Questioner: Why does God, who is so kind and merciful, give suffering and pain to so many?
Baba: God has nothing to do with this. God is all one-in-one. He is aloof and yet so attached that whatever is done is by His law of love and will. For example, when you sleep, you enjoy a dream, and the enjoyment is so intense that this dream of happiness does not wake you soon. But if in the midst of the dream you suddenly saw a snake, you would wake up at once. This is the law of God.
God is neither merciful nor cruel in your “awakened” state. To know the exact meaning of the “awake state,” one has to experience the “dream state.” Dreams can be good and bad. In dreams you can suffer or enjoy. But when you wake up, you find it is all a dream. But this dream should be so adjusted that it awakens you.
Sacrifice, character, and selfless service help in awakening you.
–Silent Teachings of Meher Baba, compiled and edited by Naosherwan Anzar, p146