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Seeing Beyond the Positive & Negative, Good & Evil

Knowledge Base

 by Roy Posner and MSS

The Negative is Critical to Progress, Evolution
Life evolves through the utilization of both the positive and the negative, the good and the bad, pleasure and pain, and all such dualities.  To see how life requires the negative side for its progress and evolution is to see the Marvel of existence.

E.g. Thenardier who is evil reveals the great truth of Valjean saving Marius at the end of Les Miserables, resolving the story to a happy ending. Or without Lydia's foolish elopement with the evil Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, Darcy and Eliza would not have been married, bringing great prosperity to the Bennet family.

Life for us is the same. Ordinarily greatest spurs for our improvement have been negative circumstance. Thus, the darker side serves a great purpose in our progress and evolution. It is actually Nature's way of progress -- using both sides of duality and contradiction.

Beyond Positive and Negative
We know of the positive and negative. We accept the positive and denounce the negative. Sri Aurobindo says that there is nothing negative. Positive and negative are two parts of a single whole. Experience of the negative gives the keener and fuller intensity to the positive to enjoy the whole. Experienced people in business say unless you have lost money, your experience is incomplete. During the 19th century, England and other countries sent their convicts to Australia. Today Australia is one of the richest nations in the world. It is the convicts who built up a prosperous civilisation. Singapore is rich. Originally, it was Indian convicts who built up Singapore. If convicts are evil, we must accept that good comes out of evil. (MSS, slightly modified)

Negatives as Positive
Negatives are positives in disguise.

Negatives as More Intense Positives
Negatives are more intense positives that we don't ordinarily recognize.

Negative as Disturbing Positive
A negative is merely a positive that disturbs.

Ordeals and Progress
Ordeals are the shortest way to progress according to Mother.

Negative in Our Lives as Positive
If we examine our lives honestly, we will see that every negative compelled us to move forward; hence it was a positive in disguise.

The Elopement in Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice's elopement episode can be seen as the positive in the negative. It enabled Eliza to see the full positive in Darcy, as a result of his action. [the negative was a positive.] Eliza's affections were rising towards him, but there is no guarantee she would have accepted another proposal for him until she saw the full flowering of his high character that came in his actions. (He also acted because he loved her and was willing to do anything to prove that high character.)

It is said that great literature revels the deepest truth of life. The principle that not just the good, but the negative and evil too serve the greater Good is also evident in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. For example, at one critical point in the story, one of the five Bennet sisters, the wild, rambunctious Lydia, has eloped with the scoundrel Wickham, threatening the Bennet family with scandal and social ostracism. The elopement also threatens to ruin the relationship between the very wealthy Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.

Now soon after the elopement ends with the marriage of Lydia and Wickham, Lydia foolishly blurts out that Darcy was the one who settled the accounts of her husband, resolving the situation. Lydia was instructed not to reveal this information. When Eliza hears this, she is thunderstruck because she now realizes how wrong she has been about Darcy. She saw him and arrogant and prideful, but instead, she now sees his very noble character. As a result, she falls in love with him, he proposes (again), and they marry. Without the verbal blunder from the negative Lydia, the marvelous outcome would never have occurred. I.e. Darcy and Eliza may not have fallen in love, married, found deep happiness, and thereby bring great wealth and social prestige to the Bennet family. That is the power the negative and false serve in manifesting the greater Good.

There is one other example of this principle in the novel. Late in the story, the aristocratic, wealthy, yet reactionary Lady Catherine tries to meddle in the relationship between Darcy and Eliza. When she does, it backfires on her, paving the way for the marriage of Darcy and Eliza. What happened was that when Lady Catherine got wind of the budding relationship, she stormed in the Bennet home, met with Eliza, and insisted that the relationship cease. Eliza of course refused. Most importantly however, when Lady Catherine returned home, Darcy learned of the meeting between his aunt and Eliza and realized from the discussion that Eliza had not ruled out a romance and marriage between him. Startled that this was the case, Darcy then went ahead and met Eliza, who then accepted his second proposal of marriage. In other words, without Lady Catherine’s negative intervention, the entire resolution of the story would not have come about! Her harmful attempt to block their relationship had the opposite effect of spurring them to come together.

Once again, we see how falsehood and evil play critical roles in movements of progress and greater accomplishment. It is to perceive that every thing -- good or bad, positive or negative, pleasurable or painful, -- serves a purpose in the great unfolding. It is an ultimate perspective and vision of life. It is to see the Marvel of Existence.

Negative Spurs Positive to Greater Perfection
The negative spurs the positive to greater perfection. [In Trollope's An Ideal Husband] Mrs. Cheveley's evil intentions resulted in Chiltern clearing his conscience of the past, making heroic acts of self-sacrifice in first rejecting the blackmail attempt and second in refusing the cabinet post to satisfy his wife of his genuine repentance. (MSS)

Negative Compels Positive to Evolve
It is interesting to observe how a negative force will coerce and compel a more positive force to further evolve.

Seeing Negative as Cause of Positive
People are slowly beginning to see how the negatives society encounters enable it to progress. This is Nature's Way, the somewhat drunken-seeming instrument of the Force. E.g. food prices go down for consumers as a result of accounting scandals involving the food packagers, who were forced to change their ways that benefit the consumer. This is not the optimal method for development, which would be through decision makers' positive conscious choice, but it is Nature's slow, circumlocutious way, which still achieves in the end. What is now refreshing is the awareness of individuals, such as pundits and columnists, of this relationship of the negative to the positive. Interestingly, the recognition of Nature's difficult route can be the steppingstone that compels us to adopt the more positive, conscious methods towards very rapid, abundant development in society.

Three Life Principles that Demonstrate How the Darkness Serves the Light 

We go through life rarely considering if there are fundamental, underlying principles at work that guide its movements, flow, and outcomes. Here I am not referring to the mechanical principles that science has revealed, such as material laws of physics or biology, but the subtle and profound inner laws that determine how life functions. There are many such hidden principles of existence, and I urge the reader to become familiar with them, as it will not only reveal a profound wisdom about life’s workings, but give one access to an infinite-like power over reality.

Here I would like to describe three subtle principles of life that also happen to be closely related.

The first principle is that our weaknesses are the source of our greatest strength. Though we have positive capacities that have helped us become who we are today, it is also true that our wanting qualities can be the single lever that catapults us to our ultimate potential. That is, if we identify and overcome a wanting quality, such as a limiting attitude or fixed habit or opinion, then life will quickly respond with good or great fortune, dramatically elevating our level of accomplishment and success. In this way, our weakest qualities become the means of our greatest inner and outer successes.

The second principle, closely related to the first, is that the negatives that occur in our lives are actually positives in disguise. That is, if we examine most peoples’ lives, we will see how often ill fortune became the stepping-stone for great change that propelled them forward. From that perspective, the negatives are not negatives at all, but are merely more intense forms of the positive.

For example, World War II, in which 50+ million people died, served to bring about vast positive change for society; through the formation of the United Nations, the EU, global trade, and other forms of international and regional cooperation and integration. Before WWII, there was little harmony amongst the Europeans nations, making it that much easier for the Fascists armies to march across Europe. In the wake of these great negative events, however, came great positive developments for society that may have otherwise taken decades, centuries, or millennia to come about, if at all.

The third and final principle, again closely related to the first two, is that "contradictions are complements." I.e. normally, when we are in conflict with another party, we just see ourselves at odds with them. But from a higher perspective, we see that we are actually complements to one another. That the other side is actually the quickest means by which we can rise in consciousness, if only we discover the truths they know so we can develop a new, higher understanding. In fact, it is only through that particular party that we can make such progress in life.

E.g., the Palestinians and the Israelis on the surface have a contradictory relationship; they have opposed and fought one another for decades in what can only be described as a blood feud. In the depths however, the Palestinians understand the intransigence of the Israelis, even as the Israelis are aware of a virulent, violent, and irrational side of the Palestinians. Not only does each side know the other side's limitations and weakness -- which each does not see itself -- but “Nature” has conspired to put these two sides together in opposition so that they can work out a higher harmony enabling new understanding and unprecedented progress for both. In that way, each side is the other’s most profound teacher, if only they would listen.

Thus, life progresses through the contraction of two parties, who discover the higher harmony beyond their current status.

Life is filled with mystery. It reveals itself however through subtle and profound laws of life. When we rise in consciousness, we can perceive these understated principles. When we develop an inner life of stillness, calm, and spiritual-like insight we become “silent witness” to the world, and thus to the ordinarily hidden truths and principles of life.

Through that status, we are far more able to perceive the ebb and flow of life, the reasons for its sudden changes in direction, the why and the wherefore of cause and effect, giving us the deepest, highest, and most profound perspective of existence.

As a result, we now have the wisdom to act in ways that attract enormous positive results, enabling us to grow as individuals, while becoming the Masters of Life.

A Negative Relationship Enables an Individual's Progress
When we are making a progress beyond the level of our present endowment, we attract that which is necessary to complete that progress, which is very often the opposite of that which we are or possess.

