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Does He Know a Mother's Heart: How Suffering Refutes Religions
How can extreme suffering be so commonplace if there is a God who knows everything, who is all-powerful and also compassionate? How do the scriptures of our religions explain the existence of suffering? Do these explanations stand up to examination? Does our experience testify to a God? Or do the two demons time and chance explain all that we have to go through? In a devastating dissection of the scriptures laced with accounts of the suffering and pain that he has seen at first-hand Arun Shourie tells us why he has eventually gravitated to the teachings of the Buddha. And what lessons these teachings hold for our daily lives. Your neighbours have a son. He is now thirty-five years old. Going by his age you would think of him as a young man, and, on meeting his mother or father, would ask, almost out of habit, And what does the young man do? That expression, young man , doesn t sit well as he is but a child. He cannot walk. Indeed, he cannot stand. He cannot use his right arm. He can see only to his left. His hearing is sharp, as is his memory. But he speaks only syllable by syllable . . . The father shouts at him. He curses him: You are the one who brought misery into our home . . . We knew no trouble till you came. Look at you weak, dependent, drooling, good for nothing . . . Nor does the father stop at shouting at the child, at pouring abuse at him, at cursing the child. He beats him. He thrashes him black and blue . . . As others in the family try to save the child from the father s rage, he leaps at them. Curses them, hits out at them. What would you think about that damned father? Wouldn t you report him to the police or some such authority that can lock him up? Wouldn t you try everything you can to remove the child from the reach of the father? But what if the father is The Father the T and F capital, both words italicized? That is, what if the father in question is God ? Why do the reaction and answer change for so many of us?
435 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2011
68 people are currently reading
731 people want to read
About the author
Arun Shourie
38 books302 followersIndian economist, journalist, author and politician.
He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission of India, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India and a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Vajpayee Ministry (1998–2004). He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Popularly perceived as one of the main Hindu nationalist intellectuals during the 90s and early 2000s.
He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission of India, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India and a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Vajpayee Ministry (1998–2004). He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Popularly perceived as one of the main Hindu nationalist intellectuals during the 90s and early 2000s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 20, 2025
Some books feel like arguments. Some feel like essays. Shourie’s *Does He Know a Mother’s Heart?* feels like a wound. And the astonishing thing is that he doesn’t ask you to sympathise with him—he simply opens the door to his anguish, invites you in, and lets you sit with it until it becomes impossible to ignore the questions he is asking.
The book is written with the voice of a man who has lived too closely with suffering to tolerate pat answers or polite theology, and that makes it one of the most unsettling and intellectually bracing works of spiritual inquiry to come out of contemporary India.
You can sense very early that Shourie is not motivated by bitterness; he’s motivated by honesty. His son Aditya’s disability and declining health are not used as emotional leverage — they are the ground reality from which he starts dismantling the vast architecture of religious consolation.
His central question — “If God is just, compassionate, omnipotent, and omniscient, then how does He allow a mother to suffer like this?” — is hardly new. But what makes Shourie’s treatment of it so piercing is that he doesn’t let theology hide behind abstraction. He drags scripture into the real world, refusing to let it sit comfortably in symbolic language or poetic metaphors. Every verse, every doctrine, every philosophical claim is brought face to face with lived human agony. And when that happens, the cracks in traditional religious reasoning become impossible to plaster over.
There is something quietly courageous in how he does it. Shourie takes on the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, and the Quran — not with mockery, not with rage, but with relentless scrutiny. He refuses to let any tradition get away with evasive platitudes. When a text tries to justify suffering as “karma,” he presses on the moral implications.
When a scripture frames suffering as a divine test, he questions the very ethics of a God who would behave like an authoritarian schoolmaster. When theology recommends surrender, he asks what surrender means for someone who has already given everything just to keep a child alive. The tone remains measured, but the critique is blistering.
What really elevates the book, though, is the tenderness beneath the fire. Shourie writes like a man who has endured so much that he no longer has the luxury of pretending. His prose is direct, unadorned, and somehow more moving because he never tries to be moving. He is not trying to perform grief; he is simply thinking through it.
And as he thinks, you begin to feel that the true courage here is not in questioning religion, but in refusing the comforting illusions that so many of us cling to reflexively.
And yet the book is not nihilistic. That’s the surprising revelation. Shourie may lose faith in religious explanations, but he gains something harder and more luminous: a sense of human responsibility. If God is not going to intervene, he argues, then it is on us — our compassion, our institutions, our daily actions — to reduce suffering and uphold dignity.
There is no celestial safety net. There is only one another. In a way, the book becomes a call for ethical maturity, for a grown-up spirituality that doesn’t hide behind cosmic excuses.
By the end, you don’t walk away with answers — Shourie would never insult the reader with that kind of certainty. What you walk away with is clarity.
A sharp, bracing clarity about what suffering demands from us, what faith cannot evade, and what it means to be human in a world where pain is real and explanations are flimsy.
It’s a tough book, but an essential one — the kind you read once, feel deeply, and then carry like a quiet ache for years.
The book is written with the voice of a man who has lived too closely with suffering to tolerate pat answers or polite theology, and that makes it one of the most unsettling and intellectually bracing works of spiritual inquiry to come out of contemporary India.
You can sense very early that Shourie is not motivated by bitterness; he’s motivated by honesty. His son Aditya’s disability and declining health are not used as emotional leverage — they are the ground reality from which he starts dismantling the vast architecture of religious consolation.
His central question — “If God is just, compassionate, omnipotent, and omniscient, then how does He allow a mother to suffer like this?” — is hardly new. But what makes Shourie’s treatment of it so piercing is that he doesn’t let theology hide behind abstraction. He drags scripture into the real world, refusing to let it sit comfortably in symbolic language or poetic metaphors. Every verse, every doctrine, every philosophical claim is brought face to face with lived human agony. And when that happens, the cracks in traditional religious reasoning become impossible to plaster over.
