To Light a Thousand Lamps - The Theosophical Society

66 / TO LIGHT A THOUSAND LAMPS
diabolic and leads to hardness of heart. Such an attitude is
to miss the whole purpose of life. We must relieve su¤ering
as far as we can; in every possible way we must share our
sympathy and understanding — not by lifting the burden
from another’s shoulders, but by helping him to meet and
carry his life’s challenges with greater confidence in himself
and in the larger perspective.
When we reflect on the meaning of disabling aºiction,
be it physical, psychological, or mental — often calling for
infinite resources of patience and love — we are bound to
ask why? Why are some born into a tortured body, or
others struck down by crippling accident or illness? What
assigns one to a life of advantage, while another, possibly
with richer potential, has to fight every inch of the way just
to handle a body nonresponsive to normal command, and
then is obliged often to work far more intensively to achieve
a flowering of mind and spirit? Millions of people today are
carrying a burden of private sorrow and asking themselves
where is the justice and mercy in a universe supposedly
administered by an all-loving God? It is cold comfort indeed
to anguished parents to be told it is God’s will, the
decree of Allah, or the working out of old karma.
The cause and cure of su¤ering reach to the core of
mystery and will remain beyond our comprehension, beyond
the words of all the teachings humanity has received,
until we can feel with every atom of our being the compassion
of divine purpose behind all that happens. Certainly
no one can say categorically that a child born with a congenital
malformation is paying for some misdeed in a previous
life or lives. It may well be the case; but equally it