E.g. in The Count of Monte Cristo. Mercedes is ready to evolve from her current status of social goodness to the a higher capacity of psychological depth in her being. To that end Mercedes unwittingly ends up marrying a treacherous, unscrupulous man, incapable of the psychological feelings she is trying to evolve in herself. It is through a process of estrangement in a marriage of mere form that lacks inner substance, that culminates in betrayal of her social status, that she makes the psychological growth. (Paraphrase of MSS)

Human Unity and the Global Financial Crisis

Aside from focusing on the methods that will precipitate individual evolution and transformation, Sri Aurobindo was equally concerned with the social evolution of life on earth. In fact, they each played off one another. In practical terms, he recognized a social process unfolding amongst the nations of the world that resulted in ever-increasing world unity. That collective movement echoed transformational developments of the individual human that together would usher in what he called a 'Divine Life on earth.'¯

At the collective level, these developments occur in fits and starts because man is not conscious enough to bring about change through positive means alone. The negative is often the greatest spur to change, and in that sense can be thought of as a great positive in disguise. For example, in the wake of the devastation of WWII, many new organizations and associations were developed to prevent the reoccurrence of that tragedy -- the UN, NATO, and the Marshall Plan being several amongst many. It was also subconsciously a movement toward human unity concentrated into a few years that without the negative that preceded it might have taken centuries or even millennia to occur. As we see, the negative can be a vast spur of positive developments in life.

And so recently, when I watched two interviews on the US TV show Charlie Rose, I was reminded of this fact. First, former Secretary of State and global strategic thinker Henry Kissinger pointed out that the current financial crisis can be seen as a positive in that the major nations of the world -- including the US, the EU, Russia, China, India, and others -- are gradually forced to work together to solve ever-increasingly complex global issues. Separate, they are doomed, but together they have a great power to affect vast, new collective change, mimicking the period following WWII. In that sense, he was surprisingly optimistic, considering the current situation, indicating that he had a higher vision of things. He, in essence, semi-consciously perceived new openings in civilization's march toward global unification.

Immediately after, Michael Porter was interviewed in which he stated that the US has never had a strategic vision of how to improve itself, and that the current global financial crisis was forcing it to work collaboratively and centrally to resolve its national problems. Instead of the piecemeal and reactive approach to development, external conditions were forcing the US to confront what she has been unwilling to do till now at the economic and social level. Thus, the US was now finally ripe for a holistic, integrative, and comprehensive strategic economic plan.

The host Charlie Rose then commented how both Kissinger and Porter had come to the same conclusions in their two interviews. That the global economic crisis was forcing dynamic change upon the world. I noticed the very same thing as I watched the two interviews broadcast consecutively. And when Charlie expressed this thought, it made me happy because it reaffirmed a lifelong dedication to Sri Aurobindo's vision of an ever-increasing unity amongst the nations and peoples of the world. That unity in fact reflects an evolutionary urge toward higher consciousness through personal and spiritual growth, which are themselves harbingers of what Sri Aurobindo calls a Divine Life on Earth.

 Opportunities and Problems as Complements
We welcome opportunities and avoid difficulties little realising that they are a complimentary pair and not a contrary pair at all. Those who successfully master the difficulties that they face sharpen their accomplishment skills in this way and they become better equipped to more successfully exploit the opportunities that they get from life than those who have not been bothered by difficulties and get only opportunities form life. (MSS, N. Asokan)

Also See Contradictions are Complements

On the Necessity of Evil
-God works through Truth as well as evil.

-Sri Aurobindo says there is no evil created. It is only ego that sees GOOD as evil. This is a philosophy the world has not heard of so far.

-Evil does not exist even as karma does not exist. They have power over us only when we believe in them. When we withdraw our support to them, they cannot survive. In our daily practice, when we invoke the Spirit, the evil moves away from its path. Once we invoke the Spirit we no longer meet with evil as we do now.

-Invocation of the Spirit can solve the problem of evil for the Individual. For the collective we have first to deal with it philosophically before we devise our method in practice. (MSS)

Life, and Good, Evil, & Progress
-Life is neutral. It progresses through good as well as evil, says Sri Aurobindo.

-Life is bigger than good or evil. Life is a whole. It thus needs good as well as evil for it to be complete.

-We like the good part, not the bad one. Life will not be complete in the absence of evil or falsehood. That is the character of human life.

When it is complete, it ceases to be human life. It becomes higher life. (Paraphrase of MSS)

God Reveals at Each Step through Good and Evil
To perceptive, sensitive souls, Life tries to reveal God at each step. When life returns evil to good, one is furious. He does not SEE that life is teaching him that in the eyes of God, good as well as evil are equal. Mother says you can reach God either through heaven or hell. The choice is yours. If for any reason you like hell, life is a hell to you. Mother offers the sunlit path to us. (MSS)

Evil Out of Good, and Good Out of Evil
Evil comes out of good and good comes out of evil. (MSS) [E.g. a perceived good person may do good, but may be causing an opposition to grow that creates an evil. That is the good creating an evil. A self-existence Good based on highest consciousness cannot create an evil (because it know no opposite). On the other side, we know that out of evil comes good, as the UN and EU came out of WWII.  -editor]

Good, Evil, and the True Good
Good issues out of evil (EU out of WWII), as evil issues out of goodness (egocentric individual European nations led to rise of fascism and WWII). The True Good is self-existent, as no dark shadow (negative, evil) issues out of it as in the good.

Turning a Problem into a Vast Opportunity
Last week I relearned an important lesson of life. If you approach a perceived negative situation in the right spirit, you can unleash a powerful positive opportunity. Here is the story:

After the recent Palestinian-Israeli flare up with Hamas, I was beginning to feel far less sympathy for the latter. Though no supporter of terrorism, I felt that Israel was once more expressing their insincerity by fighting rather than negotiating when they had the opportunity to do so in the quiet period before. Though I have seen the same pattern over the years, this time I was perhaps a little too troubled by the situation.

That day, my company received an inquiry about one of the primary services we offer. The party was interested in seeing a demo of our online training application. In response, we sent her a link so the organization could review it for three working days. Though she was pleased with my response, she asked that the term be extended several days because they do not work on Friday and Saturday in Israel. Understanding the issue, I agreed to the extension. I also now understood something else: the subtle connection between my previous inner emotional outburst about the Palestinian situation and the sudden arrival of an email message from this representative of an Israeli company. It struck me as the type of synchronicity and a confluence of events I had experienced a hundred times before, but this time with a somewhat negative edge to it.

Several days later, she sent another email with her verdict about the demo she went through. She indicated that though she admired its features, especially the depth and breadth of content, she had some serious reservations, especially the fact that the text was riddled with typos, and that many of the graphics were muddled and hard to read. As a result, now I really saw the connection between my earlier emotional outburst and this criticism from a potential customer in Israel! In fact, when I looked at her signature stamp, I realized that she was a technical writer for the company's IT department -- not the normal person who contacts us about purchasing our training. In essence, her comments were not only a direct punch in the gut, but came from someone who ordinarily spends her time examining such issues. In other words, I had attracted the perfect person to criticize our product!

The question then was what would be my reaction to this direct assault. Being human, my first inclination was to lash out at the criticism. I thought, well if she didn't like the product, she should have just rejected it, and avoided criticism. Fortunately, I gained control of my egotistic, self-justifying line of reasoning, and began to take a more rational approach. I then reasoned that since I had already seen the connection between the locale of this company and my earlier inner emotional outburst, I needed to reverse my attitude and open myself up to the truth of her words. Besides there was still an opportunity to sell her the product if we made the changes she suggested.

So I took a deep breath, pushed aside my earlier combative approach, and seriously considered the validity of her recommendations. After perusing our site in search of problems, and seeing the awful truth in her criticism, I immediately began to take up her suggestions. And so over the course of the next several days, I made considerable changes to the text of the site -- correcting grammar, punctuation, and typos, while inquiring into ways to deliver better on-screen graphics. In fact, I threw myself into the work, and after a short while, realized that I was enjoying the effort!

Before delivering the punch line, let me give you one more piece of information. The product I have been referring to is an online software training application that we have developed for Microsoft's project management system. For the last five years, my company has been focusing on it exclusively. Well, after I completed the above three-day effort, I received a solitary email in my Inbox. It was from an individual at a company offering its own online project management software. They were interested in having our firm do training and consulting on their online product throughout our region. At first, I balked at the idea, because the product appeared somewhat flimsy compared to the robust Microsoft offering. But then when I saw a demo, I was stunned how powerful, full-featured, integrated, and easy to use it was. It was using breakthrough technology that in many ways now surpassed Microsoft's offering!

Now suddenly my business was presented with the largest opportunity for new services in a decade. I clearly saw the potential now to double or triple my earnings. And it all came about because rather than react to a negative situation (her detailed analysis of all that was wrong with our current product), I held my feelings in check, and did all that she suggested. The result is that I attracted perhaps our best long-term opportunity in years.

When we shift our attitude in a negative situation to the positive, we harness an awesome power. In essence, we use the energy of the negative, reverse its polarity, and then align with and attract the very best of conditions. Or, as in this case, evoke the biggest business opening in years. Of course, you too can do the same in similar situations in your own life.

Greater Intensity of the Positive through Its Opposite
We hope for the very best of circumstance to come our way, avoiding the negative. And yet life progresses, evolves through the interplay of the positive and the negative. Without the negative, the intensity of more and greater positive circumstance cannot be generated.

