We are living in a society of contradictions. From our childhood, we are taught nothing but contradictions. Contradictions are everywhere, in the form of good and evil, in the form of right and wrong, in the form of rich and poor, in the form of superior and inferior etc. In the broad spectrum of contradictions, in our society, we are often offered to take sides. We are often taught to take the right side of the spectrum of goodness and righteousness etc. and abhor the left side of the spectrum which constitutes all evil. We often mistake that the religious goal is all about attaining the state of goodness. But true religion consists in transcending both goodness and evil alike. Because both good and evil actions, leave a residual karma, which invariably brings results in the form of future birth in a mortal frame.
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| Good and Evil |
The comprehension of good and evil, emanating mainly from the religious code of conduct, affects a great deal in our lives. It affects the way we form our society, affects the way we build our national consensus on important issues, affects the way we build our national security and so on. We will see how these contradictions affect our daily lives.
The problem of good and evil:
Every religious system comprehends good and evil in a certain way. The western religious ideals of good and evil are very rigid, with God taking sides on the good part and the devil taking sides on the evil part, and there is a constant warfare between the two sides. The evil is for eternal and is damned to suffer in hell forever.
This perception of good and evil is reflected everywhere in the western society. That is why we find an innumerable number of superheroes battling an innumerable number of super villains. We find Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America etc., always in battle with the evil and sinister looking Joker, Bane, Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Electro etc., This reflects the way we look at a man. It proposes that the root of someone is good and that of another as evil. This idea of recognizing evil poses a great danger for the spiritual growth of the society.
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| Super Villains Vs Super Heroes |
This philosophy of recognizing evil necessitates an eternal battle against evil. That is why we find that the western society is in constant warfare with a society which they recognize as evil. Even when they don’t find a necessary evil, they devise one. That is why in Iraq we find that the western nations devised a WMD though they did not find any concrete proof of it, to wage war. They label someone as evil to wage war.
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| Spiraling war in the Middle East |
The degree of good and evil:
According to the eastern religious views, all actions done in the purview of the society is accompanied by both good and evil. Every action is accompanied by a certain degree of harm to someone. For example, we build a dam, but it displaces innumerable habitats of human beings and animals. Eastern religions recognize only a degree of goodness and evil. An action which is good is accompanied by a lesser degree of evil, and an action which is bad is accompanied by a greater degree of evil.
This philosophy doesn’t mean that a person has the right to commit murder, looting and rape and say that it has something good in it, but rather it presents an opportunity for a person to come out of evil and progress on spiritual lines. A man has to progress from evil to good and ultimately shed both good and evil because both are equally tainted by residual karma, which creates further births in a mortal frame.
That is the reason why our society doesn’t take much credit for the good works it is doing. We are not attached to the credits of good work. India is one of the most charitable nations in the world. Our charity is inbuilt and doesn’t need a publicity for it. Whereas the western nation do a charity as an outward engagement, and give a huge publicity, and are attached to the credits of good work, since they recognize evil.
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| charity |
Peace is not goodness and not evil either. Peace is above good and evil. Therefore transcend both good and evil alike.
Thank You.
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