Roger Williams named the river and this city "Providence" in honor of the Divine Grace that manifested in bringing him to this place. The word ‘Providence’ brings many questions, such as: How does God take care of us? Why does God so often seem not to protect us from the harsh blows of life? And if God is perfect, then why is the universe so obviously imperfect? The neo-Platonic Greek philosopher Plotinus, whose views are strikingly similar to those of Vedanta, offers insights into such questions. In the Third Ennead, Plotinus there are two chapters titled ‘Providence’. He explains that every part is connected to the whole. Each seemingly separate individual is actually a cohesive part of the whole, and everything is connected. In his words, "[T]here is here . . . no part standing isolated from the rest, and therefore nowhere is there any wronging of any other, any opposition." Sometimes people seem to be aligned and cooperating, while other times they engage in conflict, yet all this forms the whole. The apparent discord is a necessity, as it facilitates a momentum that makes us aware of the distance between ourselves and the Divine. This offers the possibility of fulfilling the purpose of life, which is to return to The Oneness. The method for fulfilling this purpose is to reduce the ego: Lesser the ego we have, the closer we are to God. Providence does not always give us what we think we want, but instead provides for us in such a way that the ego keeps getting hit in the course of our pursuing likes and dislikes. Pain facilitates learning and growth. Enjoying pleasures and having an easy time in life can make us complacent, but when we experience pain, we turn to God, thus bringing us closer to The Oneness.