We can see this in terms of life, love, and knowledge; and their opposites of death, hate, and ignorance. Living, loving, and understanding are things to aspire for, but they are normally enhanced through their opposite experience, death, cruelty, and ignorance. Let's say that I am trying to discover the truth of a matter, but then realize that what I have discovered is utterly false. As a result, now I have more interest, intensity, and drive to get at the truth. Thus, my ignorance drove me to greater knowledge. In the same way human cruelty and unlove creates the push for greater, more lasting love, and death itself creates the urge for immortality in life.

This is the present condition of progress in life: a movement to the opposite in order to move the positive forward to a greater degree. This is the way of Nature -- known as 'Prakriti' in Sanskrit or the flow of normal life in the universe. But is that the only way to greater intensity of knowledge, love, life, and delight? No it is not. We can progress in another way that is beyond the slow and difficult method of Nature. It is the way of Consciousness -- also known as Spirit or Soul. When we take to it in greater measure, we generate the intensity that takes knowledge, love, life, delight, and creativity to their higher status. We move there without experiencing their opposite.

It is our choice: progress through opposites or through higher consciousness. The universe stands backs and accepts either decision.

Nature Allowed Evil
It was a direction of Nature to let the evil grow to its height and do its service. (MSS)

Life Has No "Evil"
Life has no evil. (MSS)

No Absolute Evil
Sri Aurobindo says here is no absolute evil. That is because at any level of evil can be found a positive purpose.

How the Bad Serves the Good in History

The Positive Value of the Negative Person
As long as you avoid a bad person, your inner knowledge keeps the inner ignorance at arm's length. Avoidance is austerity; acceptance is prosperity. Ignorance does not transform into knowledge as long as we avoid it or avoid the person in our life who represents that ignorance. He is there for us to make a progress. When we make that progress, mysteriously he vanishes. He tells us by his jealousy that there is jealousy in us. We are not aware of it, or we are unwilling to concede it. That is the positive value of a negative person. The moment we recognise it and exhibit a willingness to give up the bad trait, that man disappears. (MSS)

An example: Yes, a friend of mine had that precise experience.

She had an abusive boss, who for several years made life intolerable for her (and several others). She made the brave effort to look at it from the point of view of her own attitudes. She decided not be mad at him. In that sense, she was giving up her own limited sensitivities. Sometime later, he not only was nice to her, but after Christmas that year had left the company.

Negative as Indicator of Positive to Come; & Accelerating that Process
When a negative occurs, it can be an indicator that a much bigger positive is to come. E.g., if you lose something you enjoyed, then  consecrating the emotion of loss, as well as the specifics of the  situation tends to attract a much bigger positive. Often life itself  does this - in its own slow measure, through pain, which we call  'Nature' -- but by consciously developing and acting on a strategy and opening to the Force, the process is accelerated and amplified.

Seeing Beyond the Good or Bad Symptom, Development
A symptom can tell us a message. It is for us to get the message straight. A good development can indicate a good consequence, or occasionally, the opposite. A bad development can well be a symptom of a good consequence in future. (MSS)

A Bad as Harbinger of a Good
A bad development can well be a symptom of a good consequence in future. (MSS)

Arrival of Negative Harbinger of Positive
Often when a negative comes to you, it is a harbinger of a great positive to follow.

The Benefit of Both Good and Evil
Sri Aurobindo says that Life works equally through good as well as Evil. Evil is equal to Good, a conception very disturbing to human conception. (MSS, extracted)

Evil and the Limitations of the Good
Evil serves to bring out the limitations of the good.

Thoughts on Good and Evil
If the good evolves, there will be no evil. When the good fails to evolve, the evil helps that along.

It depends on the plane we examine these things from. From one plane, evil is evil. From another plane, the evil occurred because of the failures of the so-called good 

Example: the nations of Europe did not band together as fascism rose in the 30s. They each moved in their own direction, because they did not believe in unity. The Nazis then came along, ruined Europe, after which the Europeans banned together to be united under the EU. They attained unity in 50 years instead of perhaps 100s, if ever.

Also fascism rose in the wake of the greed of the financiers that precipitated the great depression. Without it, the Weimer Republic might not have been destroyed, preventing the rise of the Fascists. Hence the 'good' was instrumental in the rise of the evil.

From another level, we see that fascism as a direct karmic negative life response for 200 years of brutal colonialism of the world at the hands of the Europeans. Ask India and China to name a few.

From a higher level still we see that fascism and the negative Force behind it was trying to destroy the emerging spiritual Light that has been moving into the world since the middle parts of the 20th century.

I could say many other things, some too overwhelming or shocking to believe.

From a metaphysical view there is the evil, the good, and the true Good. The good always has the shadow of the evil, compelling it to become the true Good. Most of what we see in life is this limited good. The true Good is spiritual. It never casts a dark shadow. The Force only brings the Good. The future is for the Good. I.e. the spiritual future; the transformation of Man. The Good is self-existent. It knows no opposite.

The Great Value of Tragedy and War
Greek philosophers spoke of war as a great benefactor. The great boon to the world that lies behind the erupting of the war is not seen by us. It lies in the causal plane. Western Europe was ushered into unbelievable prosperity when she recovered from the ravages of the world war. A report of UNDP says that the world made as much progress in the fifty years of the post war period as she had done in the previous 500 years. (MSS)

Beyond Good and Bad to the Spiritual GOOD
Life has two parts, good and bad. Both are excelled by the inherent, self-existent GOOD. As long as you are good, the betrayal of men or matters will be in store.

When you are too clever, Life will strike you down. To be GOOD, one rises above good as well as bad. In simple words, the GOODNESS one enjoys must be pure and pristine. It will be invulnerable at the level of personal life. (MSS, slightly modified)

The Bad that Can Come from the Good
We know that good can come from bad, but do we also know that bad can come from good? For example, elevating a hostile man to a position of authority out of our sense of goodness enables the project to be ruined. Or bending over-backward to help a bad man only brings trouble to the helper.

The Evolutionary Intention Acts through Evil and Good
The evolutionary intention acts through evil and good. All possibilities need to be utilized in the evolution. (Sri Aurobindo)

Good Incapable Summons Evil
When the human good is not capable, evil will enable the progress.

Holding a Thought in Our Mind and Its Opposite
It is difficult to hold two thoughts in our mind that contradict one another. If they are opposite, how can we subscribe to one or the other? And yet the spirit-oriented individual who has transcended ordinary thinking tends to embrace all sides of an issue that make up the Whole, rather than the exclusive part ordinarily subscribed to. By moving our center of awareness inward away from the surface, we enable such multi-opposing perceptions of truth.

Mohandas Gandhi was the redeemer of India, bringing her to independence in 1947 after years of hard-fought battle. Can anyone but admire; no, revere the Mahatma? And yet his practice of "Ahimsa" -- non-violent action -- caused a 30 year delay in Indian independence, the partition of the nations into two (including Pakistan), with nuclear missiles pointing at one another. Also immediately after Partition, millions died in the separation. When  the British were on the ropes years earlier, and were on the verge of leaving the country through Indian force, Gandhi stepped in and halted that action because it was not derived through non-violence. Thus, independence was delayed in the name of the gimmick known as Ahimsa, bringing great suffering and problems in its wake.

It is difficult for the mind to hold these two apparently conflicting ideas -- Gandhi's greatness and his tragic error -- together. And yet that is the truth that overcomes our propensity to see only one side of an issue. For example, China annihilated the Tibetans in the 50s and 60s when she tried to make her way towards independence. The Dalai Lama and followers were forced into India. China had undertaken the most despicable actions to defend her territory: an abuse of the collective ego. And yet at the same time, the Dalai Lama realized that Tibetan Buddhism had become crusted over. In India and his travels around the world, he came to perceive a modern, new evolutionary perspective that he never would have enjoyed if he remained with his people in Tibet. Because he was forced to run, life compelled him into a new, dynamic perceptive of the religion he led. It is an irony of history that only an open mind -- i.e. a multi-side perceiving spiritualized mind -- can fully appreciate.

Each of us are tethered to a limited view of things. We stick to it fiercely. Yet Nature works on multiple fronts simultaneously -- enables what seem to be contradictory occurrence to happen at the same time. E.g. the EU might not have ever come about, or if so in hundreds of years, if the Nazis in the guise of evil hadn't rampaged through Europe.

Man in the 21 century and beyond will begin to unshackle the  propensities of exclusive mind, and embrace a true hyper-rationality of spiritualized mind, which is willing to look at all sides of an issue, and embrace each of those truth, no matter how contradictory they may seem on the surface.

Even the brute Nixon went to China to open up that once-closed land.

Seeing Beyond Good and Evil, to the Amorality & Justice of Life/Nature and the Divine
Man is moral. To him the good man must be rewarded, the evil man must be destroyed. Life is wider than morality. It is amoral.

Very often Life wantonly does things that Man abhors. Sri Aurobindo says that life works through good as well as evil.

Nature is amoral. ... Life rewards the scoundrel, the rogue. Why should we expect Nature to be moral? The Divine is behind and beyond. It is man's wisdom to expect the Divine to reward the good man and punish the evil one. One who has realised the Divine inwardly should see HIM act outside. It is his spiritual wisdom to SEE the right, good and morality in what the Divine does, in what happens, instead of clamoring for silly ideas of 'human justice'.  (MSS, extracted and somewhat modified)

The Good that a Bad, Evil Man Can Do; The Bad, Evil a Good Man Can Do
-A bad or evil man can do good. E.g. Nixon goes to China. Stalin defends Moscow from Germans. Even Sadaam tried to stop the oppressiveness of the religious fundamentalism.

