Isn't God cruel when He does not protect some excellent devotees and they die?

[My son who died in an accident was an excellent devotee of the Lord. The Lord, who should have protected him, killed him instead. Is He not cruel?]

Swami replied: Your question shows one thing clearly that you are not a real devotee of the Lord. Your son must have been a real devotee as expressed by your own words. He was born to you by his previous action (Prarabdha). In your association he would certainly have been spoiled. Therefore the Lord wanted to make him the son of another real devotee. He allowed your son to be with you for sometime to see whether you would change into a real devotee. But you have not changed because you are scolding the Lord for cutting your bond with your son. Actually all the family bonds should be cut for the sake of the bond with the Lord. Just like you remove your son from a school containing bad students and put him in a school with good students, the Lord took your son to the suitable atmosphere of the family of real devotees. Thus the Lord protected your son. In His view, removing this external body is just like removing a shirt. In your view, such this removal of the shirt is cruelty. Therefore always be firm in the faith that the Lord is always the protector and He is kindest towards all His real devotees.