There is something quietly courageous in how he does it. Shourie takes on the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, and the Quran — not with mockery, not with rage, but with relentless scrutiny. He refuses to let any tradition get away with evasive platitudes. When a text tries to justify suffering as “karma,” he presses on the moral implications.
When a scripture frames suffering as a divine test, he questions the very ethics of a God who would behave like an authoritarian schoolmaster. When theology recommends surrender, he asks what surrender means for someone who has already given everything just to keep a child alive. The tone remains measured, but the critique is blistering.
What really elevates the book, though, is the tenderness beneath the fire. Shourie writes like a man who has endured so much that he no longer has the luxury of pretending. His prose is direct, unadorned, and somehow more moving because he never tries to be moving. He is not trying to perform grief; he is simply thinking through it.
And as he thinks, you begin to feel that the true courage here is not in questioning religion, but in refusing the comforting illusions that so many of us cling to reflexively.
And yet the book is not nihilistic. That’s the surprising revelation. Shourie may lose faith in religious explanations, but he gains something harder and more luminous: a sense of human responsibility. If God is not going to intervene, he argues, then it is on us — our compassion, our institutions, our daily actions — to reduce suffering and uphold dignity.
There is no celestial safety net. There is only one another. In a way, the book becomes a call for ethical maturity, for a grown-up spirituality that doesn’t hide behind cosmic excuses.
By the end, you don’t walk away with answers — Shourie would never insult the reader with that kind of certainty. What you walk away with is clarity.
A sharp, bracing clarity about what suffering demands from us, what faith cannot evade, and what it means to be human in a world where pain is real and explanations are flimsy.
It’s a tough book, but an essential one — the kind you read once, feel deeply, and then carry like a quiet ache for years.
July 28, 2012
Does god exists? If yes, does he care..This book is to anyone who has confronted with this question in life..Its an all personal quest of spiritual exploration of Arun Shourie ...The following excerpt is going to be long but its well done..This book is to all who have confronted with the omnipresence of god and his way of trialing mortal souls like us ...
"Your neighbous have ason.. he is now thirty-five year old..Going by his age you would think of him as a young man , and ,on meeting his mother or father ,would ask,almost out of habit, 'And what does the young man do?' That expression,'young man',doesn't sot well as he is but a child.He cannot walk ,Indeed, he cannot stand. He cannot use his right arm. He can see only his left. His hearing is sharp, as his memory. But he speaks only syllable by syllable...The father shouts at him.. He curses him:'You are the one who brought misery into our home... We know no trouble till you came.Look at you-weak,dependent,drooling ,good for nothing..' Nor does the father stop at shouting at the child, at pouring abuse at him, at cursing the child. He beats him.He thrashes him black and blue..As others in the family try to save the child from the father's rage, he leaps at them.Curses them, hits out at them.What would you think about the damned father? Wouldn't you report him to police or some such authority that can lock him up?Wouldn't you try everything you can to remove the child from the reach of the father? But what if the father is The Father- the 'T' and 'F' capital .both word italicized? That is what is the 'father' in question is 'God'?Why so the reaction and answer change for so many of us?" (Page 1)
I read the above from an exclusive excerpt and ordered my copy right away...
Shourie is stunned beyond horizon when he learns about his son's cerebral palsy as a result of insufficient oxygen in incubator few days after his premature birth.. He is perplexed about his son's suffering and future of the family..Like all he is confronts the cliche question, WHY ME? It's been thirty four years with his son Adit who doesn't have an independent life; worst he can't carry any of his basic chores of life, adding to the anguish, his wife Anita has been diagonised with Parkinson's disease..
This book tears you apart several times through his personal journey fathering a child with cerebral palsy, his heart felt worry of future about his only son as he himself is stepping onto old age..His love for his son is evident in every word that he pens down.. He describes spirit of his son that inspires to be the person he is through many anecdotes,one which readily comes to my mind is when Adit fell off wheelchair as the caretaker forgot to cling the seat belt that left him hurt with two frontal teeth knocked off, at the dentist's inspite of all the pain Adit called him close blowing kiss that leaves the doctor stunned..His wife's courage, is another startling point , her support and love to keep him afloat through all these years of life is beautifully portrayed where in spite of Parkinson's gruesome clutch been able to support him all through taking care of the house letting Shourie all time for work...But unlike other he has been able to set his personal trauma aside in later part of the chapters to reason out things logically and justify his point completely..He describes that his son has taught many things in life, like finding happiness in simple things, non-attachment, living life for the moment, sense of gratitude etc etc...According to him, even with Adit's mental state his son is quite lucky to be surrounded with all love and joy ..
Through all these odyssey he pondered upon all religion's unfailingly teaching that god is merciful and not even a leaf moves without his will. If so why there are so much suffering around the globe..He quotes from bible about Abraham,God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son Isaac, but God spared him when Abraham indeed was all set for the sacrifice for a ram instead..bible says that this a Abraham's faith is a perfect example of faith , affirming that the promises God made to Abraham extends to all who believe in him...He questions the discrepancies of all religion's anomaly to sufferings ..In Hindu religion everything is connected to 'karma' one's sins in the past birth.For Shourie "Karma is a convenient fiction" ..There's no credenda of heaven for innocent, but he sees laughter for sinners then asks why so? When Christianity believes that the whole world is the result of bad deeds of adam disobeying him, why all the innocents thereafter are condemned?? Islam promises life for eternity and death is a journey to god if that's the case what about a spastic ???
He says all religion for that matter are self contradictory this time ... Every aspect is thoroughly researched at times, glimpses of personal anguish sparkles throughout...Oddity of religious preaching and theory is questioned through many examples from bible to Quran to Gita ..Shourie has also borrowed many phrases and philosophies of many writers and thinkers to build up his own vantage..In Hindu religion where everything good and bad is attached to karma which Shourie aptly borrows from the quote of PV Kane that "our sense of fairness and justice would be shocked by the inequalities in the world" which implies that linking every deed and it consequences to karma is an intelligent and creative invention..