-Even from the evil of Nazi Germany came the good of the UN, the EU, etc.

-Churchill was a good man who along with his compatriots, advocated Indian oppression.

-Gandhi was a great man who advocated the fad of absolute non-violence that prevented the early removal of the British, and led to partition several decades later. (That same philosophy was also against forcefully opposing Nazi fascism.)

Oppression of Tibetans and Dalai Lama's New Perspective
In a new book on the Dalai Lama, he reveals that as a result of China oppression where he was forced into exile in India (and after many tens of thousands died), his own beliefs and understanding of Tibetan Buddhism have undergone a major revision, seeing that the earlier ones were crusted over and did not embrace the modern world - e.g. the evolutionary perspective of change.

By being in exile, he has thus developed a new spiritual understanding for Tibetan Buddhism that could be embraced by his people in the future.

Thus, we see that out of darkness comes the light.

The Good that Evil Does in History
Man's present day knowledge of history and world events has some basis, rather enough basis, to see the good that the evil does. (MSS)

The Utility of Evil as Expressed in Mythology and Reality
In the mythologies of the world, we generally see the play of good and evil. E.g. in the Indian spiritual epic The Mahabharata, we see the conflict between two sides, some of whom are close relatives of one another. One of the sides, the one considered 'good,' is advised through the Wisdom of the current avatar [one who brings evolutionary change to the world] Krishna. In the West, there are also ancient, as well as modern mythologies, two of which involve the adventures of science fiction space travel. They are 'Start Trek', generally produced for a more mature audience, and 'Star Wars,' written for youth. Here too good and evil are at play. Then, of course, there is the reality of life itself that the mythologies represent. In WWII, we saw that reality, including the conflict between good and evil.

Here, however, I would like to change the course of thinking about good and evil with several bold statements, one of which is that perhaps the greatest power to bring about Good in the world is through evil. I.e. evil is an even greater power for bringing about the true Good than the actions of the ordinary good, i.e. the good side that we perceive and appreciate in life. Why is this the case? It is because the result of evil's negative action speeds up and intensifies further progress of the world, enabling the truer Good to further emerge in all its integrality and fullness.

Consider the mythology of Star Trek. The Federation of planets is essentially the good, and the Romulan Empire, (or the Borg) are the bad. Yet, if we watch closely, we will see that the good is often fractured; i.e. its members are not yet fully in harmony with one another. That side only moves to greater coordination, cooperation, and integration of intent and action after the mischief of the dark side has run its course. It is only then that the good side -- the Federation -- moves towards greater solidification and unity.

This modern mythology is of course a refection of the real truths of life. As the Nazis rose in power during the years leading up to WWII, there was no united force to confront them -- so the fascists flourished. In fact, it was the selfishness amongst the good nations leading up to the war -- expressed by the stock crash, the Great Depression, and the fall of the Weimer Republic in Germany; all, by the way, facilitated by financial greed -- that set the stage for the rise of the German nation that turned to evil. With the lack of harmony of the 'good' side, the dark side flourished. Finally, the good side came together and overcame the enemy, creating a modicum of further harmony and integration amongst themselves and the defeated nations. The United Nations then became the one great attempt to establish a formal institution to unify the world, especially in light of the darkness that preceded it. Likewise, the European Union (EU) is an attempt to insure the common purposefulness of the individual nations of that continent to avoid repeating such catastrophes as war, financial ruin, and cultural disharmony. It may have taken hundreds, even thousands of years for such progress to have occurred amongst the nations on its own if evil had not spurred it on. In the end, we see that evil speeds up the process of integration and unity. Thus, we need to perceive the value of evil in the evolutionary process -- even as we seek to overcome it.

Modern mythology, as well as ancient ones like the Iliad and Odyssey, and especially those with vast spiritual insight like the Mahabharata, serve to show the subtle processes of change and progress for the nations and people of the earth.

Similar changes are of course occurring right now in the world around us. All we need to do is look around to see that same dynamic at work now; that the various dark sides pressure life into further harmony and integration, and unity. A broad open mind, influenced by spiritual knowledge and insight will be a great aid in pursuing these insights. Then of course, we will be able to develop the right strategies that integrate these many-sided truths. Naturally, these same movements of good, evil, and the true Good are unfolding in our own individual lives. To see them we need to look within.

Utility of Ego in the Evolutionary Process
Q: Does ego have its place in the evolutionary process?

A: Ego serves a great purpose, as it is the first form of distinctiveness of the personality out of the Inconscience of materiality -- i.e. matter. It is the first way we demonstrate a modicum of individuality that distinguishes us from others. However, it is rooted in the unconsciousness that we inherit from our unconscious material beginnings. Thus, ego which creates individual identity is also seperative -- i.e. it has lost connection and identity with "Other" -- including the world around us, including the people and the Higher Reality.

When we move to a deeper poise within, down to the evolving soul, we overcome our sense of separativeness and thus ego. Overcoming ego enables Oneness, Unity, Knowledge, Love, Delight, etc., all spiritual qualities of life. With ego, we experience their opposite.

As Sri Aurobindo explains, in the process of the involution from a Divine Source to a manifest universe, the Divine hid itself for the purpose of its discovery when we humans uncover our higher nature. The first step out of this nescience of creation is to perceive our uniqueness from other, which is our own identity. The first experience we have in this regard is one of ego, which is of a very limited consciousness, but the first step towards our higher nature.

Thus, we can therefore say that the Divine sanctions ego so that we can outgrow it on the way to our Higher Nature.

How the Bad Serves the Good in History

Good and Evil
Good and evil are shifting entities relative to one another, and change from time to time in their meaning and value. (MSS)

Planes at Seeing Evil
We can look at evil at different planes. At the normal plane we live in, we see evil. It appears real, and it is at that plane. However, at a deeper plane there is no evil, for it is really part of the GOOD, the necessity of the unfolding.

Perceptions of Evil at Various Planes
The deeper the plane of consciousness one looks out on life, the more evil is perceived as being part of the GOOD. On surface life, it appears absolute. At the level of Soul and Spirit, it is a necessary part of the GOOD. At a higher level still, evil is never perceived.

Involution & Evolution in Life
Involution & Evolution Before Creation -- In The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes how by a process of involution the One, infinite, indivisible, formless omnipresent and omniscient reality or Self-Conscious Being creates of itself a world of multiple, divided, ignorant, impotent forms and how by a process of evolution these forms struggle to survive, grow and rise in consciousness to manifest in form the infinite potentials concealed in the formless.

Involution & Evolution in Creation/the Universe/in Our Lives -- We can understand the evolution fully only when we understand the essential role and process of the involution. The involution provides the essential foundation and conducive circumstances for the evolution. All that we perceive as unconsciousness, obstacle, resistance, hostility and perversity are products of the involution which play essential roles in the emergence of positive characteristics and accomplished capacities in the evolution. (MSS)

High Consciousness/Spiritually-Oriented Work

1. Work done by us must be flawless and perfect in execution and result.

2. Human relationships must be pleasant and sweet.

3. Hold yourself responsible for any shortcoming in the work executed by you even if others are there in the work.

4. Even for the errors of others, we must accept the responsibility.

5. Work executed with highest intelligence will have a 100% component of ignorance.

6. The blatant mistakes, errors witnessed in the work of others are really not errors or mistakes.

7. Such blatant errors are really aspects of perfection inversely understood.

8. We witness an event and understand it as a blatant wrong, crime or sin. We are the eye witness of it. We hear the proceedings ourselves first hand. Having instituted an inquiry, we arrive at an irrevocable conclusion that it is a sin, crime and wrong. Still, it is not so for the sadhak. The sadhak must know it is good, laudable and a virtue that is service. One must have the intuition to know that sin as this virtue.

9.  One of the following attributes when made perfect carries the combined power of the above 8 items when fully consecrated.

' Gratitude that thrills the body

' Ideal sense of duty

' Loyalty that lays down life

' Spiritual devotion that fills the heart with moved emotion

' The daily acts saturated with spirit of service

' Perfect honesty

' Sweet words that rise softly

' Adorable spiritual humility

' Purity that excels conscience

' Gentle emotions that are incapable of complaining 

 If one has all these attributes, he will be able to do yoga. (MSS)

Nature's Way, Life Brings Misfortune that Develop One's Missing Character
Life has a way of bringing forces to bear that relate to and help overcome what is missing on one's personality. We see this in The Count of Monte Cristo, where the young hero Edmund was good, honest and noble, but lacked the knowledge of human nature, and the necessary level of alertness, sagacity, and cunning to deal with the forces around him that were trying to destroy him. As a result, life moves, and he is falsely arrested and imprisoned, which through an almost impossibly difficult ordeal enables him to develop the elements of character he was lacking. We can examine our own lives in this way and see how life has tempered us according what is lacking in our nature.

Pain vs. Consciousness to Increase One's Development
Pain can be the teacher that gives one knowledge, strength and good fortune in life. Consciousness can give the same in far greater abundance, and without the pain; actually with the greatest delight of being imaginable.

Contradictions are Complements
Life appears to us as contradictory opposites; pleasure and pain, good and bad, positive and negative, good fortune and bad, income and expense, etc. But from a higher consciousness we see that these dualities are in fact complementary opposites (i.e. mutually beneficial dualities) that are both needed in the scheme of things. In fact, both sides of the opposites are needed to create a result.

