Since time immemorial we have always heard that good people always suffer and bad people enjoy life and its niceties. Our mythology, literature, religious scriptures and even entertainment media all seem to confirm the fact that good people suffer and bad people enjoy.
Sometimes, when some tragedy or difficult circumstances strike us or our loved ones, we begin to echo the same opinion that all bad things happen to good people and somewhere at the back of our minds begin to ask why so? Why do bad things happen to good people?
There may be no simple and direct answer to this question. All that we can do is put a lot of faith in God and see it in a different perspective. Till very recently I used to think the same way but lately I read a book about life after death and it altered my way of thinking altogether.
My opinion is based on that very book which has influenced me deeply. The book says that all souls in the heaven have a right to take birth from the womb of woman they want. It further adds that all good souls strive to get promoted to next level of heaven (there are 4 levels) and taking birth on Earth and facing pain and struggle as a way for penance and still remaining true to basic core values is the easiest way to get this promotion.
Earth is actually a training center for all good and bad souls. It is a temporary abode and not a permanent residence for souls and hence those who face bad things here but remain good despite all odds actually purify their souls and prepare themselves for the next level of heaven. Remember, as a soul, they themselves had chosen this path of penance and hence they need to endure it with the strength of their moral character. At the end, they only emerge as winners.