He quotes Gandhi that a child is subjected to pain so that parents learn about demure and kindness but Shourie questions., to start with why all pain upon the an innocent child ,that too by a God who is supposed to be all merciful..If the child's suffering is by the karma of his past then it was God's plan to make him do all that..Now why blame the boy..He adds ,when a plane crashes,how can God be cruel killing all 300 on board except for a 5year old..He comes with the logical reasoning why to complement good things to his mercy and the bad upon the person himself..
He says borrowing from Buddhist philosophy that sufferings are the basic truth of life which one cannot escape..To overcome this one should conquer his prejudice and the cultural upbringing and the myth about god and world..
I am sure no parent can get used a child's sufferings, it only goes over and over gain, living through this is the most difficult thing a parent live by ...I feel this is what made him write on all this. All the confusions and question, frustrations he was confronted with made him question every thing that included life and fate..This indeed formed the very essence of this book, which would help emotionally any one who is onto such situation every single day of life, or anyone who has compassion in one's heart...His vivacity for religion and spiritual life is based on his own experiences..He says Buddhism doesn't require belief in god but belief in life and that seems to be convincing to Shourie than any other religion... He quotes from Andre comte-Sponville that "The belief in God is so strikingly congruent with our longings that it seems to be invented to fulfill them." Humans created God rather than vice verse..He argues that people should learn to accept what ever circumstances they are onto and react to things in a matured way rather running up and down in haste cursing life,god and fate...And that's exactly what he does in his own life, he takes his son everywhere with full pride and not hiding him away from society and living with hope and love than worrying about the future...
"Your neighbous have ason.. he is now thirty-five year old..Going by his age you would think of him as a young man , and ,on meeting his mother or father ,would ask,almost out of habit, 'And what does the young man do?' That expression,'young man',doesn't sot well as he is but a child.He cannot walk ,Indeed, he cannot stand. He cannot use his right arm. He can see only his left. His hearing is sharp, as his memory. But he speaks only syllable by syllable...The father shouts at him.. He curses him:'You are the one who brought misery into our home... We know no trouble till you came.Look at you-weak,dependent,drooling ,good for nothing..' Nor does the father stop at shouting at the child, at pouring abuse at him, at cursing the child. He beats him.He thrashes him black and blue..As others in the family try to save the child from the father's rage, he leaps at them.Curses them, hits out at them.What would you think about the damned father? Wouldn't you report him to police or some such authority that can lock him up?Wouldn't you try everything you can to remove the child from the reach of the father? But what if the father is The Father- the 'T' and 'F' capital .both word italicized? That is what is the 'father' in question is 'God'?Why so the reaction and answer change for so many of us?" (Page 1)
I read the above from an exclusive excerpt and ordered my copy right away...
Shourie is stunned beyond horizon when he learns about his son's cerebral palsy as a result of insufficient oxygen in incubator few days after his premature birth.. He is perplexed about his son's suffering and future of the family..Like all he is confronts the cliche question, WHY ME? It's been thirty four years with his son Adit who doesn't have an independent life; worst he can't carry any of his basic chores of life, adding to the anguish, his wife Anita has been diagonised with Parkinson's disease..
This book tears you apart several times through his personal journey fathering a child with cerebral palsy, his heart felt worry of future about his only son as he himself is stepping onto old age..His love for his son is evident in every word that he pens down.. He describes spirit of his son that inspires to be the person he is through many anecdotes,one which readily comes to my mind is when Adit fell off wheelchair as the caretaker forgot to cling the seat belt that left him hurt with two frontal teeth knocked off, at the dentist's inspite of all the pain Adit called him close blowing kiss that leaves the doctor stunned..His wife's courage, is another startling point , her support and love to keep him afloat through all these years of life is beautifully portrayed where in spite of Parkinson's gruesome clutch been able to support him all through taking care of the house letting Shourie all time for work...But unlike other he has been able to set his personal trauma aside in later part of the chapters to reason out things logically and justify his point completely..He describes that his son has taught many things in life, like finding happiness in simple things, non-attachment, living life for the moment, sense of gratitude etc etc...According to him, even with Adit's mental state his son is quite lucky to be surrounded with all love and joy ..
Through all these odyssey he pondered upon all religion's unfailingly teaching that god is merciful and not even a leaf moves without his will. If so why there are so much suffering around the globe..He quotes from bible about Abraham,God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son Isaac, but God spared him when Abraham indeed was all set for the sacrifice for a ram instead..bible says that this a Abraham's faith is a perfect example of faith , affirming that the promises God made to Abraham extends to all who believe in him...He questions the discrepancies of all religion's anomaly to sufferings ..In Hindu religion everything is connected to 'karma' one's sins in the past birth.For Shourie "Karma is a convenient fiction" ..There's no credenda of heaven for innocent, but he sees laughter for sinners then asks why so? When Christianity believes that the whole world is the result of bad deeds of adam disobeying him, why all the innocents thereafter are condemned?? Islam promises life for eternity and death is a journey to god if that's the case what about a spastic ???
He says all religion for that matter are self contradictory this time ... Every aspect is thoroughly researched at times, glimpses of personal anguish sparkles throughout...Oddity of religious preaching and theory is questioned through many examples from bible to Quran to Gita ..Shourie has also borrowed many phrases and philosophies of many writers and thinkers to build up his own vantage..In Hindu religion where everything good and bad is attached to karma which Shourie aptly borrows from the quote of PV Kane that "our sense of fairness and justice would be shocked by the inequalities in the world" which implies that linking every deed and it consequences to karma is an intelligent and creative invention..