Contradictions are Complements (Mutually Beneficial Dualities)
-Pain serves as a warning mechanism that warns the body of injurious contacts and thereby helps the body protect itself from damage.

-Therefore, at the level of the physical body, pleasure and pain are not a mutually opposed duality, but a mutually beneficial one.

-As pain and pleasure are complementary dualities, so many other dualities that apparently seem to be opposed are in fact only complementary in nature.

-Difficulties and failure remind us of our imperfections and deficiencies and thereby help us perfect our personalities.

-We may look upon income as positive and expenses as negative. Income appears positive as we are gaining money and expenses appear negative as we are losing money. But this may only be an illusion. Income and expenses are bound up with each other in a mutually interdependent manner.

 -A businessman can't earn a profit -without spending on purchasing -materials, machinery and on wages for the labour force to run his business.

-Sri Aurobindo has said in his book The Life Divine that Nature regularly employs the mechanism of opposing principles working together to generate a result. (N. Asokan, MSS, extracted)

The True Nature of and Resolution of Love and Hate and All Contradictions
Love and Hate are at bottom the same thing. At the centre there is the same substance in both, it is the obverse and reverse of the same stuff. It is a vibration; it is a unique vibration, a vibration of extreme intensity, of extreme intimacy. At the centre, there is this one single movement although at the periphery it becomes different, even contradictory. As the movement starts from the centre, and proceeds outward it differentiates itself, becomes more and more different, contrary, even contradictory to what it was at its origin.

Human love and human hatred are both perversions, falsified expressions of another truth behind. It is human ignorance and prejudice that appreciates one and deprecates the other. Yet both have the same root, the flowering of the same seed or it is somewhat like the two opposite kinds of electricity -- positive and negative. The two charges have opposite signs but they attract each other and although in the expression and action they are contradictory, they are both charges of electrical energy and therefore substantially they are one and the same.

We may extend this viewpoint and find the resolution of all contrariness and contradictoriness. Paradoxically one may say then all contradictions are an apparent illusion, all contradictions naturally and inevitably mean an inmost unity and identity. Even so the Brahman and the world or the Purusha and the Prakriti are apparent negations to each other, the duality is in the ordinary ignorant consciousness, but the two are one in the supreme indivisible consciousness. (The Mother)

Holding Opposites in Our Mind to Know the Whole Truth
It has been said recently that blacks in America have substantial opportunities to rise, but have become complacent and self-satisfied. If one is honest, one must see that this is true in the current environment (2005). It is said by others that blacks in America are being ignored by the society, indicating a virulent contempt and callousness of the government and the people. If one is honest, one must accept that this too is true. Then which is it: one or the other? They appear to be contradictory beliefs.

Is it not possible that both are true, but that the human mind cannot hold these contradictory opposites together at once. The human mind, supported by a irrepressible negative vital/emotional being takes a side -- holding its one truth in opposition to all others, despite the wider understanding of the whole that includes all truths. This is unfortunately the way the mind of man functions. It is exclusive to all other possibilities other than its own. It takes one side out of a myriad of truths, and takes delight in REINFORCING its opinion whenever possible.

On the other hand, the person of higher consciousness moves out of the exclusivity of mind and embraces the full truth, whatever that might be; even, as in the example above, where the truths appear virtually opposite one another. The higher spiritualized mind embraces all truths because it seeks them; even what appears as contradictory opposites. In the lower consciousness, however, one is adamant about one's own position. In this world, all is divided existence, opposites opposing one another; me vs. you. In the higher consciousness, opposites, contradictions are complementaries, i.e. they work together to make a fuller, more whole, more integral truth. As man evolves, he will move to the spirit in mind that that can hold all truths, including contradictory ones. Then he will take a big leap on the road to his further evolution and transformation.

We can begin that process by moving to our deeper consciousness within, away from the surface bubblings, to silence; and then deeper still to the evolving soul. There one sees beyond the contradictions, embracing all sides, seeing to the True Truth that lie beyond the surface view. From there, all decisions made will be great ones, that inevitably benefits all. 

Prosperity is Measure of Obstacles Seen as Opportunities
Your prosperity is in the measure of your understanding the OBSTACLES as opportunities. (MSS)

The Supreme Sanction of the Ignorance
-The reason for creation was so the forms -- including us -- could experience the same bliss, the Delight that the Supreme already had. It may even be a greater Delight.
-In order to create the greatest possibility of that bliss, the greatest variety and multiplicity of those forms and qualities needed to be created.

-Greater variety and multiplicity includes everything and its opposite. Night and day, time and timelessness, ignorance and knowledge, good and evil, etc. etc.

-Now infinite variations can experience the bliss in infinite variety.

-Though the Supreme intended a Divine life on earth without contradictions, including the experience of spiritual qualities like Delight, Love, Beauty, Truth, et al , which are generally qualities without their opposite, It sanctioned all the aspects that we consider the negative side, as necessary steps on the way to the Divine Perfection.

-In several chapters in The Life Divine Sri Aurobindo describes the necessity of the Ignorance as a way to the Knowledge. Thus, Ignorance is sanctioned by the Supreme as something to be passed through along the way. He also speaks of the Supreme's sanction of Nature (Prakriti; of contradiction and conflict in life's evolution) in the course of Man's existence, even though it is a lesser power than the method of Purusha, i.e. progress by Soul. 

-Interestingly Sri Aurobindo says that when we reach the highest consciousness, we see that there is no division, no pain, no contradictions -- even perhaps, I might assume, at this point in the creation! This is the vision of Brahman that sees the Oneness of the Creator and the Creation. And yet at the lower plane of ego sees life not in its inherent perfection that someone who has risen to Supermind can see.

-This seems to be a conundrum in of itself for how can everything be perfect and not be so at the same time (as perceived by two different planes - Supermind and ego). My answer is that the more we move to the Supreme consciousness, to the Supramental, Truth Awareness, the more such conundrums are resolved through a higher understanding and cosmic perception.

Inner Orientation that Sees No Negative

Inner Orientation See No Negative
-A person with an inner orientation that perceives the oneness of life sees all negatives neutrally or positively.

-Nothing disturbs when the orientation is inward.

-Inner orientation puts one in harmony with the outer.

The Negative Exists Only to Ego
Sri Aurobindo's theme is there is nothing negative or undivine. Only to the view of Ego, everything other than itself is Negative. It is a new philosophy, not easy to comprehend, but enjoyable when you accept it, crossing comprehension. Finding no evil in life is to find heaven on earth. (MSS)

Transcending Ego to See Beyond the Negative
Sri Aurobindo and Sri Karmayogi explain that the source of all problems in life as Ignorance (which is the exclusivity of the Mind, and is opposite of truth). Ignorance is there at the source of creation including our own individual lives.

Ego, which is seperative consciousness, is the main support of that Ignorance. It feeds it. The solution according to the Masters is to move to the deeper source of being -- eventually to the Evolving Soul; the Psychic Being within -- where one perceives Oneness with all things and people. It is at this point that ego begins to permanently dissolve. Thus, when anything that appears negative arises, it is not perceived so. It can even be perceived as a positive. Thus as Ramanan point out, the negative becomes positive. As a result, at that point life instantly responds with good fortune.

Aside from moving to the depths, even to the Psychic to dissolve ego, one can offer the perceived negative to the Divine, to Mother, and then wait. Positive events will follow.

At the point where we come to perceive the negative as not so is the point that timelessness moves into time, as life's future possibilities present themselves in the Ever Present, which we percieve as a Life Response event.

Seeing No Negative through Higher Consciousness
When there is a difficult situation we pray, or consecrate the event, open to the Force so that things will work their way out in the future; and through these techniques they will generally do so, quickly and miraculously. However, a greater understanding is that what we perceived as negative really wasn't; it was just our nervous reaction to the intensity of the event. When we perceive the positive in the negative, or rather the neutral in the negative, there is nothing to pray for, since all is well.

The deeper the consciousness we are rooted in, the more we see everything is just as it should be. Only surface, ego, dividing mind, sees negative and positive. The higher we move above mind to spiritual mind and above, and the deeper we move within, the more we see the unity and oneness of all existence.

Perception of Negative from Various Levels of Consciousness
The higher we rise in the scale of consciousness, the more we perceive the necessity of the negative circumstances of life. We also perceive its inextricable unity with the positive. At a lower consciousness the negative is perceived as only negative, as opposed to the positive.

The Negative Enables Progress. Now However Let's Progress through Higher Consciousness
If we were to honestly look back on our lives, we would see that the greatest progress came about as a result of difficult circumstances -- sometimes emotionally devastating, sometimes even life-threatening. Thus, what we see as negative will have turned out to be the most positive thing that has ever happened to us! Thus, we can say that the negative, the bad is in fact the best good of our lives. This shattering thought that the negative is the ultimate form of positive raises many issue.

One is that life progresses through the confluence of the good and the "bad". This is Nature's way of progress -- i.e. through contradictory opposites. It is a slow, difficult, and painful way, but it succeeds in the end in Its intent. It is even sanctioned by the spirit, the Divine.

However, there is a higher method of progress. It is through methods of higher consciousness, which we can cumulatively call "Soul" -- as opposed to Nature. If we were more conscious to begin with, we could achieve the same aims without the pain, and those additional positives generated would unfold much more quickly than Natures difficult way.

