This, or some variation of it, is probably the most common question humans ask themselves. Sometimes the question is posed succinctly in two words. "Why me?" Because this question impacts nearly all individuals who walk this Earth, the answer has been the subject of debate and controversy among philosophers since the beginning of human consciousness. The reason for the debate is simple: Mankind is not willing to accept the real answer and so looks to the wiser (or more politically adroit) to supply a more palatable answer. Of course, since these philosophical and political answers are specious, they never satisfy the craving for a truly convincing solution to this problem. However, despite this repeated failure, the vast majority of mankind still would rather hope for a satisfying answer through the philosophical or political machinations of a new secular messiah than seek the real but accusatory answer.

If politicians and philosophers do not have the answer to this question, what about the clergy? Is not this their province? I would say, "Yes, it is, but just where, in what church, so you find the answer to satisfy all?" Is not the reason we have so many faiths and denomination that none of those that are mainstream really have a good, much less a factual, solution to this question? If there were one well-known world church that taught a truly satisfactory and acceptable answer to this question would not all mankind flock to that church? The very diversity of the world's faiths and beliefs gives lie to the thought that any popular church can say, "We have a fully satisfactory answer to why man continues to suffer under the watchful eye of a loving God."

Most attempts to give an effective, honest answer to this question are not met with great enthusiasm. The dialogue frequently goes something like this:

Q. "If the politicians, philosophers or clergy do not have a real answer to this question, who does?"

A. "The ancient secret Arcane Schools have taught man this answer for thousands of years. Today it is being taught by the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis."

Q. "If it is true, what is this real and satisfactory answer?"

A. "Why, the Truth of course."

Q. "If this ‘Truth' has been known by these ‘schools' for thousands of years, why hasn't it been taught openly to help the majority of mankind?

A. "It has time and again, but men as a whole rejected the answer because it did not ‘suit' them."

Q. "Why does it not suit them?"

A. "Because this Truth places the blame for all their suffering directly on their own shoulders, and this concept was and is not to their liking."

Q. "Well, I'm afraid I must agree with them; this is not a satisfactory answer. I can't think of a more depressing thought. Surely you can come up with a better one?"

A. "I'm sorry, that's the way it is. The Truth is the Truth and it cannot be bent, torn or twisted: it just is. As God's children, we have the right to ignore it and suffer, or we can learn to accept it, change our lives, live in harmony with our basic nature and thereby mitigate our pain and suffering. The choice is up to us. We alone have the ability to control our destiny.

Q. "I can certainly see why so few people follow your Path. I'll just keep looking for a more satisfactory answer to me. Your answer may be all right for the less sophisticated, but I'm certain I can find a way to place the blame on someone or something other than myself."

The words may vary from one individual to another, but the dialogue above is the norm for such discussions on suffering. The Biblical phrase, "...many are called, but few are chosen [are willing to live according to the Divine Law]," is as true today as in the days of the man of Galilee. Only the very few are willing to take upon themselves the consequences of their own past actions and change them to overcome their suffering. The majority look for a suffering "Messiah" that never seems to arrive.

What Causes Us to Suffer?

We suffer as the direct consequence of our as the reaction to our past or present actions in disharmony with the Divine Laws of our physical, mental, emotional or spiritual being. We were originally created with a body, mind and Soul that need not know suffering. However, from our first attempts to transgress the Divine Law we set the stage for the suffering that has plagued humanity ever since, and in most instances our efforts to alleviate this suffering have only exacerbated it.

Suffering is an essential of earth life at this time, since it is only through such suffering that we will seek the true cause and finally come to understand the nature of the Divine Law and learn to live within its mandates in order to lessen or stop our suffering. Just as pain is Nature's way to telling us that something is wrong with our physical being, so suffering tells us that something is wrong with our way of life. We suffer because we did, and still may be doing, wrong. As with the pain of the body, we need to seek the cause and not curse the suffering as such. We must learn to change the wail, "Oh, why did this happen to me," to the question, "Now, why did this happen to me? What Laws of my being have I broken and what must I do to correct the situation and reduce the suffering?"

If you read carefully the Introduction to this book, you will get a good foundation in the true cause of suffering caused by indiscretions in this lifetime, but that is only half the problem, a Certain portion of the suffering we experience in this lifetime frequently comes from actions taken in a previous life. "Whoa," you say, "is that fair? I can't even remember what I did back then. How can I be held responsible this time?"

In the greater scheme of things, one life is like a day and the time between lives like a night's sleep. Most certainly if you did an injurious deed yesterday, you may well be asked to pay for it today or tomorrow. There is the same relationship from on life to another. After all, since the Divine Law must retain order in the Universe, all debts must be paid. If you don't pay your debts, who will?