He quotes Gandhi that a child is subjected to pain so that parents learn about demure and kindness but Shourie questions., to start with why all pain upon the an innocent child ,that too by a God who is supposed to be all merciful..If the child's suffering is by the karma of his past then it was God's plan to make him do all that..Now why blame the boy..He adds ,when a plane crashes,how can God be cruel killing all 300 on board except for a 5year old..He comes with the logical reasoning why to complement good things to his mercy and the bad upon the person himself..
He says borrowing from Buddhist philosophy that sufferings are the basic truth of life which one cannot escape..To overcome this one should conquer his prejudice and the cultural upbringing and the myth about god and world..
I am sure no parent can get used a child's sufferings, it only goes over and over gain, living through this is the most difficult thing a parent live by ...I feel this is what made him write on all this. All the confusions and question, frustrations he was confronted with made him question every thing that included life and fate..This indeed formed the very essence of this book, which would help emotionally any one who is onto such situation every single day of life, or anyone who has compassion in one's heart...His vivacity for religion and spiritual life is based on his own experiences..He says Buddhism doesn't require belief in god but belief in life and that seems to be convincing to Shourie than any other religion... He quotes from Andre comte-Sponville that "The belief in God is so strikingly congruent with our longings that it seems to be invented to fulfill them." Humans created God rather than vice verse..He argues that people should learn to accept what ever circumstances they are onto and react to things in a matured way rather running up and down in haste cursing life,god and fate...And that's exactly what he does in his own life, he takes his son everywhere with full pride and not hiding him away from society and living with hope and love than worrying about the future...
August 14, 2011
Probably one of the most different from Shourie's usual writings. It has his trademark incisiveness and, a well thought out point of discussion. But, the addition of the personal, the incidents in his life, his family make this one of the searing books I've read in a while. It may not appeal to you. In fact it might just appear to be one-sided or, far too rigid and inward looking. However, there is no way to deny the pain, the anguish and thereafter the logic that flows through this. Very much a recommended read.
June 24, 2013
IF you have been a care giver to anyone who is suffering from extreme illness, you must read this book. The title of the book quotes "How suffering refutes religion" , and rightfully the book is detailed to answer this question, not only by quoting Arun's personal experiences but substantiating it with the religious texts of various sects .
The books begins with Arun's own role as a caregiver to his son and later to his wife as well. Then he takes us along a journey of quoting texts from Islam/Christianity/Hinduism and then explaining how they don't really makes sense. Extreme suffering can never be justified-Bad karma , act of god, lack of faith are all but mere tags to help people to get over the suffering .. but anyone who has witnessed a cancer patient/spastic child and similar sufferings would agree that suffering does indeed refute eligion. This book substantiates this emotion with facts , with oxymoron's in our religion ...
The last part of the book is how he looks at the suffering and what would help anyone who is in similar shoes to get over the tragedy and live a peaceful life while playing the role of a care giver.
A must read for those who stick to religion and suggest bad karma/lack of faith as the reasons for suffering and also for those who look for logic behind everything and are not blinded by faith ..
The books begins with Arun's own role as a caregiver to his son and later to his wife as well. Then he takes us along a journey of quoting texts from Islam/Christianity/Hinduism and then explaining how they don't really makes sense. Extreme suffering can never be justified-Bad karma , act of god, lack of faith are all but mere tags to help people to get over the suffering .. but anyone who has witnessed a cancer patient/spastic child and similar sufferings would agree that suffering does indeed refute eligion. This book substantiates this emotion with facts , with oxymoron's in our religion ...
The last part of the book is how he looks at the suffering and what would help anyone who is in similar shoes to get over the tragedy and live a peaceful life while playing the role of a care giver.
A must read for those who stick to religion and suggest bad karma/lack of faith as the reasons for suffering and also for those who look for logic behind everything and are not blinded by faith ..
May 27, 2017
This is a book I intend to reread, for I don't think I understood all of the profound things Arun Shourie has said here. So, I know that I will have to read, and reread, and put a lot more thought into it over time to understand it well. Moreover, I also want to reread it because I think it is an important book. Arun Shourie, through his personal story, questions a lot of beliefs we have come to hold about God and religion, explains---as perfectly put by the tagline of the book---how suffering refutes religion, and he asks how we would perceive a human who does the kind of things God claims to do in His books ---for instance, he asks how we would perceive a father who mercilessly punishes his child for not revering him and him alone. As he poses many such questions, provides answers for many of them, and shares his personal story and gives anecdotes from the lives of those around him, he also discusses on how those suffering can put their suffering to work and in the process can even help others. And through all of this, he makes those of us who have been fortunate to have seen suffering only from a distance to feel even more grateful.
For anyone who has wondered "if God really exists, why is there so much suffering around?", maybe this is the book you were looking for. Personally, I think it is a compelling read!
For anyone who has wondered "if God really exists, why is there so much suffering around?", maybe this is the book you were looking for. Personally, I think it is a compelling read!
November 30, 2013
A compelling argument for choosing Budhism as way of life.
December 27, 2013
Why do we suffer? Who decides fate? Is life fair? If every outcome is decided what is 'action' then? Is there indeed a Doer? What is the purpose of existence?
These are the line of thought in this rather unusual book.
There is an old cliche "In God we trust, everyone else must bring data!!" This book confronts God with data. It tests the nature and personality of God from the magnifying-glass of a skeptic a critic. Let me hand it out...this is indeed a unique book I have read.
It begins with the most common origin of spiritual thought...suffering. It poses key questions to our faiths and beliefs, irrespective of religions. If God is all so loving, why does He punish if I as much as 'not pray' to Him or 'pray to other Gods'? Is He insecure or is He jealous or both for that matter?
The writing is based on good research work done over some popular spritual works and our scriptures as well. It reasons the incidents mentioned in the scriptural teachings with harsh logic of reality. It pricks our comfortable faith in God with one jarring question 'why does a child suffer?' (this is mentioned in the context of specially-abled children. I would even extend it to other layers of suffering that childen are being exposed to like violence, trauma etc.)