When we move to a deeper consciousness, when we gain a more profound knowledge, when we consciously direct the course of our lives instead of leaving it to the whims of Nature, progress occurs from positive to positive, not from positive + negative to positive. When we move our consciousness into the depths of our being, away from the surface, and move into the stillness and silence within, even touching the evolving soul beneath these, we see the world as it truly is. Thus, at every moment we perceive the right thing to do, which causes us to make choices that tend to be far more positive and effective. Thus, though our own inner, soul-state we progress through the way of Soul instead of Nature -- i.e. coming to the new positive only through the positive.

Also, these positive-only results that come from our higher consciousness and the choices we make from there, tend to occur instantaneously; i.e. vast positive results move towards us in no time, avoiding Nature's difficult and lengthy course. This "instantaneous miraculousness" that brings sudden good fortune through acts of higher consciousness, I call it "Life Response." It is a life of continuous wonder and joy, as sudden good fortune continuously moves in our direction.

Evil

Absolute Evil

No Absolute Evil

There is no absolute evil; only relative evil to the good.

Cause of Evil

Ego as Source of Ignorance, Falsehood, and Evil
The human ego which focuses on things that merits its own self-oriented needs, creates an almost inexhaustible distortion of truth. Thus there is Ignorance. Out of ignorance comes a wrong consciousness, which gives a wrong dynamic reaction to the contact with the outside world; answering only to unenlightened mental and vital suggestions or in accordance with the ego. This is the source of Falsehood. With the development of a seperative life being; i.e. with the vital ego asserting its devise; and with a primitive unrestricted action uncensored with truth or what's right, this vitalized falsehood of knowledge becomes a power of Evil.  Wrong will and action is thus the basis of evil.

Falsehood and Evil Emerge from Ignorance
Wrong, error, falsehood, and evil are the result of Ignorance.

(-And yet they have a necessity; they are also powers of the All Consciousness; though they are not directly rooted in the Supreme Reality.
-Good and evil are not as a result of the original Inconscience born of the Supreme Reality but come as a result of human nature; of mind acting in life. [Good and evil are contradictory complements. Also, good can come from evil, and evil from good.])

-- Falsehood is a result of our attachment to our ignorance and unconsciousness.

-- Evil is a result of acting on the unconsciousness of Ignorance and Falsehood

Ignorance, Error, Falsehood, and Evil

-Ignorance is our essential condition of mis-knowledge about life and who we are. It is there in the creation in the universe, of which we are apart.

-One type of ignorance is of the truths that are unfolding around us.

-Error are the mistakes we make through our ignorance of the world around us.

-When we embrace and believe in our wrong knowledge, we move to falsehood.

-When we act on our falsehoods, we embrace evil.

Creation and the Roots of Perceived Evil
The Divine created divided forms for the purpose of multiplicity of Delight. In that division is the origins of divided matter, which is the root of ego, separateness, Ignorance, Falsehood, and our perceptions of positive and negative, good and bad/evil. Ignorance and "Evil" then was sanctioned by the Divine through the workings of Nature. We need to replace Soul with Nature through a rise in our consciousness. Then we see that the Divine intended evil as part of the unfolding of the GOOD.

Root of Good and Evil
The root of good and evil begins with the development of mind in life. Evil and falsehood are the automatic results of the evolution of life and mind from the Inconscience.

Nature Allowed Evil
It was a direction of Nature to let the evil grow to its height and do its service. (MSS)

Life Has No "Evil"
Life has no evil. (MSS)

No Absolute Evil
Sri Aurobindo says here is no absolute evil. That is because at any level of evil can be found a positive purpose.

Good and Evil
Good and evil are shifting entities relative to one another, and change from time to time in their meaning and value. (MSS)

Abolishing Evil

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On the 59th anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb, the Mayor of Hiroshima spoke about the danger of encouraging the development of smaller nuclear weapons. Historians studying the events of the twentieth century more than confirm the misgivings expressed before World War II or at the time of the Versailles Treaty.

Even if Germany was the culprit in WWI, exacting reparations of undue proportion would lead to vengeful emotions in Germany which were expressed after the first war. Now they are confirmed in more than one way. Another opinion is that even the First World War could have been avoided. War is Evil. It is not inevitable, if humankind is mature.

Now that the wars are over and humanity is lucky enough or maybe wise enough to avoid the Third World War, the approaching 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan is an opportunity to think of the future.

War is evil. The atom bomb is a greater evil. The greater evil helped to end the rule of the lesser evil. The stockpile of nuclear bombs threatening the world is the greatest of evils. Disarmament is proceeding at the level of positive decisions, decisions not to use the weapons. The existing bombs must be dismantled.

Also, there are other weapons equally dangerous, such as chemical or biological weapons. It is a great thing to destroy one form of evil. Still, it can sprout as another form of Evil. Will evil disappear after humankind ceases to produce these lethal weapons? Evil lies in the human heart, at its very bottom. Evil is in Nature as the tiger’s ferocity and the destruction of an earthquake. Before trying to abolish evil from Nature or human nature, one needs to understand what evil is.

Religions or philosophies have not been hopeful of abolishing the fundamental evil. They advised mankind to avoid evil. Sri Aurobindo says there is no evil in creation and there is evil only to the experience of the ego. When man abolishes his ego, there will be no evil in his view or his experience. Leaders of thought in religion, philosophy, and science should address this issue in the light of the rich experiences of the twentieth century.

Whatever the outcome of such a consideration, the very analysis by applying the best minds to this issue will be beneficial. Sri Aurobindo speaks from His spiritual experience in Alipore Jail. His vision of Narayana had no negative side of evil. Bharat Mata beckons her children to realise this TRUTH.  (MSS)

All that Occurs is for the Best

All That Occurred Had to, Indicating We Too are Brahman, God
When you examine recent history you see that everything had to take place as it did, suggesting that at one level there is a perfection in everything that is unfolding. It is further proof that God, Brahman, the Absolute, the Omnipresent Reality -- whatever name you give it -- is both the Source from which this universe manifest, and that which has been Created, the universe we live in, including us. The perfection we are as an element of God/Brahman is demonstrated in one way by the fact that all that has taken place had to.

All that Happened to Us Had to
We will see some time in our life that all that has happened to us had to occur.

All is What Should Be
There is no real good or bad, all is what is should be. (Paraphrase of The Mother)

All That Occurs is for the Best
From a deeper poise of consciousness one realizes that everything that is happening, has happened, and will happen -- to you, to others, to the collective, and to the world and the universe --   is ALWAYS for the best. If not a Perfect best; it is a Relative best. It is relative best in the short term; a perfect best in the long term.

Everything is for the Best" is a Relative Best
"Everything is for the best" is in one sense an infuriating statement for those who seek truth. At one level it is absolutely true in that what occurs is the best considering the current conditions of consciousness. On another plane, it is false because it is static and does not account for the emerging will to bring about a higher harmony and oneness.

Going Beyond Ego to Overcome Perceptions of Evil

Good and Evil is Ego's View
At times man sees good and at other times he sees evil. Sri Aurobindo says it is due to the partial vision of the ego. In fact, the vision of the ego is a distorted vision. (MSS)

Inside Ego is Evil; Outside is the Marvel
In Sri Aurobindo's view, the world is a Marvel for one who is outside his ego. If man sees injustice, suffering, evil, etc. it is seen only by his ego. His duty then lies in outgrowing his ego. Should he do so, what was in his view evil, suffering, etc. will change into good and pleasure leaving no problem to solve. (MSS)

Abolishing the Ego Will Abolish Evil
Religions or philosophies have not been hopeful of abolishing the fundamental evil. They advised mankind to avoid evil. Sri Aurobindo says there is no evil in creation and there is evil only to the experience of the ego. When man abolishes his ego, there will be no evil in his view or his experience. Leaders of thought in religion, philosophy, and science should address this issue in the light of the rich experiences of the twentieth century. (MSS)

Beyond Ego there is No Evil
Sri Aurobindo says that evil is real only to the ego, and has no inherent reality in itself. For one who has come out of ego, there is no evil to be seen. Wars are horrendous for us where millions of lives are destroyed. Once you come out of ego, you see war is Nature's method to hasten the process of evolution and the souls of those who die, die in bliss. (MSS, slightly modified)

Seperative Being Needs Evil
The separate being needs evil for its evolution. (MSS)

Path to Move Out of Ego/Evil
When we move out of ego, we see no more evil, but another part of the Whole. We move out of ego by moving to the Soul, where we come in union with others and the world around us, dropping our ego, separativeness, divided mind, divided self.

Perfection and Goodness that Embraces Evil
The perfection must begin there as goodness that embraces evil. (MSS)

Realize Divine by Ignoring Its "Evil"
The surest way to realise the Divine in life is to shut our eyes to the evils in life created by the Divine. ... That Spirit will ultimately disclose the evil to be not evil, but pure GOODNESS.  (MSS, slightly altered)

Using Spirit to Move Life Without Negative
Invoking the spirit in our daily lives eliminates the need for Nature's normal way of progress through both positive and negative. This highest consciousness tends to invoke only the positive from life.

Soul Connection Ends Error, Falsehood, Evil
The connection to the True Self, evolving soul within can begin to overcome the error, the falsehood, and evil.

