In this post, Sai Baba Answers on Why Do Good People Suffer, guiding seekers through the timeless question of injustice in life. Why do kind and selfless souls endure pain while the cunning seem to escape it? Through parables and metaphors, Baba offers seekers a deeper understanding of compassion, wisdom, and the hidden role of suffering as a teacher. This article invites readers to reflect on how goodness must be balanced with discernment in life’s journey.
Why Do Good People Suffer a Lot?
The monsoon rains had washed the village clean, leaving the scent of wet earth lingering in the air. The fields surrounding Shirdi were alive with the chirping of birds, as if nature itself was rejoicing in the fresh renewal.
Our traveller walked toward the shade of an old banyan tree, where Sai Baba sat weaving a wooden basket. His hands moved with practised ease, bending and threading each strip of bamboo, creating an intricate pattern. The traveller sat before him, observing in silence for a while.
His heart was troubled.
“Baba,” he finally spoke, “I have seen people who are pure, kind, and selfless, yet they suffer endlessly. Some are deceived, some are betrayed, and some are taken for granted. Meanwhile, those who are selfish, cunning, and manipulative often seem to live with ease. Why does life allow this injustice?”
Baba smiled but did not pause in His weaving. His fingers continued shaping the basket, as if each strand of bamboo held a hidden truth.
“Tell Me, child,” he said gently, “if you weave a basket too loosely, what will happen?”
Our traveller blinked at the unexpected question.
“It will fall apart, Baba.”
“And if you weave it too tightly?” Baba pressed, still threading the bamboo.
The traveller frowned, thinking.
“Then it will crack and break.”
Baba nodded, placing the half-woven basket beside him. His eyes held the warmth of both compassion and deep wisdom.
“So too with life, child. A heart filled only with softness, without strength, will be torn apart. A heart hardened only with wisdom, without compassion, will crack and break. Just as the basket needs balance in its weaving, so too does the soul need both compassion and wisdom to endure.”
The traveller felt a sudden weight in his chest.
“Then, Baba, suffering comes to good people because they lack wisdom?”
Baba’s voice was soft but firm.
“Not always, child. But compassion without wisdom is like a lamp without oil, easily extinguished by the winds of the world. Many good people suffer not because they are good, but because they do not know how to protect their goodness. They give without discernment, they trust without clarity, and in doing so, they invite suffering upon themselves.”
Compassion Without Wisdom: A Path to Suffering
Our traveller looked at the half-woven basket, feeling the weight of Baba’s words.
“But Baba, should a good person not be trusting and compassionate?”
Baba picked up a small handful of sand and let it slip through His fingers.
“The wise man gives, but like the sun, never more than what is needed.’ A mother gives milk to her child, but does she keep feeding him endlessly? If she does, will it nourish him, or will it make him sick?”
“It will harm him, Baba.”
“Then why do you believe that goodness means giving without measure? Even love, even kindness, must be offered with wisdom. If you keep feeding someone beyond what they need, they will not grow strong, they will become dependent, and in time, they will take you for granted.”
The traveller felt his heart ache with understanding.
“But Baba, should we stop being good?”
Baba’s eyes twinkled.
“A kind man who lacks wisdom is like a candle placed before a storm, it will burn brightly, but only for a moment.’ No, child, do not stop being good. Instead, become good in the right way. Be kind like the sun, shining upon all, but knowing when to rise and when to set. Be compassionate like the river, nourishing the land, but knowing when to change its course.”
Our traveller looked down, his fingers tracing patterns in the damp soil.
“Then, Baba, suffering is not because of fate but because good people do not protect themselves?”
Baba nodded.
“Yes, child. Many suffer because they do not guard their hearts. A wise man sees all with equal vision, but he does not walk blindly into fire. If you see a man who deceives others, will you hand him your trust freely? If you see a thorn in the path, will you step upon it and blame fate?”
The traveller’s chest tightened.
“Then, Baba, how can a good person be both compassionate and wise?”
