The Bhāgavata Speaks of Human Suffering

2020 ◽  
pp. 137-150
Author(s):  
Gopal K. Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fire ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Overall Response ◽  
Intimate Association ◽  
Love Of God ◽  
Ultimate Purpose

This chapter examines the Bhāgavata’s overall response to the problem of suffering, namely to celebrate “devotional heroism”: the facing and conquering of unavoidable suffering through intensified devotion. The Bhāgavata does not see karma as an adequate solution to the problem of suffering. It admits that just as it is difficult or sometimes impossible to ascertain the cause of a forest fire, which may be due to lightning or the rubbing of sticks, so also the cause of living beings’ suffering is difficult to understand. Implicit in the narratives of devotional heroism throughout the Bhāgavata is the notion that the ultimate purpose of all temporary sufferings is eternal freedom and never-ending spiritual joy in intimate association with Kṛṣṇa. Suffering, in other words, is a means by which devotees—bhāgavatas—are understood to be elevated from already-existing greatness to eternal glory. As models for ordinary human beings, saintly devotees in such conditions of adversity underscore the Bhāgavata’s message of hope, that all human beings, and indeed ultimately all living beings, may become exalted, overcome the bonds of māyā, and attain Kṛṣṇa-prema (love of God) by imbibing the Bhāgavata vision.

scholarly journals Theodicy, Undeserved Suffering, and Compassionate Solidarity: An Interdisciplinary Reading of Hwang Sok-Yong’s The Guest

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 463
Author(s):  
Young Hoon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Minjung Theology ◽  
Johann Baptist Metz

The author explores theological questions regarding the Korean novelist Hwang Sok-yong’s The Guest from interdisciplinary perspectives. This paper analyzes the novel in relation to the emotional complex of han as understood in Korean minjung theology, the political theology of Johann Baptist Metz, and Ignacio Ellacuría’s liberation theology. Drawing upon the perspectives of Korean, German, and Latin American scholars, this approach invites us to construct a discourse of theodicy in a fresh light, to reach a deeper level of theodical engagement with the universal problem of suffering, and to nurture the courage of hope for human beings in today’s stressed world. Contemplating the concrete depiction of human suffering in The Guest, the paper invites readers to deepen their understanding of God in terms of minjung theology’s thrust of resolving the painful feelings of han of the oppressed, Metz’s insight of suffering unto God as a sacramental encounter with God, and Ellacuría’s idea of giving witness to God’s power of the resurrection in eschatological hope. The paper concludes that the immensity of today’s human suffering asks for that compassionate solidarity with the crucified today which can generate hope in the contemporary milieu.

Negative Contrast Experience: An Ignatian Appraisal

Horizons ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
LaReine-Marie Mosely
Keyword(s):  
Negative Contrast ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Unconscious Bias ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face

In the face of continual and increased human suffering in every corner of the world, good and principled people often do nothing. Edward Schillebeeckx's understanding of negative experiences of contrast begins with outrage at excessive human suffering and is followed by protest and eventual praxis to ameliorate and end the suffering. The author queries whether unconscious bias prevents human beings from seeing this suffering, and suggests that embracing a rigorous Ignatian consciousness examen may correct this impairment.

scholarly journals Cura animarum as hope care: Towards a theology of the resurrection within the human quest for meaning and hope

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Louw
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Basic Assumption ◽  
Christian Spirituality ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Quest For Meaning ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Pastoral Caregiving

The following critical questions are posed: is hope the antidote of dread and despair or a kind of escapism from the harsh realities of anguish and suffering? What is meant by hope in Christian spirituality and how is hope connected to a theology of the resurrection? Is resurrection hope merely a kind of cheap triumphantalism and variant of a theologia gloriae? The basic assumption is that the notion of the resurrection can contribute to ‘the thickening of alternative stories of faith’. A theologia resurrectionis is about the reframing of life by means of a radical paradox: ‘Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?’ If pastoral caregiving is indeed about change and hope, the resurrection describes an ontology of hope by which human beings are transformed into a total new being. Beyond the discriminating and stigmatising categories of many social and cultural discourses on our being human, resurrection theology defines hope as a new state of mind and being. The identity of human beings is therefore not determined by descent, gender, race or social status, but by eschatology (new creation.) Hope care is primarily about a new courage to be. It opens up different frameworks for meaningful living within the realm of human suffering.

Suffering “Has a Smooth Shape, Smooth as a Black Night. There Are No Handles.”

1996 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-270
Author(s):  
Rosemary Williams
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Wisdom Literature ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Psychological Practice ◽  
The Holocaust

The quid-pro-quo stance to human suffering is prominent in psychological practice, in everyday life, and in attitudes to survivors of the Holocaust. In this view, suffering is the consequence of unrighteousness. Old Testament Wisdom literature as a whole is non-determinative about the cause of suffering, but much theology and christology still remains determinative, to the harm of suffering human beings.

