questions in human history. How could a compassionate God allow thousands of people to suffer?
- How could innocent children, pilgrims, tourists and families become victims of a natural disaster?
- Why did one person survive while another did not?
- Why did one building stand while an entire area around it was destroyed?
I don’t claim to have answers. And I am increasingly convinced that many of life’s biggest questions cannot be answered from a single human lifetime.
This is also the moment when believers are questioned.
Non-believers may ask:
“Where was your God?”
Pilgrimages may be questioned. Religious institutions may be criticised. People may ask why anyone would travel to sacred mountains at all. But tragedy does not belong to one religion.
The people affected come from different countries, cultures and faiths. Nature does not ask for our passport. Death does not ask for our religion. And suffering does not discriminate between a believer and a non-believer.
One Supreme Reality. Many Names.
The wise have always said that there is one Supreme Reality, even though humanity calls it by many names. Saints, sages and seekers have climbed mountains—not merely to conquer them, but to understand themselves.
For centuries, philosophers have debated profound questions:
Are we separate from the Divine?
Or…
Are we ultimately one with it?
The debate between Dvaita and Advaita continues. Perhaps that is because the journey of understanding is different for every soul. My teachers at Kauai Aadheenam have taught me something simple but profound:
God is everywhere. And the ultimate purpose of human life is to realise the Self.
Old Souls and Young Souls
I also believe that there are souls at different stages of evolution.
Some are old souls. Some are young souls.
And this has absolutely nothing to do with physical age. There may be an old soul in a young body. And there may be a young soul in an old body. Age can give us experience. But experience alone does not always give us wisdom.
Emotional maturity, compassion, detachment, self-awareness and the ability to see the bigger picture may come from a much deeper journey.
Whether you believe in this idea or not, one thing is difficult to deny:
Human beings are at very different stages of understanding life.
The Law of Cause and Effect
Let us leave the names of God aside for a moment. Whether you are a believer or a non-believer, most of us understand one fundamental principle:
Every action has a consequence.
- If you plant a mango seed, you cannot expect a coconut tree.
- If you give sweetness, sweetness tends to return.
- If you give bitterness, bitterness leaves its mark.
The exact form, timing and path of consequences may be beyond our understanding. But cause and effect exist everywhere. In nature. In relationships. In health. In society. And, according to the Hinduism, in karma.
I personally believe that no one is exempt from the larger laws of existence.
Not a king. Not a saint. Not a Rishi. Not a famous spiritual leader. Not Sadhguru. Not you. Not me.
If there is a law of karma, it is not a law created for other people.
It applies to everyone.
At the same time, I would be very careful about using karma to judge another person’s suffering.
We do not know another soul’s journey. And therefore, compassion must always come before judgement.
This Is Not Our First Journey
I strongly believe in reincarnation. I do not believe this is my first existence.
Each of us may have been on this planet in some form, at some time, through experiences we no longer consciously remember. And if that is true, then death is not necessarily an ending. It is a transition.
Just as we sleep and wake up into another day, death may be a transition into another state of existence.
The body has an expiry date. But perhaps consciousness has a much longer journey. That belief does not make the loss of a loved one easy.
Grief is real. Pain is real.
The absence of someone we love is real. Spirituality should never become an excuse to dismiss human emotion.
We can cry. We can mourn. We can comfort. We can pray. But somewhere within all this, we may also learn not to live in constant fear of death.
Because perhaps life and death are not opposites.
Perhaps they are simply two stages of the same journey.
The wisest teaching, perhaps, is that coming back into physical existence should eventually become a choice.
Some of us may need many lifetimes to understand what that really means.
And yes… Especially some of our Gen Z children. 😄
We Have Seen This Before
Nepal is not the first tragedy that has made humanity stop and ask questions. We have seen devastating floods in Wayanad. We have lived through COVID-19.
COVID was perhaps one of the most powerful reminders of how little control humanity really has. For months, we watched numbers every day. New cases. Recoveries. Deaths. Many of us repeatedly checked Aarogya Setu.
We waited anxiously for updates. We feared a simple cough.We feared travelling. We feared meeting our own relatives.
