Wisdom of the Sadhu - Plough

of life-giving water. Then refreshing streams ofthankfulness and joy flow where before there wascomplaining and grumbling.When a bitter branch is grafted onto a sweet tree,both feel the knife and both suffer. But only in thisway can the bitter tree bear sweet fruit. God himselfsuffered pain in order to introduce good into our evilnature. In this we see God’s great love and in turnfaithfully suffer the agonies of this world. We can thenbear good fruit forever.Seeker: So is suffering necessary for the spiritual life?Sadhu: The divine order is established for our spiritualhealth and happiness. Remember that spiritualanguish and physical pain are not the same thing.Physical pain is the result of illness or injury, butspiritual anguish is the result of sin and separationfrom God. When we defy God and rebel against hisdivine order, spiritual anguish ensues. It is similar tothe discomfort an Englishman experiences in tropicalheat, or an Indian in the bitter cold. God does notprevent us from opposing him; instead he uses theresulting anguish to remind us that we are pilgrimsand strangers in this world.143• tapas • suffering