Baba reached for His basket again, weaving another strip of bamboo into place.
“The Quran says, ‘And do not turn your nose up to people, nor walk pridefully upon the earth. Surely Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful’ Be kind, but do not be naive. Be strong, but do not be cruel. Just as this basket must be woven with care, so too must your life be woven with both love and discernment.”
Why Do the Wicked Seem to Escape Suffering?
The traveller sat in thought, but another question still troubled him.
“Baba, then why do those who deceive, manipulate, and take advantage of others seem untouched by suffering?”
Baba picked up a dried leaf from the ground, crumbling it between his fingers.
“Child, a tree that is alive bends with the wind, it sways, it endures. But a dead tree stands rigid, untouched by the storm. Why? Because it no longer grows. Do you wish to be the dead tree, unmoved but lifeless? Or the living tree, that bends and rises again?”
The traveller swallowed hard.
“Then, Baba, those who live without suffering are not truly living?”
Baba’s smile held the depth of endless wisdom.
Baba’s eyes held the weight of centuries of wisdom as he continued,
“The Sufis say, ‘Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.’ The wicked may seem to escape pain, but they also escape growth. They do not build, they only take. And in the end, when the winds of time come, what remains standing, the tree that bent and let go of what no longer served it, or the one that held onto its dead leaves and crumbled from within?”
A Logical Example: The Sword and the Flame
Baba reached for the small pot of burning charcoal beside him, used to heat water.
“Tell Me, child, if you place iron into fire, what happens?”
“It becomes stronger, Baba.”
“And if you leave it in the cold?”
“It remains weak and brittle.”
Baba’s gaze was steady.
“So too with the soul. Hardship is the fire that tempers, that makes one unbreakable. The wicked are like iron left in the cold, they may seem untouched now, but they will shatter when the real test comes. The good, if they learn, will emerge unbreakable, like a sword forged in the fire of experience.”
The traveller inhaled deeply, his heart brimming with realization.
“Then, Baba, suffering is not to be feared?”
Baba’s voice was gentle.
“No, child. Fear ignorance, not suffering. The pain passes, but wisdom remains.”
The Answer
Good people suffer not because the world is unjust, but because compassion without wisdom invites suffering. Vedanta teaches that even compassion must be offered with understanding. The Sufis remind us that goodness must be like the sun, offered freely, but with wisdom to know when to shine and when to set.
Suffering is not a punishment, it is a teacher, a test, and a transformation. The wise do not escape hardship, but they learn to walk through it unshaken.
A Final Thought
If the fire burns the sword, does it destroy it, or does it make it stronger? And if a tree bends in the wind, is it weak, or is it the only one that will survive the storm? Perhaps the real question is not “Why do good people suffer?” but “How can they rise from suffering with both compassion and wisdom?”
Contributed by: Murali P K – Author of Shirdi Sai Baba – The Guiding Light for the New Age (Volume 1)
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Posts in this Series
1️⃣ Sai Baba Answers About Human Suffering
2️⃣ Why Is God Worshipped in Different Forms?
3️⃣ Existence and Reality – Sai Baba Answers
4️⃣ Why Does the Universe Seem Fine-Tuned for Life?
5️⃣ Is There Life Beyond Earth? Sai Baba Answers
6️⃣ Sai Baba on The Unseen Laws of the Universe
7️⃣ Sai Baba on Consciousness Beyond Science
8️⃣ Sai Baba Answers – Consciousness Beyond Death
9️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Near Death Experiences
🔟 Sai Baba Answers on Spiritual Experiences and Parallel Worlds
1️⃣1️⃣ Sai Baba Answers – Can We Talk To The Dead
1️⃣2️⃣ Sai Baba Answers On Recurring Dreams
1️⃣3️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Knowing God
1️⃣4️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Kindness to Animals
1️⃣5️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Birth and Death Cycle
1️⃣6️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Destiny
1️⃣7️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Universal Purpose
1️⃣8️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Karma
1️⃣9️⃣ Sai Baba Answers on Fate
