One of the core themes across theology—whether in formal doctrines or folk traditions—is humanity’s profound dependence on God. The belief that God not only exists but actively intervenes to alleviate suffering is the lifeline of many religious minds. Yet this very belief can, in moments of deep anguish, turn into a confrontation with God:
“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 soul in service?”
𝘙𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘚. 𝘒𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘳, a leading Conservative Jewish thinker, faced this crisis when he lost his 14-year-old son, Aaron, to Progeria—a rare genetic disease that ages a child prematurely. Out of that unbearable grief came his landmark work: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.
The book confronts one of religion’s most troubling dilemmas: Theodicy—why a just and loving God would allow suffering, especially of the innocent.
𝘒𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴:
• God is good and compassionate,
• but He does not control everything that happens in the world.
• Suffering, therefore, is neither His punishment nor a test—but a painful reality we must live with.
This position is more composed than the furious outbursts of those who, in grief, denounce God. Yet it springs from the same wound. One young boy, sent away to boarding school, was told by his mother to pray whenever he felt lonely or afraid. He did—faithfully. Yet even as he prayed, he was abused by his seniors. Years later, he would say:
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥—𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵.”
His statement wasn’t rage. It was devastating resignation.
This kind of disillusionment finds its echo in Deism, a philosophy born in Europe’s Age of Enlightenment. Deists did not deny God’s existence—they simply dismissed the notion of His daily involvement. God, they said, was like a master clockmaker: He set the universe in motion and then stepped away.
𝘒𝘦𝘺 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘮:
1. 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 – Human reason, not scripture or miracles, is the key to knowing God.
2. 𝙍𝙚𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙊𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣 – Holy books, rituals, and priesthood are man-made constructs.
3. 𝙉𝙤 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 – No miracles, answered prayers, or divine punishments.
4. 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧 – He designed the universe but does not intervene in its workings.
Kushner and the Deists—neither are atheists, they do not uphold the traditional image of God as a protector in real-time. Both pull back from the cornerstone of devotional religion: the active, personal, and protective God.
𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧?
– Are they doubtful Thomases? Or are they reformers of faith?
– Are they simply exhibiting weak faith, or is this a mature faith stripped of illusions?
This is not merely a theological debate—it is deeply personal for every believer who has waited, heart in hand, for divine help that never came.
To address this complexity, one must turn to the Bhagavad Gita—not seeking comfort, and certainly not seeking confirmation of our preferred image of God.
𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨.
The Gita offers a profound theology of human responsibility. God is not a celestial butler. He is the very essence of human potential.
𝘈𝘴 𝘚𝘳𝘪 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴:
– “I am the ability in man,”
– “The intelligence of the intelligent,”
– “The strength of the strong,”
– “The digestive fire in the belly.”
Here, God does not promise to erase pain—He empowers the individual to transcend it. The Gita does not guarantee divine rescue in every crisis; instead, it sanctifies the struggle itself. Even the most devoted bhakta is not spared from life’s trials. Like everyone else, devotees face heartbreak, illness, and defeat. There is no exemption clause.
𝘚𝘰, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘮?
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴, “𝙄 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠,”—𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘦?
𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 “𝘼𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙚” (𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙖 𝙙𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮𝙖𝙟𝙮𝙖…) 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭?
These are not academic questions. They cut to the heart of faith itself.
In our next article, we will explore whether Krishna’s promises manifest in the tangible realities of everyday life—or only in the inner transformation of the self.
Until then, I invite you to reflect on your own core belief:
𝘐𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩?
– Govind Das (ISKCON MEMBER)
