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The Best of all Possible Worlds A Sufi Sheikh (teacher) was sitting in the marketplace with three of his murids (students). “Which of you will be my successor?” he asked. Being a Sufi teacher carried not just status but also knowledge of the 100th name (the hidden name) of God, which has a very real mystical power. He turned to the first murid. “If you had this power what would you do with it?” “I would stop people mistreating animals and ensure that all businesses are conducted fairly”. He answered. “Very good”, said the Sheikh. He turned to the second murid. “And what would you do?” “I would ensure that people carried out all the religious practices and worship God”. The Sheikh nodded, “A good intention”, he said and turned to the third murid. “And you?” The third murid looked around at the chaos in the marketplace. An old man was beating his overburdened donkey; a market trader was arguing with a buyer who had been cheated; children were playing, people were laughing, arguing and crying. He turned back to the Sheikh. “I would leave everything exactly as it is”, he replied. The Sheikh nodded his head. “God was running the world long before you came along and will run it long after you have left”. He indicated towards the third murid. “He will be my successor”. This idea that we live in the best possible world seems very odd. Surely that would be heaven on earth? This depends, though, on what the purpose of our life on earth is. If it is to experience joy and pleasure then yes, it would seem that few people experience that. However, our purpose on earth is to evolve, and evolution can be a painful process. We live in the best possible world because people are faced with the consequences of their actions, either individually or collectively. All to often people make mistakes in life and then blame God for the results of their actions. As individuals, though, it is possible to avoid the natural fallout by making supplication to God. I've mentioned before (“The Bible Story”) how in the old days a king had absolute power over his kingdom and could bypass the laws of the land on behalf of someone who made an appeal to him. In the same way, God can bypass the so-called laws of nature and intervene directly in our lives. Miracles are not exceptional – they are a fact of life if you understand how they work.