There is many incidents raked up from the lifes of many famous personalities (spiritual) which, if we follow the author's logic, are mere eye-wash sold out vehemently in the name of God.
My take on the work:
Yes, Life does not seem fair during testing times. But this does not make Life unfair.
Scriptures though called as the word of God are infact the ever evolving understanding of God, Nature and their ways. Scriptures serve as a major pillar of religion which in turn is a platform on which we base our lives (theists and atheists both alike).
Disagreeing with the scriptures and other works of spirituality or with opinions of major leaders does not necessarily mean that you disagree with God. We only disagree with the image of God as cast in the scriptures which again is a work of Man...prone to innocence and ego.
All in all the work is a moving account of a public figure.
These are the line of thought in this rather unusual book.
There is an old cliche "In God we trust, everyone else must bring data!!" This book confronts God with data. It tests the nature and personality of God from the magnifying-glass of a skeptic a critic. Let me hand it out...this is indeed a unique book I have read.
It begins with the most common origin of spiritual thought...suffering. It poses key questions to our faiths and beliefs, irrespective of religions. If God is all so loving, why does He punish if I as much as 'not pray' to Him or 'pray to other Gods'? Is He insecure or is He jealous or both for that matter?
The writing is based on good research work done over some popular spritual works and our scriptures as well. It reasons the incidents mentioned in the scriptural teachings with harsh logic of reality. It pricks our comfortable faith in God with one jarring question 'why does a child suffer?' (this is mentioned in the context of specially-abled children. I would even extend it to other layers of suffering that childen are being exposed to like violence, trauma etc.)
There is many incidents raked up from the lifes of many famous personalities (spiritual) which, if we follow the author's logic, are mere eye-wash sold out vehemently in the name of God.
My take on the work:
Yes, Life does not seem fair during testing times. But this does not make Life unfair.
Scriptures though called as the word of God are infact the ever evolving understanding of God, Nature and their ways. Scriptures serve as a major pillar of religion which in turn is a platform on which we base our lives (theists and atheists both alike).
Disagreeing with the scriptures and other works of spirituality or with opinions of major leaders does not necessarily mean that you disagree with God. We only disagree with the image of God as cast in the scriptures which again is a work of Man...prone to innocence and ego.
All in all the work is a moving account of a public figure.
July 18, 2013
Just finished reading this absolute marvel of a profoundly thought provoking work by one of the leading intellectuals of our times in the country. The author has dug deep into the vast reservoir of ideas and beliefs that the leading religions, since their inception, have superimposed on human mind and shaped its thought processes, to find answers to the unresolved and unanswered mystery of the reasons behind the suffering that is as certain or uncertain as the life itself is and brushes our lives, one way, directly or indirectly, in one form or the other. With meticulously researched arguments, the author opens up the minds of the readers to question the closely and doggedly held beliefs that the human race has been trained and conditioned to since times immemorial, in particular on the question of ubiquitous hand of Gods of leading religions and their inherent contradictions while trying to rationalize the cause and effect aspect of extreme sufferings in our lives. A must read for every individual who seeks answer to the mystery of what shapes our lives and its sufferings that, more often than not, do not conform to any fixed pattern of logic or handiwork of Gods, prophets and tenets of the leading religions of the world and what indeed our lives are about - body, ego, karma, soul, self or what? A brilliant piece of work from the thinking pen of a brilliant scholar blessed with an absolutely open mind as open, as the skies.
January 2, 2013
I have always wondered this about Arun Shourie, ever since I saw the picture of his family in a weekly. My aunt has a similar story to tell, as my cousin was born spastic due to mishandling by the nurse in the maternity ward when he was born. I have seen how people suffer, my aunt's husband was full of life and cheerful and no one could have guessed the deep anguish he must have felt looking at his son. Perhaps all those years of mental agony culminated into brain tumor from which he died. His death was devastating for our family. My aunt now lives with her son who is 36 years old. As with Arun's case, even my aunt has to look after the basic needs of her son. Most wonderful is the fact that even through all this my aunt and her late husband were one of the most cheerful and logical people I came across. A similarity I see with Arun Shourie. It is amazing to see their energy. I wish I had access to the fountain which replenishes them and helps then through such tragedy?
May 25, 2015
When we come across suffering in our life, some questions and doubts arise in our mind pertaining to God and the existence of God. This book immaculately describes such situations and seeks convincing answers from the holy books of various religions, renowned Godmen and sages.
The book very well describes its tagline 'How suffering refutes religion'. It gives us a learning of how should we react to our sufferings and what mindset should be followed in order to get over them. It takes us in a deep contemplation concerning the credibility of the stereotypes which we used to follow by now.
The Author has cited various passages from other books also and has provided substantial content so as to prove every point he has made in the book. I believe that if one can get along with the book then he/she can really unveil some enigmatic truths of this world. I would suggest nothing but to give this book a read.
The book very well describes its tagline 'How suffering refutes religion'. It gives us a learning of how should we react to our sufferings and what mindset should be followed in order to get over them. It takes us in a deep contemplation concerning the credibility of the stereotypes which we used to follow by now.
The Author has cited various passages from other books also and has provided substantial content so as to prove every point he has made in the book. I believe that if one can get along with the book then he/she can really unveil some enigmatic truths of this world. I would suggest nothing but to give this book a read.
June 8, 2016
I cannot claim to understand this book fully. Its sheer range and depth of engagement with different philosophies is overwhelming. But yet the book leaves me with a profound sense of emptiness.
First take the underlying emotion that inspired this book. A father, Mr. Shourie, is desperate to allay the suffering of his son, Aditya. He is looking for help for his son. He is delving deep into philosophies to find some answer, some explanation. Yet no answer comes, no grace shines. So he is indignant at God, if he is at all there. He comes to believe, to his very core, into non-existence of God. But such is a father’s heart, that he violates that fundamental belief every day. Just in case someone something can still help the suffering child. So he meets Godmen. He keeps fast. And he prays.
