Hard Struggle for Happiness 21

Man is therefore suffering due to his insatiable
desires and lusts. Not only is man suffering, but the
planet on which he resides, his mother earth, repre-
sented in Srimad-Bhagavatam by mother cow, is also
suffering. Once a well-known svami in India was
asked whether God or providence is responsible for
the sufferings of humanity. The svami replied that
these sufferings were all God’s pastimes or lila. The
questioner continued to ask why a living entity
should be put under the dictations of the law of
karma. The svami could not answer these questions
to the satisfaction of his inquirers. The monists and
impersonalists who think only in terms of the one-
ness of the living entities with the Supreme Lord
cannot give satisfactory answers to such questions.
Such an imperfect reply can hardly satisfy the heart
of a living entity.

The Lord is described in all scriptures as lila-
purusottama, or the Personality of Godhead, who is
by His own nature always engaged in transcendental
pastimes. In the Vedanta-siitra He is also described
as dnandamayo ’bhyasat. The monists and imperson-
alists try with great difficulty to explain this sutra in
diverse ways in order to support their imperfect
theory of oneness and impersonality. However, the
fact remains that ananda, pleasure, cannot be enjoyed
alone. That variety is the mother of enjoyment is a
well-known fact. Cities, for instance, are known to
be attractive if they contain a variety of things.
Living entities are naturally attracted by variety, by
attractive streets, buildings, cinemas, parks, convey-
ances, businesses, employments, foodstuffs, etc.
Despite all this variety, the English poet Cowper once