Evil in the Infinitesimal
The evil is organised and entrenched in the infinitesimal. (MSS)

Other

On "Tragedies"
It is the narrowness of the human consciousness that makes tragedies out of events which for the Divine Consciousness are only movements in the general evolution. But even when one sees that, one can and must keep a profound sympathy for those who are still living in the throes of ignorance. (The Mother)

Other's Negative Comes to You as Positive
Often we will see that when there is a negative intent, it triggers a Force of Self-giving in the atmosphere, in which you get more of that which you were deprived of. E.g. one's boss negatively deprives a worker of means of transpiration to work. Life responds by bringing even better, more convenient mode of transportation for that worker.  

Two Types Moving Toward Wholeness
It is always fascinating to observe how intelligent, insightful, creative individuals are often burdened by some missing cultural sensitivity; e.g. in the form of uncouth and untoward behavior; while individuals of impeccable manners and social grace embody utter falsehoods bordering on evil. It must be Nature's process and method of organization, enabling each to discover their whole True nature beyond their current limiting status.

Levels of Perceiving Truth
In ascending order of Truth one can know:
-The positive and the negative
-That a negative is a positive
-That there is no negative and positive; that there just IS-ness
-That there is Brahman, inclusive and beyond All

(The deeper the consciousness, the further we move down the scale.)

Also See: Embracing the All

TO BE CATERGORIZED

Beyond Positive and Negative

The Inner Power of Perceiving That All -- Including the Negative -- Serves a Purpose

The perspective of Brahman, the omnipresent Reality, is that ALL things -- positive and negative, big and small, pleasurable and painful, etc. -- serve a purpose in the unfolding of life; the uplifting of humanity and ourselves.

Thus, negative consciousnesses, people, circumstances, etc. are not to be shunned, but to be understood in the context of the Unfolding Whole.

How can we develop this unitarian perspective? Sri Aurobindo says that when we rise in consciousness beyond ordinary mind to supramental perception -- i.e. the view of the integral Truth of things -- we perceive the utility of every condition, garnering a vast inner power for right action that leads to infinite-like success.

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All negatives, including errors, are really positives in disguise when we learn from them.

Problems, Negatives as Opportunities

Perceiving Opportunities in Problems

Negatives are positives in disguise. They are opportunities waiting in the shadows. Adjusting our attitude to their right frequency is the means of transition to those infinite opportunities.

The Utility of Opposition in Life: (WWII, the EU, Sri Aurobindo, the Mother, and What Can Be Gained)

The deeper one's consciousness, the more likely the results (including what is attracted) will be "Self-Existent," i.e. universally positive. And yet even great opposition can come to those of an infinitely high consciousness. Sri Aurobindo indicated that WWII came to oppose the supramental Force that was descending on earth, and hence he labeled it "Mother's War." He and Her together then took inner action that helped resolve it. As we see, there are cosmic forces that seek to stir things up, to oppose a work, despite our best intentions; including those of super Avatars.

In a new Facebook entry I note that the Opposition can be used as a means to perfect, raise-up one's consciousness to a higher level, as it forces one to confront the current limitations in one's being. Even the Nazis forced the Europeans after the war to see their own limitations and complicity in the war, through their own lack of earlier collaboration, as each nation pushed in its own direction. The result: the EU was born, and many other forms of common, global defense and helpful associations in their wake. Each country has been forced to give up a degree of its Ego, which it exercised wantonly in the past, and can act collaborative to meet the challenges of life.

The key then is to be calm when any opposition arises, and to see that there is an opportunity there for self-improvement, or a new, emerging outright success is on its way. In this right Spirit, we bring the best of life's conditions to us, even if negatives comes to us - whether based on our own limitations of the past, or because difficult, cosmic forces arrive on the scene to have their day.

How to See the Opportunities Behind a Crisis

When you do not react to crisis conditions, you are able to maintain a degree of stillness inside, which keeps your mind clear, giving you the chance to see behind the crisis -- to the more positive aspects, including opportunities lurking behind.

Essentially Non-reaction is a form of Equality of being, sometimes referred to as spiritual Detachment.

Also developing an overall inner poise enables the mind to expand into the spiritual realms, where such subtle truths are more readily perceived through intuition, revelation, and supramental perception.

Karmayogi says constant consecration will forge that inner existence that enables this dynamic.

Problems as Growth Opportunities

Every problem, such as severe money shortages, is an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth; i.e. is an occasion for increasing our faith, and overcoming one or more corresponding wanting attitudes. Taken in that spirit -- while simultaneously remaining calm, cheerful, and positive -- the transition can be a welcoming one; even ecstatic. Life will cooperate in ways unimagined.

Difficulties as Evolutionary Opportunities

The most unwanted influence and the most stressful challenge represent evolutionary opportunities as great in significance as our rare moments of peak enjoyment. (MSS)

Crisis, Opportunities

Crisis is seen as Opportunities from the Supramental point of view.

A Problem Seen as an Opportunity Brings It Out

With our limited, ordinary consciousness, we perceive a problem, and that is all. However, from our highest consciousness, i.e. from the Divine's perspective, the problem is actually an opportunity waiting to emerge. If we approach the issue in that spirit, life will definitely open before us and reveal all that was opportune behind the apparent difficulty.

Problems as Means of Progress

Problems and Our Progress

All the problems that come our way are there for our further progress.

Live Progresses through Conflict

Life normally progresses through the confluence of conflict.

All Obstacles are Helpful

All obstacles, whatever their nature, always ultimately prove themselves to be helpful auxiliaries of a Truth whose meaning and purpose we do not yet know. (Satprem paraphrase of Sri Aurobindo)

Current Conditions Best for Growth

Current Conditions Best for Our Progress

Everything that is occurring to us serves as the very best conditions for our progress.

Problems and Our Progress

All the problems that come our way are there for our further progress.

The Pure Positive

Beyond Positive and Negative to Infinitely-Variable Divine Existence

We can rise above the normal way of progress through positive and negative, to the Pure Positive by raising our consciousness and opening to the spiritual Force. There the Supramental power helps forge a New Reality, a new type of Human Existence, culminating in a Divine Life on Earth. There, creativity and diversity comes not through shades of dark and light, but through discovery and experience of infinitely-variable, never-ending forms of creativity, harmony, and bliss.

Other

Life Is Overwhelmingly Good, but the “Bad” Catches Our Attention

95%+ of the time things are good or neutral. The other 5% catches our attention, and we think it is bad. But it is only the stinging of our Ego that makes it seem and feel that way. From a higher consciousnesses, we see the utility of all, including the problematic; meaning that from the perspective of the Reality, Brahman, the All, there is 100% absolute necessity in things. 

(there may some repetition among items below)

Conditions of Our Progress

All that comes our way, including great or small difficulties, are precisely the conditions for our further progress.  (2009-2011 Q1)

All that Comes Does So For Our Progress

-Everything that comes to us in life comes for our progress. If we take it in that spirit, then we will be on an endless adventure of consciousness and discovery.

-Furthermore, the Divine is behind such events in our lives, seeking to elevate us.

-Thus, every small detail is in its right place.

-This is a vast fundamental liberating understanding and knowledge that gives us faith, energy, and power, motivating us in the extreme; creating great joy in being alive.  (2009-2011 Q1)

Difficulty and Opportunity

The greater the problem or obstacle we come across, the greater the opportunity for success and progress. (2009-2011 Q1)

The Great Benefit of Difficulty

Periods of difficult transition more often than not usher in the greatest possible changes. (E.g., the deep recession of the 80s enabled one man to move beyond his old business and take up a vocation that not only lasted the rest of his life, but was a vast movement in society.) It is the great benefit that comes from great difficulty.  (2009-2011 Q1)

Difficulties and Faith

Every difficulty we encounter is an opportunity to raise our level of faith. (2009-2011 Q1)

Problems Force Us Deeper for Solutions and Faith

Every problem that arises in your life is an occasion to go deeper within; to both contemplate and find the necessary solution, and develop more faith in the Higher Power to resolve it. (2009-2011 Q1)

Intense Negatives Followed by Extreme Positive

Normally, on the other side of an intense negative, lurks an extreme positive. Often people experience this when their lives fall apart, only to be quickly followed by a dramatic opening in another area. One can be said to be subconsciously outgrowing one thing and progressing into another. (2009-2011 Q1)

Bad that is Good or Greater than Good

A so-called "bad" recognized is actually a good from a higher perspective. It can even be a greater good than what we ordinarily think of as a "good." (2009-2011 Q1)

Utility of the Negative in One's Life

Steve Jobs, being exiled from Apple in 1985 and returning in 1997 that much the wiser, demonstrates the utility of negative events in one's life. I.e. they are really positives in disguise; and are key to our growth and progress. (Edmond Dantes in Count of Monte Cristo and Jean Valjean in Les Miserables are other examples from literature.) Alternately one can follow the conscious way, that of Soul, and progress harmoniously, instead of through Nature's difficult method. (2009-2011 Q1)

Negatives as Opportunities

Negatives are golden opportunities, especially when met in the right positive spirit. (2009-2011 Q1)

The Great Benefit of Difficulty

Periods of difficult transition more often than not usher in the greatest possible changes. (E.g., the deep recession of the 80s enabled one man to move beyond his old business and take up a vocation that not only lasted the rest of his life, but was a vast movement in society.) It is the great benefit that comes from great difficulty.