The larger questions that run through this book are these. Do we use the idea of an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God to delude ourselves and avoid responsibility? Why do we put ourselves under the yoke of divine just when we feel his presence the least? What is it about us that even when we see daily acts of injustices and tragedies, we keep believing in the moral ordering of the world? Is it out of fear that we cannot acknowledge that a lot of life is ‘mere time and chance’? What is that deepest human instinct that we cannot give up the idea that all this, this world and this life, have some meaning after all?
Despite all the suffering that inspired this book, there is no trace of self-pity or complain in Mr. Shourie’s arguments. As they say, sentimentality is the emotional promiscuity of a person with no sentiment. Mr. Shourie most certainly has some. So the book may not answer all these questions. But it will certainly raise every question worth raising. So the end effect is this. That even when you are left with no answers, the quality of your doubts will be enhanced.
Most moving part of the book is where Mr. Shourie describes how his whole family comes together to take part in Aditya’s life. It is an extraordinary story of resolve and courage. A story in which people have a rare depth and dignity of character. People who will not let circumstances define themselves, People who will not let tragedies vitiate and poison their hearts.
The hardest battle of life is one which is fought passionately even when one knows it will end up in defeat. Because it is fought in love. A love which is beyond the care for consequences. It is one such battle that Mr. Shourie and his family have fought and are still fighting.
They may not win it in the narrow and poor sense of the term victory. But they will have an honour that is reserved for the finest of us. An honour which redeems men. An honour which enables men to transcend defeat.
First take the underlying emotion that inspired this book. A father, Mr. Shourie, is desperate to allay the suffering of his son, Aditya. He is looking for help for his son. He is delving deep into philosophies to find some answer, some explanation. Yet no answer comes, no grace shines. So he is indignant at God, if he is at all there. He comes to believe, to his very core, into non-existence of God. But such is a father’s heart, that he violates that fundamental belief every day. Just in case someone something can still help the suffering child. So he meets Godmen. He keeps fast. And he prays.
The larger questions that run through this book are these. Do we use the idea of an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God to delude ourselves and avoid responsibility? Why do we put ourselves under the yoke of divine just when we feel his presence the least? What is it about us that even when we see daily acts of injustices and tragedies, we keep believing in the moral ordering of the world? Is it out of fear that we cannot acknowledge that a lot of life is ‘mere time and chance’? What is that deepest human instinct that we cannot give up the idea that all this, this world and this life, have some meaning after all?
Despite all the suffering that inspired this book, there is no trace of self-pity or complain in Mr. Shourie’s arguments. As they say, sentimentality is the emotional promiscuity of a person with no sentiment. Mr. Shourie most certainly has some. So the book may not answer all these questions. But it will certainly raise every question worth raising. So the end effect is this. That even when you are left with no answers, the quality of your doubts will be enhanced.
Most moving part of the book is where Mr. Shourie describes how his whole family comes together to take part in Aditya’s life. It is an extraordinary story of resolve and courage. A story in which people have a rare depth and dignity of character. People who will not let circumstances define themselves, People who will not let tragedies vitiate and poison their hearts.
The hardest battle of life is one which is fought passionately even when one knows it will end up in defeat. Because it is fought in love. A love which is beyond the care for consequences. It is one such battle that Mr. Shourie and his family have fought and are still fighting.
They may not win it in the narrow and poor sense of the term victory. But they will have an honour that is reserved for the finest of us. An honour which redeems men. An honour which enables men to transcend defeat.
December 2, 2012
This book is in some parts autobiographical especially in the beginning, mainly dealing with the illness of his son and wife , but mostly a dissection of several religious scriptures to reveal what they have to say about suffering.
This book is very inspirational and highly recommended read especially for the caregivers who are in similar situation as that of Shourie. It will serve as a guidebook for dealing with suffering.
More about this book at
http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.in/201...
This book is very inspirational and highly recommended read especially for the caregivers who are in similar situation as that of Shourie. It will serve as a guidebook for dealing with suffering.
More about this book at
http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.in/201...
October 9, 2011
In this book Shourie has tried to answer many of my questions on existence of God and suffering. If not answered, he has at least tried to ask the questions and made me think more openly without pre-conceptions about God and religion etc.
If not the whole book, one should read at least the last two chapters which gives a lot of guidance on how one should look at service and kind of expectations that one should have from the service.
If not the whole book, one should read at least the last two chapters which gives a lot of guidance on how one should look at service and kind of expectations that one should have from the service.
January 16, 2015
I just love this book and won't mind to read it again and again. It compels a reader to think deep into the roots of religion and asks what is exactly the meaning of religion. It's so emotional and mind opening, having a personal experience in my family similar to the incidents shown in the book, I wept for many days and during the end of the book I was a new and changed man.
Best non fictional book I have read till now.
Best non fictional book I have read till now.
January 30, 2012
As excellent work by Shourie. He records his views on human suffering and the way different religions explain human suffering. It is a great work everyone must find time to read.
August 26, 2012
Touching and analytical (on occasion carrying it to an extreme), this is another masterpiece from Arun Shourie
December 31, 2021
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DOES HE KNOW A MOTHERS HEART
by Arun Shourie.
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If one is, for whatever reason, not familiar with personal details of the authors life, and is only familiar with the valiant battle he's continued in the public life from emergency era onward if not before, the opening in this book is startling, and one immediately wonders how this man with so huge a dark cloud on his family as an only child burdened so very tremendously.
His account of the personal part is as simple and direct as his writings have made a reader expect, not shorn of emotional part. But here he begins the story by asking a question that really doesn't belong as much to an Indian frame - whether of philosophy or faith, tradition or bringing up - as one of an abrahmic one, and this is where he moves on to, after the personal account, asking the question that the title has incorporated.