Many people lost loved ones without even getting the opportunity to perform their final rites in the way they wished.
For nearly eighteen months, the entire world lived with uncertainty.
And yet… We survived. We adapted. We rebuilt.
Today, different parts of the world continue to experience war and conflict. People die because of decisions made by human beings. Some events appear to be within human control. Others clearly are not. But history repeatedly teaches us something:
At the micro level, we often do not understand why something is happening.
Sometimes only time gives us perspective. Sometimes even time does not.
A Lesson From Pilgrimage
As many of you know, I have completed the Sabarimala pilgrimage eighteen times. 🙏 From my very first year, one teaching remained deeply with me.
The return from the pilgrimage is in God’s hands.
Before beginning the journey, there are rituals that remind us of the temporary nature of life. Historically, this was not an easy journey. There were no mobile phones. No instant communication. No modern roads.
Much of the journey passed through forests and difficult terrain. There were wild animals and genuine uncertainty.The pilgrimage required faith. But more importantly, it required discipline.
- The Vrata.
- The preparation.
- The control of the senses.
- The control of the mind.
- The attempt to connect with something greater than ourselves.
That is why I see a pilgrimage differently from an ordinary vacation. A pilgrimage is not simply about reaching a destination.
The journey itself is the transformation.
I see Himalayan pilgrimages in a similar light.
The Himalayas are not merely mountains to be photographed. For many people, going there is a deeply sacred calling. Every step is taken with reverence. Every difficulty becomes part of the journey. Every pilgrim knows, at some level, that nature is greater than us.
And yet, we go.
Not because we are guaranteed safety. But because human life itself comes without guarantees.
Let Us Also Remember Those Who Were Saved
- While we mourn the lives that were lost, let us also be grateful for the thousands who were saved. 🙏 For every rescue worker who entered danger to save someone else.
- For every volunteer.
- For every doctor.
- For every soldier.
- For every local resident who opened their home to strangers.
- For every person who chose courage over comfort.
Perhaps this is another side of humanity we should not forget. When disaster strikes, nature may show its destructive power. But human beings often reveal their most beautiful side. Compassion. Courage. Sacrifice. Service.
Perhaps those are the moments when the so-called “old souls” among us stand tall—not because of their age, but because they are willing to put another person’s life before their own.
Before Questioning God, Let Us Look at Ourselves
On a lighter note, we also lose many lives every day because of completely avoidable human behaviour.
- Drunk driving.
- Speeding.
- Ignoring traffic signals.
- Not wearing helmets.
- Not wearing seat belts.
- Using mobile phones while driving.
We sometimes blame God for the things we have the power to prevent ourselves. Before questioning God, Sadhgurus, saints or spiritual institutions for every tragedy, perhaps we should first ask:
What am I doing with the responsibility already in my hands?
- Am I following the rules?
- Am I protecting my family?
- Am I helping others?
- Am I living responsibly?
- Am I creating sweetness or bitterness in the world around me?
The bigger picture may be beyond us. But our next action is not.
Perhaps That Is the Real Lesson
I don’t know the ultimate reason behind the Nepal floods. And I will not pretend to know. I don’t know why one person survived and another did not. I don’t know why one structure stood while another collapsed. I don’t know why suffering arrives at certain moments in our lives.
But I do believe this:
We are not here to understand every event before we live wisely.
We can accept that there may always be dimensions of existence beyond our current understanding.
Faith, for me, is not the belief that nothing bad will happen. Faith is the courage to continue even when we don’t understand why something happened.
And spirituality is not escaping from reality. It is learning to face reality with greater awareness.
So today, as we pray for Nepal, perhaps each of us can pause and ask:
Am I living consciously?
Am I taking responsibility for the things within my control?
Am I prepared for the temporary nature of life?
And am I becoming a person who can stand strong when others need help?
Because while we may not control everything that happens to us…
We have a great deal of responsibility for how we respond.
No Hurry. No Worry. No Sorry.
Live consciously. Act responsibly. Serve selflessly.
And perhaps, slowly, through this journey of life…
Understand the bigger picture.
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