Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton: Suffering, May 8, 2023, live on Baba Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But once a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for conversation, more readings, songs, quotes - you never know what treasures will be uncovered!

Topic: Why Must We Suffer?

Dear folks of Baba,

A seeker came to his Master begging to be relieved of his ongoing suffering. The Master listened patiently and promised he would honor his request provided he would carry out one order—to go into the city and knock at every door and find someone who has not suffered. The seeker went from door-to-door and could find no one.

What is the place of suffering in our spiritual life that our heart inevitably endures? We all have experienced many disappointments in our lives—such as betrayal, injustice, humiliation, prejudice—that have seemed totally uncalled for and hurt us deeply. Have you noticed in retrospect that they were really blessings in disguise; they awakened an awareness and empathy in us that wasn’t there before? Have you found that sometimes suffering has brought about a spiritual healing in you?

Have you had times with Baba when you've suffered emotionally in life at the hands of your fellow beings and have doubted that it had much to do with Baba and your spiritual growth? You might have thought, “The loving things that happen to me come from Baba, and the unloving things that happen are done by others.” You may even know that this is not true, but your heart and mind convince you that others are responsible and not our all-loving Beloved. Fortunately, in retrospect we see that many of the untoward things that have happened to us have awakened compassion in us that wasn’t there before. For example, if we have gone through a divorce and all the usual profound pain that that entails, we are not so flippant in our reaction when a friend is going through a break-up.

Have you suspected that maybe it is Baba who, through others, causes these hurts to the heart so that we learn to let go of the mind and live permanently in the heart, to value the heart above all else? Mani once said, “Nothing happens to you without Baba’s knowing approval.”

Last time on the topic of blindspots, one of you shared an insight regarding the benefits of what we might be suffering, by asking Baba, "Why are you doing this FOR me" (rather than,TO me)? In your own life, after you've gone through a painful situation, are there times when you've seen a SILVER LINING in the whole thing? How did this play out?

Sometimes weaknesses and emotional complexes last for years or are never really overcome. What effect does that have on your pride of progress and the experience of humility and empathy? Have your shortcomings and inadequacies forced you to depend on Baba and not always on your self? Have you had to seek help from others, maybe even a professional? How do you live with something in you that won’t change even with your best efforts to get help from Baba and others? Mani, Baba’s sister, used to quote the line, “I prayed to You for strength to carry out Your work. You gave me weakness so I would depend on You.”

Bhau Kalchuri, one of the intimate mandali, used to say, “Sometimes it takes a nightmare to wake us up from a pleasant dream.”

Would any of you willing to share a painful experience that in retrospect proved invaluable in awakening the inner life and deeper compassion for others?

Have you experienced through the suffering of the heart how profoundly we share with others a commonality of human experience that gives us some sense of oneness with others, which Baba has spoken so eloquently about? Those who have been addicted to alcohol or other substances, for example, have experienced a spiritual awakening through the 12 Step Programs and have been connected to others at a very deep level, people they might never have met otherwise.

Have you sometimes felt that when you are suffering continually in a situation, even though you’ve had the best of intentions, you worry that you must have done something profoundly wrong? For example, you’ve shown kindness to someone for years, and they suddenly turn on you?

A sweet reminder: Baba told us, "The remedy and comfort for all ills is to constantly remember Me wholeheartedly.”

Can you see a possible trajectory—through suffering to understanding to empathy to full compassion and acceptance of what Baba gives us. Doesn't this lead us to remember him more readily, and with gratitude?”

With loving help from dear friends in Baba, Jeff

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