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"My father’s courage as he evacuated Hindus in July-August 1947 out of Lahore—where he was City Magistrate at the time. The courage with which he settled, comforted and on occasion quelled the raging refugees in camps across Punjab. My mother’s courage as she comforted her mother and father when they lost a young son, as husbands deserted two of their daughters. My mother-in-law’s courage as she went on looking after all of us even as rheumatoid arthritis twisted and turned and crippled her hands and feet. Malini’s3 courage, Veena’s4 courage evident in the dignity and fortitude with which they have borne blows of unimaginable severity, faced life, brought up their children single-handed, and, on top of it, continued working . . . Here we are: we get so puffed up just because we have stood up to some authority-of-the-moment. And here are these girls: they have stood up to life itself."
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"Adit has taught us lessons upon lessons. He has given us a sense of proportion. I am dismissed from the Indian Express? But he hasn’t had and isn’t going to have a job at all. In losing my place at the Express, I feel that my tongue has been yanked out? But Adit can scarcely speak at all. At every turn of this kind, I have but to look at him—he is laughing away, almost breathless, with someone over some little joke, happy in his little world."
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"Malini was born to Mithu Chib—now Mithu Alur. She and her husband were in London at the time. Malini too had been struck by cerebral palsy.
"They had returned to India. Mithu is another of those ladies who just won’t give up or give in. She set up the first school for spastic children. Her sister, Mita Nundy, set up the second one in Delhi. It was in all of two or three rooms.
"Anita would drive Adit to the school. Soon, she joined it.
"Again, so many helped. Mrs Nargis Dutt had helped raise funds for the school in Bombay. For the school in Delhi, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, then the Prime Minister, sanctioned governmental assistance. Mr Jagmohan, then the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, sanctioned land at institutional rates. Mr N.A. Palkhivala got TISCO to send steel at a concessional rate . . . A building specially designed for wheelchair-bound children came up. ... "
" ... Many placed impediments. One casteist minister, who contributed to ruining several institutions, demanded to know the caste-wise breakdown of students and teachers and the reasons why the school was not implementing the reservations’ edicts of government . . ."
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"Subbulakshmi began a song, Yaad aave, Vrindavan mein Krishna ki leelaa . . . She had just sung a stanza or two, Adit pursed his lip and began to cry . . . I immediately took him out of his chair and lifted him on to my shoulder and pressed him to my heart . . . ‘Adit tum royo mat, yeh to gaanaa hi hai . . .’ ‘No, no,’ Subbulakshmi said. ‘That shows how much he understands music. I have a granddaughter. She too, on this very song, at this very line, begins crying . . .’"
"Thirty years later, a role reversal. We are in Chennai. Adit is to be examined at the Sankar Nethralaya. We are staying at the house of dear friends. Recitations and bhajans are often going on in their home. Early morning. Having completed my pranayama and asanas, I come out of our room. Subbulakshmi’s voice. She is singing Meera’s bhajans.
"I rush back, bring Adit out—for he knows this set of bhajans. He is all attention—he has his head lowered as he does when he is concentrating. I am stroking Adit’s shoulders and back. Subbulakshmi sings:
'Ansuan jal seench seench prem bel boyee . . .
"I just cannot hold tears back. I try, but I just cannot, though no sound escapes my lips. The song over, I take Adit back to our room. I have deliberately kept myself behind him, out of his sight, gently pushing the wheelchair. But he turns, pulls me to himself. Takes my head to his chest, holds it there, and, as he often does, twirls my ear. ... "
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Here on, he turns to questioning religions, looking at Bible - both Old and New Testaments - and Koran.
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"Suppose there are forty-five righteous persons, Abraham asks. Will You spare the city then?
"God assures him, I will spare it . . .
"If there are forty? Thirty? Twenty? What if there are ten?
"Each time God says ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of forty/thirty/twenty/ten.’12 The same argument could be taken to there being just one righteous person in the city. And God would have to promise not to go ahead with His resolve to destroy the cities. But Abraham does not press the point. Set those two cities aside for a moment. And think of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, the coastal settlements that were hit by the tsunami, think of the regions in POK in which nearly 90,000 people were killed by the earthquake. Could it be that God did not find a single righteous person or ten or twenty in any of them?"
"Two angels come to Sodom in the evening. They reach Lot’s house. He prostrates before them, invites them to spend the night in his home.13
"Men from Sodom surround the house. ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight?’ they demand. ‘Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.’14
"Lot begs them to spare the men. ‘See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.’15 What have the poor daughters done that their father should be so ready to make an offering of them to the lust and vengefulness of the Sodom men?"
"Lot and his family leave. Lot’s wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt.17 Reflect for a moment: Why has this fate been visited upon her? Because she disobeyed a command? Because a longing for what she was leaving behind lingered in her heart?"
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"Nor is His obsession about being revered limited to individuals. Pestilence, destruction, death are brought down on entire peoples—including, and especially on the people He has Himself chosen. Entire cities are obliterated for faltering in their reverence of Him. ‘If there is a calamity in a city,’ we read in the Book of Amos, ‘will not the Lord have done it?’26 God sets out how He will bring down cities and empires because they have had the audacity to browbeat the people He has chosen.27 Then he turns on the chosen people themselves. In part this is because of what might be seen as personal sins and wrongdoings:"
" ... I will punish all—the circumcised as much as the uncircumcised, He declares, because the former—‘all the house of Israel’—‘are uncircumcised in the heart’. Through His prophet, Jeremiah, He decrees calamity upon calamity, and declares that, though the people, hammered thus, shall cry out for relief, He shall not relent. ‘They shall die gruesome deaths,’ Jeremiah reports God as having told him. “They shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth . . .’ ‘Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle,’ God vows. The days are corning when this place shall not be known by its name but as ‘the Valley of Slaughter’. I shall cause the cities and their inhabitants to suffer defeat and destruction at the hands of their enemies and of those who seek their lives. I shall break the cities ‘as one breaks a potter’s vessel which cannot be made whole again’. ‘I will make the city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.’ ‘Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,’ God declares, ‘And their women with child ripped open . . .’30 All this for what? Because they have ‘committed prostitution with pagan gods’! ‘Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods . . . and filled this place with the blood of innocents.’"
