by
Amitakh
Stanford
(republished
from the Nara site)
15th
May 2005
From the earliest days in this body
I was aware of the immense burden of Evil. While children of my age were
usually carefree, I was often saddened by the amount of evil I perceived.
Many people do not believe in the
existence of absolute evil, even though all at some time in their lives have
experienced evil and the influence of evil.
However, unacceptable expressions of
belief in evil forces seem to be increasing. For example, not only is devil
worship on the rise in the United States of America and elsewhere, it now
frequently appears in some of its extreme forms, as in human sacrifice.
For the person with a rationalistic,
empirical perspective, all talk about demonic power and evil is nonsense to
them. They see it as a reversion to primitive superstition. So, from that
perspective, whatever we call evil in human experience is regarded as only the
regrettable consequence of faulty breeding, adverse environment, childhood
trauma, or poor judgement. According to this view, a demonic force is no more
needed to explain evil than is a transcendent, benign deity to provide
justification for good.
If we were to assume that human
beings have freewill, the problem of evil could become a problem of choice, if
one were to know all the consequences of one's choice. But one does not always
know the consequences. The saying that the road to hell is paved with good
intentions has a lot of truth in this sense. If humans lack freewill, there can
be no moral evil but a more perplexing problem of physical evil.
One could argue that evil stemming
from freewill is incomprehensible since the movement of freewill cannot be
analysed causally. If "sin" arises from a prior deficiency in the
intellect, then God would be responsible for that deficiency and consequently be
the ultimate cause of "sin".
It can be argued that if
"sin" is the result of a prior fault, such as greed, then either the
greed is God's work and responsibility, or it is itself the "sin",
and the whole argument goes in endless circles.
The affirmation that evil exists,
yet, it is not absolute, only seems to triumph over the dilemma of either
denying the reality of evil because of God's goodness and intrinsic power, or
denying God's goodness and infinite power because of the reality of evil.
The existence of evil is not
illogically inconsistent with God's existence, if that God is both good and
evil or purely evil. If we were to resolve the theistic problem of evil by
explaining that the evil around us is due to human merit and demerit
accumulated from prior karmic actions, then God is not morally responsible for
the evil in the world because He merely administers the consequences of our
karmic acts. Hence, the individual agents are morally accountable. If this is
so, then, all evil is moral evil and human beings are held morally accountable.
This also implies that there is no natural evil per se. Such an argument
invariably leads to other arguments which are never satisfactory.
Many have been puzzled with the
problem of evil and cannot comprehend why evil exists when the creator of all
things is supposed to be infinitely good. Since one cannot dismiss the
unlimited goodness of God, one cannot accept that God could be responsible for
the evil we perceive in this world. One then wonders how a perfect and
benevolent God who created the world could permit so much misery, suffering,
pain, and injustice. Hence, the problem is that a solution had to be found for
the dilemma of the simultaneous presence of good and evil which would
accommodate all disputations. In the end, one seeks the ethical solution to the
problem of the origin of evil or theodicy in the Christian view of human
volition and freewill.
If we were to accept Leibniz's
explanation that because God is limited to what is logically possible, the
existence of evil is necessary in this "best of all possible worlds".
This would lend support to the argument that evil is in some respect a
necessary good. But how can we place confines on supramental logic as some
claim? Some would accept the argument that if God is characterised by the
traditional but conceptually restrictive omni-predicates, evil should never be
allowed to exist unless we are prepared to accept that a good God could allow
the existence of both good and evil.
However, if one considers that an
evil entity is in control of this world of Virtual Reality, and that a good God
exists outside of this evil, super-imposed Virtual Reality, then the existence
of absolute evil makes sense. That is, the God of this world is not the True
Creator, but is an evil impostor who imposes external evil upon us.
Therefore, the belief that all evil
results from a human's free act is simply not true. The mixture of good and
evil in humans is due to the entrapment of Divine energy in an evil
environment. On this plane, good and evil are so intertwined, that even a
seemingly good act is tainted with some degree of evil. The powers of evil,
which do exist and do threaten us, do not exist out of necessity. Good can, and
should, exist without evil.
