To know why bad things happen to good people or vice versa, it is important to look at the scenario from a bigger perspective. Realising that we are all a part of the same energy source is crucial for achieving the ultimate goal of life, which is to become a loving human being (more on this in the book ‘Can You Play‘). The realisation of oneness is crucial for love to manifest. This energy source, through the law of karma, pulls your intentions towards this final role that you need to play; otherwise, the suffering will not cease to exist. It doesn’t matter who is behind it or why it happens, but there is an undeniable force that compels you to work as one.

Now put yourself in the shoes of this final energy source.

Assume the earth is a small place with three people A,B, and C working in a company on a project. As the Supreme Force,

• You need to make them feel one and pull them closer to the final energy source (yourself).
• Ensure that you do not interfere in their individual decisions based on free will.

You understand that, given the aforementioned rules, meting out justice to each of them in accordance with their respective responsibilities is the best way to do this. They may understand the true way to virtue when they deal with the severe consequences of their careless deeds. After that, you push the Start button after dividing the jobs equally among A, B, and C. You unwind by the pool while observing their behaviour.

While C is sluggish and avoids labour, A and B put in a lot of effort. Time passes: Tick, tick, tick, tick At last, something occurs: C steals some of B’s work. And there you go. There you have it. Reluctantly, you exit the Jacuzzi, bid your significant other farewell, take another steaming shower, change into your business outfit, and take a seat at your desk. No matter how badly you want to condemn C for ruining your wonderful romantic moment, you laugh it off. You can’t; you’re God!

You determine the course of justice after evaluating the circumstances. You understand that, ideally, someone else will have to take from C and cause him to suffer in a manner akin to B’s. However, you have a backup plan in case that scenario takes a long time to materialise: C’s illness. And you consider still another possibility: C having a small mishap. It dawns on you that B has forgiven C. As time goes on, the second option’s moment has arrived. You disperse the results without more delay. C gets sick from the pain he endures and might even do some reflection as a result.

After a few months, you see that the three of them are not bonding well. They are beginning to drift apart from one another. You therefore choose to follow a course of action that affects and unites all three for the greater benefit. You choose to settle A’s outstanding good karma later. The project is cancelled for the benefit of all of humanity, and all of their labour is now in vain. They are compelled to cooperate and support one another in order to discover a new means of surviving. In order to secure their existence, they attempt to form a bond.

In a similar vein, only one of A and B can satisfy his good Law of Karma if a situation occurs when the outcomes of their respective good deeds are still outstanding and they are in competition. Since you cannot physically intervene to create the situation, the other will have to wait for the next one. And your dual job of making them work as a team as well as giving them their individual due, goes on.

It is only Practical

Even among three individuals, you cannot pinpoint the precise order of positive and negative events, even though you are the ultimate energy. Despite A’s pending good Karma, mankind as a whole prevailed at that moment, and A had a different outcome. If B is given priority in their competition, A might likewise have to wait. Since it seems unfair, A would most likely wonder if the Supreme Energy even exists at this moment.

However, you have now realised that it was just not feasible. Humanity as a whole had to come first because it was a better way to get people to work together and love each other while yet ensuring free will.

Throughout our lives, each of us interacts with hundreds of people, including friends, family, coworkers, and more. If, with three people in a small world, as seen in the above example, balance of karma could not be as expected, one can only fathom the magnitude of the labour involved in balancing karmas against these thousands of open connections. You will never know which of your earlier deeds is taking priority. You see the enormity of task at hand. Billions to be made to realise this oneness while at the same time ensuring individual settlement of Law of Karma. You are just one instrument in the grand symphony of life, and every instrument is equally instrumental in this symphony.

The above illustrate the practical on-ground reality faced by the Supreme Energy. It is just another real-life situation; nothing magical about it. Bad things will happen to good people. Events that occur to you are not necessarily karmic. They may not have been earned by you. They may be necessary for the benefit of humanity or because someone else’s outcome is more important than yours, rather than because you started them. There is a larger interest that is being pursued. So, Yes! Life on earth is a risky affair. But with every higher risk lies an equally higher reward. Reward lies in the happiness you gain as you progress spiritually and the wisdom you uncover through introspection during challenging times.

So, every pending result is reaped in its own due time, which is scientifically arrived at. The time to reap the outcome might lie a distance ahead. Until that time is reached, you may not get precedence. This is why many people end up losing faith in the Supreme Energy after having faced unwarranted despair. And this is why many corrupt people seem to escape their karma, and innocent people suffer on many counts. But everything gets balanced until the results of the affliction caused intentionally to the other person or persons have been reaped.

The above karma perspective takes a conventional approach and concepts work well when framed as a story. After all, stories, in many instances, were created to help us grasp complex ideas more easily. In reality, however, this process unfolds subtly through your own biological mechanisms—an autopilot of sorts that tracks your actions and dispenses rewards at both an individual and collective level. The outcome remains the same as the story conveys. You can get a bit more understanding of Karma in my other article here.

My book ‘Can You Play‘ offers an in-depth exploration of how karma works. I highly recommend giving it a read.