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November 7, 2018
A very heart wrenching yet objective book exploring the rationales promulgated by organized religion about justifying suffering and how they fail to stand on firm reasoning. This book is Shourie's personal account of attending to a disabled child and also his doting wife, who suffers from Parkinson's. He has tried to bring to attention excerpts from various scriptures and anecdotes of his interactions with godmen and various gurus, which really drive home his point that suffering cannot really be justified by any religion or even by the prevalent phenomenon of 'Karma'. He finally alludes the reader to the fact that everyone, at some point, is affected by personal blows and that the key lesson is to detach oneself from inculpating the situation and rather engage on solving the problem at hand with a sense of compassion.
November 17, 2013
All religions justify human suffering as a way of God to build human character and prepare for the worst. Shourie challenges the methods and intention of God with logical flaw in all arguments mentioned in scriptures regarding suffering. How futile it is to justify the pain and suffering as an act of God to further the cause of humanity. His personal experience is a riveting account of how suffering is unjustifiable act of God and hence renders all religion helpless against his scrutiny.
Shourie finds solace, to some extent, in Buddhist philosophy and is able to rationalize the idea behind human suffering.
Shourie finds solace, to some extent, in Buddhist philosophy and is able to rationalize the idea behind human suffering.
October 10, 2011
A book where you can see Arun Shourie’s pain and anguish for his son. He is looking for answers from God on why his son, Adit, his wife Anita, has to go through so much of suffering. A book where he questions God about giving suffering to his followers, and where he has learnt to let go , after finding the answers in Buddha’s teachings. A must for all those who have gone through sufferings in life and have wanted answers for them.
February 27, 2013
arun shourie tries to sift through all major religions to find a satisfactory reason behind his son's lifelong suffering..... he presents an analytical and thorough study of what each religion says about the cause of unexplained suffering.... and in the end is seen tilting towards the tenets of Buddhism.... an insightful and a clearly industrious effort by shourie
August 20, 2017
The book starts with a flow, loses its sharpness in middle yet end up in the giving invaluable insights on human sufferings. The anger, guilt & frustration borne out of personal tragedy has been redirected by the author into a fine book. Each word refutes the existence of merciful God and shakes reader from slumber.
May 10, 2012
It's like an anguished cry for the innocent and suffering souls in this earth.so well articulated and full of logical arguments.touches something deep in the heart. India does need more social security for the handicapped or differently abled persons.
March 2, 2013
This book sheds light on a different Arun Shourie - not the politician, not the minister. He is a father, a husband. A man who has undergone immense suffering. A heart-wrenching tale of love and struggle.
February 6, 2012
Nice book to read. Religion can be disproved by 'reason' but hey!..don't you know that God is beyond reason? ...the same old crappy circle eh?..This is the point which Shourie discusses in this book
March 22, 2014
Great book. 5 stars for the last two chapters.
Read
April 27, 2015Its a wonderful book. It opened my eyes to a new world of understanding and compassion. It made me think deeply and started reading Buddha literature,
June 11, 2017
Read Marathi translation
January 8, 2025
"No cosmic purpose is served by our suffering or that of those dear to us—just as no cosmic purpose is served by our being born or by our dying; and that for the simple reason that there is no 'cosmic purpose.'"
Parent to a handicapped child, Arun's questions stem from a platitudes of clichés that any person going through a hard time might have pondered over at least once — "Why do such horrible things happen?" No, the book doesn't offer any intellectual or even innovative answer to the age-old debate over God's existence.
Instead, it takes us through the emotional turmoil of a tale of him and his wife raising their handicapped child. And how, no god, but humans lend their hands to a miracle that has no divinity attached to it.
French philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville stated, “The belief in God is so strikingly congruent with our longings that it seems to be invented to fulfil them.” We invented a cosmic power to fend off our miseries. Arun discovers it as he struggles between his faith and the lack of it as he searches for the divine being in various religions.
While this book is not a harsh critique of organised religion, it is a sufficient one. More so, because the realisations are very, very personal.
Parent to a handicapped child, Arun's questions stem from a platitudes of clichés that any person going through a hard time might have pondered over at least once — "Why do such horrible things happen?" No, the book doesn't offer any intellectual or even innovative answer to the age-old debate over God's existence.
Instead, it takes us through the emotional turmoil of a tale of him and his wife raising their handicapped child. And how, no god, but humans lend their hands to a miracle that has no divinity attached to it.
French philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville stated, “The belief in God is so strikingly congruent with our longings that it seems to be invented to fulfil them.” We invented a cosmic power to fend off our miseries. Arun discovers it as he struggles between his faith and the lack of it as he searches for the divine being in various religions.
While this book is not a harsh critique of organised religion, it is a sufficient one. More so, because the realisations are very, very personal.
February 6, 2021
Mr. shourie effectively exposes shortcomings in all religious ideas and scriptures which fail to explain all the sufferings in the world as he provides care for his ailing wife and special son.
The book is deeply moving and is a must read.
Religious beliefs, as comforting there are, surely gives us erroneous map of reality.
What is the cost of such lies? We must ask ourselves as we impose them on future generations, we cannot claim we do it for their good.
Work on your salvation through diligence ~ Buddha
The book is deeply moving and is a must read.
Religious beliefs, as comforting there are, surely gives us erroneous map of reality.
What is the cost of such lies? We must ask ourselves as we impose them on future generations, we cannot claim we do it for their good.
Work on your salvation through diligence ~ Buddha
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