Admittedly, the orthodox Christian will answer, "Jesus." But if his debts are paid, why does he continue to suffer? If his indebtedness to the Divine Law were truly paid there would be no suffering. The ancient Arcane Philosophers would say he is "whistling in the dark," hoping that what he believes is true, and yet questioning: If he is indeed relieved of his "sins" (attempted transgression of the Divine Law) why does he still suffer like all the rest of non-Christian humanity? The answer, of course, is that by his belief he may remove some guilt and fear, but the results of his past and present attempted transgressions of the Divine Law continue to plague him as usual.

While most suffering comes from a direct attempted transgression of the Divine Law, there is a second form of suffering that is caused by the person's own underlying nature. Benjamin Franklin assured us, "Those who have nothing to trouble them will be troubled at nothing." This is also true of suffering. Many of the miraculous "cures" of the Nazarene were due to the fact that the suffering some of his patients were feeling was actually of their own making. By their faith in him, they were able to free themselves of their fears and psychological blockages and thereby gained the relief of their suffering. Jesus knew this concept well when he said to those so healed, "Thy faith hath made thee whole."___Matthew 9:22.

The truth of this concept is further verified by the fact that when Jesus visited his hometown, not only was he unable to miraculously heal, but was actually run out of town. The townspeople of his youth were not about to give up their well-earned suffering just because the son of their carpenter assured them he could help them.

One more cause of suffering must be mentioned: suffering caused by the actions of others for which we will be compensated at some later time. For instance, in a jet plane crash many individuals may die who do not deserve such an end by their own actions. While the Divine Law does all it can to dole out justice by direct cause and effect, the creations of modern man make this difficult at times. The very nature of placing a large number of persons on an enclosed area a mile high makes it difficult for the Divine Law to "take on and leave the other." It is often a case of all or nothing in such aerial disasters. The same mass destruction is common in modern warfare and in terrorist attacks.

When such events occur, the Divine Law "credits" some of the deceased for their suffering and/or death. This credit will be given them in a future life with accrued interest. These are the so-called "lucky" individuals who seem to receive much more from life than they deserve. They are simply doing some "profit taking" on the events of past lives.

This type of compensation is much more common now than in the earlier years of man's sojourn on Earth because he has invented machines and circumstances that place a great many people in a position where they can easily be affected by accident or willful destruction. The world as originally made by our Creator was much simpler, and the Divine Law could implement the Law of Action and Reaction much more efficiently in the days of long ago. However, the Divine Law is always just; it is a good accountant and will never let a debt go uncollected or a credit go unrealized.

I dislike discussing this possibility of suffering because it gives an excuse to those who look for excuses in regard to their own suffering. It is too easy to say, "I'm certain that I'm not responsible for my suffering. It must be something the Divine Law could not prevent happening to me." While suffering not of our own making is possible, as described above, it is very rare in most persons' lives. Probably 99.9 percent of our suffering is due to our own actions, of lack of them, in this life or in a previous one. The Nazarene, who came to set the example, never complained about any of the suffering he endured; he accepted the fact that either it was his due or was in the long run to his benefit, and therefore endured it silently and with good cheer. Let us do likewise.

What Can We Do to Relieve Our Suffering?

The beginning of all wisdom is the acceptance of our suffering as the reaction of our own past actions and, as such, only our own "chickens coming home to roost." When we are able to do this, we stop the "blame game" that prevents so many individuals from ever finding health or happiness. Jesus most certainly did not deserve the suffering he experienced by his actions in the life he led two thousand years ago, but he never complained or attempted to blame others. In my youth I developed a saying that I have no found reason to abandon to this day. It is: "You can always tell a loser from a winner; the winner never blames others for his difficulties, the loser always does."

Once we have made the first step to overcoming suffering by no longer blaming others for our misery, we must begin a search for the factual cause. Let us look for those causes in this order: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

A great deal of human suffering comes from our disobedience to the simple physical Laws of our being. Proper diet, correct periods of work, rest and sleep and good habits as to cleanliness will prevent and even cure a great deal of human suffering. Too many of us feel that we can break the simple but essential rules regarding these items without eventually bringing about suffering and a lack of health and happiness. As the old saw goes, "The mills of the Gods grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine." It may seem that we are able to ignore these physical rules of health, but long experience has shown that a day of reckoning will come and most are ill prepared to meet it.

Our scientific community now teaches that continuous mental activity is essential to keep the brain and mind active into later life. This concept has been taught by the ancient Arcane Philosophers for centuries. The mind, like any other part of the body, atrophies if it is not used. It is important to consider the quality of mental activity as well as the quantity. The mind is like a garden; you can grow flowers and vegetables or you can grow weeds. A mind that is filled with thoughts and desires to be of service to all mankind will have no room for weeds, and such weeds cannot then cause the mental suffering that so much of mankind is heir to.