The suffering of Christ, humanity and the lepers in Gregory Nazianzen

2015 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-397
Author(s):  
Susan Wessel
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Of Christ ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Literary Techniques

AbstractGregory Nazianzen spoke of a suffering Christ ‘who became weak for us’ in the context of an oration,On Love of the Poor, which dealt at length with the extreme suffering the lepers had endured. The outcasts of the ancient world, lepers figured prominently in Jesus’ ministry as recorded in the Gospels. By juxtaposing their human suffering with divine weakness, Gregory implied that Christ had suffered with the lepers. The comparison not only gave meaning to the human experience of suffering, it also explored the extent of Christ's suffering in the divine economy. There was no affliction too grotesque for Christ to have assumed.Throughout his life, Gregory developed a notion of collective suffering which is relevant to understanding the magnitude of the suffering of Christ. It made the limitless suffering of humanity seem manageable and contained. It normalised the overwhelming sense of misery by expanding individual suffering into the suffering of the group, the suffering of the group into the suffering of neighbours and finally the suffering of neighbours into the collective suffering of the body of Christ. Christ then experienced the fullness of the human condition as the head of this body.The lepers served a purpose in this vision of collective suffering. By making the lepers a synecdoche for all human suffering, Gregory allowed Christ to assume their misery without his listeners having to imagine Christ suffering every aspect of their physical and emotional distress. This transference of collective suffering to the body of Christ worked in the following way: the individual suffering of the leper flowed into the collective suffering of the group, which connected with, and was incorporated into, the collective suffering of the Christian body. The result was a relationship of mutual imitation between Christ and humanity. It implied that human beings suffered with Christ, and that Christ suffered with human beings.By integrating literary techniques and contexts into theological analysis, this article examines the various ways in which Gregory construed the suffering of Christ.

scholarly journals An Efficient and Effective Forest Surveillance System to Prevent Malicious Activities using LoRa

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 981-985
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Temperature Sensors ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The World ◽  
Programming Plans ◽  
Great Damage

Smuggling of most valuable trees, like sandalwood in a forest, represents great damage to environment assets. It causes critical financial harm and at last, has a significant obliterating impact on the condition everywhere throughout the world. Fire is yet another reason that destroys the forest. Creatures are losing their natural habitat in this manner causing an absolute lose in nature. This paper proposes an IOT based forest surveillance system which employs the benefits of LoRa technology to detect theft of trees in forest by recognizing the sound produced by certain equipments while cutting the trees. And this paper also proposes the use of gas and temperature sensors to calculate the temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide to predict the forest fire well in advance.PIR sensor is used to find the motion of human beings around the forest and protect the device from the animals. The information is transmitted by the Lora technique. The inserted framework engineering and the equipment/programming plans are explained in detail. The exploration results demonstrate that Lora innovation had a decent transmission impact among forest.

Marxism and the Underdog

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Perlo
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Historical Materialism ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Surplus Value ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Original Sense

AbstractMarxism has defined its key values in opposition to animals other than human in order to promote the interests of the most downtrodden human beings. Although it has characterized itself as a scientific historical and economic theory, sympathy for human suffering has provided its most powerful motivation as a political force. This capacity for sympathy, causing in modern times an extension of Marxist concerns beyond "class" in the original sense, is beginning to accommodate animals as are the theoretical concepts of alienation, surplus value, and historical materialism. Marxism's inconsistencies are being resolved in favor of the side that, for human as well as animal benefit, favors individual sentience and other pro-animal values. So, in a truly dialectical progression, the same quality of sympathy that at first caused Marxism to denigrate animals is now coming out in their support.

Love

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neera K. Badhwar
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Love ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Love Of God ◽  
The Look

Reflection on the look of love serves as a good entry point into various philosophical issues surrounding the love of persons: how to define love, the question whether love is a response to the loved object's value or a bestowal of value, the epistemic significance of love, the metaphysics of love, and the importance of romantic love. This article confines itself to these issues, even though it means neglecting some worthy contributions in the abundant contemporary philosophical literature on love. And, unless otherwise stated, the love that is addressed here is love of particular individuals, rather than love of God or of human beings.

A Calvinist account of nursing ethics

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 762-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Cusveller
Keyword(s):  
Research Evidence ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Nursing Ethics ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Personal Qualities ◽  
Ultimate Purpose ◽  
Distinct Approach

A relatively small but intellectually robust strand in the Christian religion is the Reformed tradition. Especially, its Calvinist sensibilities inform this Protestant stance towards human culture in general and vocations in particular. Correspondingly, there are some small but robust contributions to academic discourse in nursing ethics. So far there has been no attempt to bring those together as a distinct approach. This article suggests such a Reformed Christian, especially Calvinist, account of nursing ethics. Central to the Reformed perspective is the notion that God is sovereign over all of creation and culture and hence that there can be no religiously or morally neutral area in human life. Consequently, nursing is not seen as professional to the extent it is based on research evidence or theoretical models, but to the extent it serves the ultimate purpose of the practice of care. In the Reformed view, this purpose is fostering the well-being of human beings in need as intrinsically valuable. Nurses are professionals who accept this responsibility, that is, the whole of expectations holding for personal qualities, conduct and outcomes, required to serve the purpose of care. As this is a moral purpose, succeeding or failing to live up to these expectations is the source of moral issues in nursing.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document