When one feels the impact of brutal
destruction, or experiences an overwhelming sense of meaninglessness and
futility, the mind is often compelled to attack those who support the evil
system. It is too disturbing emotionally to feel the reality of evil and, at
the same time, believe in a good God of love, wisdom and compassion. If evil,
brutal destruction, and selfish, cruel exploitation are allowed to exist, there
cannot be a God of goodness who is in control of this world.
Humans have experienced utter
despair and emptiness and been struck by the force of negativity. Granted that
the God in control of this world has the power to exclude all evil but does
not, he must be a god of evil in a world where evil is so real and powerful.
Evil cannot be forced out simply by
denying its existence. It cannot disappear simply by an argument; its existence
or non-existence is independent of any such consideration. Violence and sex in
alarmingly increasing amounts, as shown on television, movies, magazines and
sensational fiction, are now constantly promoted all over the world. Modern
slavery of all types is on the increase in the technologically advanced world.
Many men, women, children and animals are being exploited, tortured and
unjustly treated throughout the world. Yet, such movements do not seem to
heighten people's concern for truly malevolent and destructive evil. Quite the
contrary, these activities have led to frivolous preoccupation with evil.
Evil is not just wanton killing.
Evil consists of the nexus of suffering and the conscious intent to cause
suffering. Anything that deliberately causes suffering is evil, whether it is
moral evil or natural evil. But the heart of evil goes beyond violence and
suffering.
To say that evil is only apparent
suggests that evil is only an illusion. Even if some evils are illusory then
the fact that the illusion exists and makes us suffer and often blocks our path
to the True-Light God is itself an evil. The mere fact that humans and animals
are subjected to evil, and all its horrendous consequences, which invariably
include pain and suffering, is evil.
Evil is real and immediate.
Therefore, we should on no account trivialize it. Any entity perverse enough to
create this material world with its grossness, misery, pain and suffering, must
indeed be evil. It is simultaneously sad and annoying to listen to those
ignorant people repeating in parrot fashion what they have been erroneously
taught - that "you must have evil to balance the good" or that
"you create your own negativity; you attract negativity to yourself,
otherwise you can be happy".
This is as nauseating, arrogant and
as fraudulent as saying "the Bible is the word of God; therefore, it is
true and valid". That the Bible is the word of God is not a statement of
fact. It is a statement made by man to deceive, control and manipulate people.
If only negativity were due to just thinking negatively! Let us not forget that
babies have unpleasantries and illnesses that are beyond their control. Have
they purposely attracted the negativity to themselves?
The usual excuse amongst some people
is that "it is their karma". Where does one draw a line? If good and
evil truly do not exist, then everything in this world need not be taken
seriously at all by anyone. It does appear that when one is in a negative mood,
one seems to attract all sorts of negativities. Contrary to common belief,
karma is an evil imposition by Darkness. It has never been justly meted out.
When one experiences a negative
reaction or some negative experience, one is already swamped by negativity
which then prompts one to act and think negatively. We are constantly bombarded
by all types of negativity floating around our environment. When one's energy
field is wide and strong, one can bounce off the negativity quicker and easier.
Unfortunately, when one is swamped
by the negative energy, one is swept under by it. Hence, one is adversely
affected by it. When two opposite energies meet, often there is an outward
display of negative reaction and response.
Thus, there can be many reasons why
one is negative. What is important is that we must make a conscious effort to
eliminate the negativity.
We have reached a point in this
century that evil is so rampant that many things that would not have been
tolerated in the past are considered acceptable. Torture and massacres of
civilians are becoming commonplace, not only in war-torn countries, but also in
nations at peace.
In the wake of all the stark evil in
the world around us, any thinking, moral person would have to conclude that
there is absolute, external evil; that there is an evil Force that engulfs the
world.
The denial of the existence of
absolute evil is indeed a self denial!
© 2005 Dr. Amitakh Stanford &
AHSAF