Most individuals lump the mind and emotions together. While there most certainly is a degree of overlapping of the two, the centers for each are different. The mind is centered in the brain and the emotions in the celiac or solar plexus of nerves. Since this celiac nerve center also controls much of the digestive apparatus, it is not surprising to find that emotional stress frequently disturbs this function of the body as a part of its reaction.

One of the most important factors in overcoming emotional suffering is to follow the admonition of the Nazarene when he said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged."___Matthew 7:1. Once we are able to stop judging our fellowman (even our fellowwoman) we will discover a peace that few other life-style changes can bring. Most of the things that create emotional suffering are the direct result of something we did that we knew we should no do, of our concerns regarding the actions of others over which we have no control, of our efforts to judge others and thus interfere in something that is none of our business, or worry about another person's opinion of us that we cannot change.

A student once retorted to this thought, "On the other hand I find that judging others and placing blame for my troubles on them enables me to avoid the emotional suffering that might result from recognizing by own faults." This is a common sophistry among much of mankind; it will usually continue in one's life until some event occurs that forces him to stop looking for causes in others and makes him look into a mirror for the real culprit.

On the emotional plane, fear, real or imaginary, is one of the most frequent causes of suffering. There is a story of a man who met Death while on a trip during the Middle Ages. He asked death where he was going, and Death told him that he was going to Berlin to kill 10,000 individuals. A few weeks later the same man met up with Death again and confronted him with this question, "When I last met you, you told me that you were going to Berlin to kill 10,000 but more than 100,000 died. Do you often lie so?" Death replied, "K did not lie. I only killed 10,000; fear killed the rest."

One of the most productive ways to lessen human suffering is to learn to control fear. Fear can paralyze both body and mind, preventing the normal defense mechanisms of both from doing their necessary jobs. In many instances it is fear that keeps humanity chained to its suffering and repeated cycle of unproductive incarnations. The wise student will never forget the words of the Belgian Initiate Maurice Maeterlinck, "What is man but a god afraid?"

While it is possible to write an entire book on the process of overcoming fear, here are just a few basic ideas to help one overcome this paralyzing emotion:

If you are afraid of something, ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that can happen if my fears are realized?" Once this is determined, calculate what you would do to mitigate the damage if this event occurred. After you have done this, do your best to see that your fears do not become reality. Once you have devised a plan to take care of a worst-case scenario, you can set the rear aside and spend your time on the problem itself, realizing that the majority of peoples' fears do not ever manifest.

Regarding fear itself, remember that all things are under the functioning of the Divine Law. Nothing can or will happen to us that either is not our due, or will not be fully compensated for (with good interest) should it not be our due or that will not turn out to be a well-disguised blessing or unique opportunity to grow! Understanding this, what is there to fear? We should learn to be like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane who although he asked his Father to "let this cup pass from me" ended his request with the phrase, "nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."___Matthew 26:39. This is one of the most useful concepts in the entire teaching of this great Master. Whenever we are faced with fear or suffering we have a right to ask for help from the powers above, but since we do not know the purpose of our suffering we should always end our plea with the phrase of the Nazarene, "not my will, but thine, be done."___Luke 22:42. Once we do this, we can set fear aside, knowing that whatever transpires is under the control of the Law and is, in the ultimate, to our lasting benefit.

Fear has the ability to feed upon itself, and if we are not careful it can grow like the proverbial mushrooms after a warm rain. Scripture states, "That which I have reared hath come upon me." Most certainly this happens more often that we might like. The reason is simple. By our concentration on a fear we actually bring into manifestation the fulfillment of that fear. The mechanism is the same with every form of creation. If we want a house and constantly keep the image of that house in our mind we set into motion forces that will help us make our image a reality. Admittedly, at some point we must roll up our sleeves and go to work if that image is to become more than a wish, but the creative force has been set into motion by our mental and emotional attitude. The same laws and principles work with fear. If we allow a fear to constantly remain in our consciousness, we give it life and in time it may well "come upon" us. The process needed to prevent this undesirable event is called transmutation and is described in the Introduction to this book. By the power of our will we are able to change or transmute fear into caution, an emotion that alerts rather then paralyzes.

We humans, because of our gift of free will, have the ability to change our thought patterns as we please. By this process we are able to set into motion a wide variety of creative processes. No one who allows thoughts of failure to fill his mind is likely to succeed. Likewise, those who would succeed do not allow even the possibility of failure to enter their thoughts. This process is simple in concept but difficult in implementation, because most minds are not stable and therefore are not able to direct their thoughts as desired. The Alchemists used to instruct their Neophytes that the first order of business was to "settle the waters" or to fix mercury." these admonitions both have the same meaning: to learn to so control the mind and emotions that their power and force can be stabilized and eventually concentrated as the Neophyte wills. In the ancient Arcane Schools, of which true Alchemy is an example, the mind was always symbolized by either water or mercury, both for the same reason: Neither is ever still of stable for long. Thus to "settle the waters" and to "fix mercury" simply means to control the thoughts so that the energy inherent in the mind can be harnessed for the benefit and development of the individual. To help their Neophytes accomplish this end, the Arcane Schools developed several methods of training that are still taught in the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis' Order or the Magi.

In review, to remove the suffering caused by fear we need to do three things:

First, confront all the possibilities of a realized fear and develop a strategy for meeting them. Then, set the fear aside knowing that should it manifest we are prepared.

Second, since all things are under the functioning of the Divine Law, we cannot ultimately receive that which we do not deserve. So we must learn to meet all difficulties face on, without fear, knowing that if we do our best to follow the Divine Law, we will not only survive, but prosper under all circumstances.

Third, we must learn to prevent fear from becoming an entity unto itself. By "fixing mercury," that is, by learning to control our thoughts, we will be able to do as did the man of Galilee on the mountain and say, "Get thee behind me, Satan."

The use of the word "suffering" is perhaps too strong to use in regard to the spiritual. The feeling usually manifests as an uneasiness or a strange feeling of unfulfillment. It is the "voice," or rather the cry, of the Divine Spark of God within us, attempting to awaken us to our need to bring it into full flame once again so that we can regain our true inheritance and take our place as one of the Creator's valued workers on this plane or on another. While this voice is weak, it is persistent, and no real peace on this plane can be known until the individual heeds this cry and begins the process of Soul growth and development.

Perhaps the most important factor in regard to suffering and the spiritual is to cast aside the thought that suffering is good for the Soul or spiritual development in and of itself. It is readily admitted that many individuals come to a sense of value of spirituality only through suffering, but suffering is not an absolute essential for this process. In fact, we may say that suffering is the "back door" to spirituality. That is, man suffers because he has attempted to defy the Divine Law, and his suffering is the only way the Law has to show him the error of his ways. Most certainly, if he had learned to follow the Divine Law in the first place his suffering would not have taken place, nor would it have been required for his developing spirituality.

That said, we must admit, however, that most of humanity comes to true spirituality through suffering, because they are not usually willing to concern themselves with the Divine Law until they have reached that point in their suffering where they are willing to look for real answers to their problems and not just the sugarcoated pills of politicians, doctors and the clergy. True spirituality consists of first learning to follow the Divine Law and then developing the Divine Spark within into a full-blown Soul - an Immortal being.

Suffering on the spiritual plane will continue until both these objectives are fulfilled. The suffering of the spiritual nature is far more subtle than that of the physical, mental or emotional planes, but it is also more difficult to pin down or ignore. Not surprisingly, the more sensitive the individual, the more he may be influenced by spiritual suffering. The cruder and crasser individuals know little of this rather sophisticated suffering, but as they develop more sensitive tastes and feelings, they too will have an opportunity to experience this often persistent but difficult-to-define suffering.

Conclusion

We all suffer because we all have attempted to circumvent the Divine Law either in this life or in past lives. If we did not have many past debts to pay we would not be here on Earth. This is the debt-paying prison for the transgressors of the Divine Law. That said, we can certainly mitigate our suffering by doing all we can to prevent further attempted transgressions of the Law. Remember always that we suffer because we will not obey the Laws of our being. If we allow an automobile to go without maintenance and proper care, we know that in time it will fail us. This we accept and rarely blame anyone else (least of all God) for the problems that may occur, but we are rarely so understanding when it comes to our own life, to our Health and Happiness. We usually place the blame everywhere but where it really belongs - on our own shoulders.

Suffering is usually a private affair. The help given to us by others is rarely of great benefit in the long run. Most political answers to suffering only compound it further by taking from those who are attempting to follow the Divine Law and giving to those who will not follow the Law; of course, some of the wherewithal frequently sticks to the politicians' fingers in this exchange. This process only creates greater suffering to those who are the target of the intended help.

When we accept the Divine Law as the Law of our being, because it is, we have the key to overcoming suffering. Suffering, like pain, is there to guide us to the right Path of life. Once we are on the Path, it will continue to help us stay on the correct Path and not stray into the wilderness again and lose our Health and Happiness.
|Top|