Perceiving the Marvel in Silicon Valley

To perceive the Marvel of existence is to see that the negative serves as much a role in progress as the positive. In fact, without it, there can be no progress, evolution, transformation at all. The Marvel then is to see the utility everything, of each thing in its place -- positive and negative, good and evil, etc. -- in the upward sweep of life. Metaphysically, we can say that the omnipresent Reality (Brahman, the Absolute) -- the highest conception of existence afforded to Man -- includes and embraces all and everything; all sides, all things, all possibilities. To have that Vision of existence gives us inner peace, and provides an inner stability and certainty that everything that is happening in our lives is for the Good.

Gradually, we can move from our normal limited, dualistic, pain-riddled perception of life to this infinitely higher perception of the Marvel. A case in point can be seen amongst the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. There the notion of 'failure' has a remarkably different connotation than exists elsewhere. In this progressive region of Northern California, failure connotes experience; a badge of wisdom, qualifying one for future success. It is almost the reverse of our normal view of life, where only achievement is valued, and failure depresses and discourages. The technology pioneers of Silicon Valley perceive the value of the shadow of the good; seeing the problematic as a steppingstone to the future. It is to glimpse the Marvel from the perspective of accomplishment; to look at all and everything in life from the Bright Side.  (2009-2011 Q1)

On Progress Only through the Good

A reader raised a question that in essence asks whether we can have good things (only) happen without the bad, avoiding Nature's way of progress through contradictions (i.e. both positive and negative, pleasure and pain, etc.).

I answered as follows:

Life progresses through good and bad things, positive and negative. If you relate a negative that comes your way to a corresponding lack of consciousness on your part, and then change it, causing you to grow and evoke positive life response, then the negative certainly serves as an instrument of positive change. (If you also see how that negative circumstance and people are necessary in the flow of life to enable positive progress, you will perceive something even greater: the Marvel of existence.)

As for only doing good things (only) in the first place, it depends on what you mean by 'good.' Good in the human sense is to serve our intentions, our desires, our needs, our ego, which means that this good can be positive or negative. Good in the spiritual sense however, i.e. the higher 'Good,' is to do what is spiritually right - such as practicing self-givingness, nonreaction, higher organization, adoption of higher attitudes and values within the context of what you aspire for (from something wholesome you want to achieve, all the way up to aspiring for the divine to increasingly enter into your life).

Thus, we can see that the normal, human good has the shadow of negatives, while the higher Good is self-existent, and produces no opposition and negative. We can learn from both. From the former, we can learn to understand what generated the negative in us and change it. From the latter we can embark on a spiritual path of never ending growth, evolution, and transformation, enabling us to realize within us spiritual qualities of peace, wisdom, light, power, creativity, love, bliss, infinity, and timelessness. I.e. the fulfillment of the deepest Human Aspiration.  v

Progress through the Confluence of Light and Dark; and Beyond

-It takes both the good and the bad, the negative and the positive for life to progress.

-The greatest leaps for mankind have come as a result of the confluence of the positive and the negative.

-Darkness comes out of light; light out of darkness.

-When we see the truth of the confluence of the positive and negative in the evolution of the affairs of man, we have a glimpse of the Truth of Life, of the true nature of God, the Reality.

-The ultimate conception afforded to Man, the Reality (Brahman, the Absolute, God) includes both the darkness and the light. The Reality is all and everything, including the positive and negative, pleasure and pain.

-As we grow in consciousness, life progresses more from the Good, rather than the confluence of the positive and negative. That Good never does not create a shadow, like the current good that requires, demands its opposite for progress. 

Thus, God is evolving trough our own evolution in life.  (2009-2011 Q1)

Financial Dearth as Blessing in Disguise

When one's cash on hand dwindles to nothing, a perceived "negative" circumstance, one becomes very exacting in what is spent and what remains thereafter. Interestingly, this can lead to greater precision in dealing with future finances, including the maintenance of one's accounts. Because of the prior dearth, you develop a greater capacity to control costs and are more exacting in knowing one's current financial status, which enables decisions that support wealth-creation. In other words, scarcity has become the basis of prosperity. It is but another example of how negatives are really positives in disguise. Moreover, to perceive the need of the negative is glimpse the Marvel: that all and everything is necessary for the unfolding of the positive; of progress and change.   (2009-2011 Q1)

The Enlightening Power of Defeat

A sport team has run roughshod over its first three opponents. Now it faces a somewhat better one. When they play the new opponent, our undefeated team is annihilated. Heads are buried in hands in shame, in humiliation; as the players wonder what had gone wrong.

And yet this defeat, this apparent negative, is just as important, significant, and beneficial as the positive. Probably more so. For now, one has the opportunity to learn important lessons that one can use for the rest of one's life. Humility is one. As is the need to control one's emotions. Or the need for greater psychological toughness and strength. Of taking nothing for granted. And so on.

In summary, there is an enlightening power to defeat. It is a growing experience. In hindsight, it may very well be viewed as best thing that could have happened, as you developed from that experience a higher knowledge that has served you well from that time forward. In that sense, it was surely a blessing in disguise.  (2009-2011 Q1)

Power of Negativity to Induce Change

It normally takes something extremely negative for a person to make a decisive change in their nature. v

When Man is Forced to Change

Man does not change unless he is shaken to the core out of his inertia, ignorance, and unconsciousness. Or put another way, life intensely forces Man to change, as he is unwilling to do it himself.  (2009-2011 Q1)

Lower Consciousness Sees Contradiction; Higher Perceives Complementarity

The lower we are in consciousness, the more we see things in opposition and contradiction. The higher our consciousness, the more we see the contradicting parties, aspects as secret complements to each other. E.g. at the lower level, we see a couple constantly quarreling as conflict. At a higher level, we see that they are in relation to one another to enable their further individual growth. The same is true between apparent conflicting parties, or things we believe are in opposition, like good and bad, positive and negative, and pleasure and pain.

Perceiving that both sides are necessary for the unfolding, for progress is to have a perception of the utility, as well as the complementarity, harmony, oneness, and unity of all things. It is to have a glimpse of the Marvel of existence.  (2009-2011 Q1)

Parties in Contradiction are Really Complements to Each's Progress

We recoil when parties are in conflict, bothered by each side's limitations. But from a higher view, we see that both sides need one another for their further growth. What we therefore perceive as contradictory and conflicting parties are secretly complementary pairs moving toward their own individual progress.  (2009-2011 Q1)

Intense Negatives Followed by Extreme Positive

Normally, on the other side of an intense negative, lurks an extreme positive. Often people experience this when their lives fall apart, only to be quickly followed by a dramatic opening in another area. One can be said to be subconsciously outgrowing one thing and progressing into another. (2009-2011 Q1)

Negative as Positive

Beyond Good and Evil

No Absolute Evil; All Serves Progress

Sri Aurobindo says that there is no inherent absolute Evil in the world, as each thing --the light and the dark -- serves to bring about further progress in the world. (2009-2011 Q1)

Disasters Compel a Human-Centered Economics

With energy, financial, and environmental disasters repeating, it is time for the world to seriously and sincerely come together and develop a new economics based on the needs of the individual human. (2009-2011 Q1)

Greater Opposition Enables Greater Success, Progress

One truism of life that demonstrates its character is that the greater the opposition we encounter, the greater the opportunity for us to rise and progress. (2009-2011 Q1)

Obstacles to Our Goals Enables Greatest Possibility

The greater the outer resistance, conflict, contradiction to our aspirations and goals, the greater the possibility for achievement and growth; i.e. the higher we can rise. (2009-2011 Q1)

Intense Negative Harbinger of Positive

An intense negative indicates the potential of an intense positive (which is its opposite). (2009-2011 Q1)

Good Coming Out of Evil, and Evil Coming Out of Good

There is the phenomenon of good coming out of evil captured in the postwar prosperity emerging from the destruction of WWII, the EU emerging from centuries of incessant warfare in Europe, the Black Death leading to end of feudalism and rise of democratic freedoms, Darcy’s progress in Pride and Prejudice resulting from Wickham’s scandalous lies, Edmund’s rise in The Count of Monte Cristo to greatest knowledge, wealth and status as a result of Fernand’s betrayal, the good generated by Thenardier’s conscious acts of evil in Les Miserables.

A complementary theme we can observe is the evil arising out of good because that good is partial and incomplete. (2009-2011 Q1)

Good Out of Evil; Evil Out of Good

[re Lost tv series episode: 'Across the Sea']

This episode (near the finale of the 120-hour continuous epic TV show) showed one of the great precepts of ancient and modern spiritual thought: that Good Comes out of Evil, and Evil out of Good.

Evil Out of Good: The Man in Black became what he was (evil) because of the doings of 'Good' people (his adopted Mother and Jacob's harmful deeds). Similarly, the Third Reich came to be what it was because the Great Depression spurred by Western financial greed destabilized Germany, paving the way for the Fuehrer. Not to mention their weapons shipment to the Germans in the years leading up to the war, as well as an inability to take a common stand against him when his armies rampaged across Europe. Thus, there was evil coming out of (apparent) good.

(A true "Good" by the way does not necessitate evil; i.e. does not precipitate a dark shadow; but such a true Good is very rare. It is a spiritual quality that awaits the future in humanity.)

An example of Good coming out of Evil is when the EU was formed after WWII. If fascism and 70 million dead had not come about, the UN, EU, and other forms of global alliances might not have formed for hundreds of years, if ever. In the story, good comes out of evil because all of the Losties on the island are forced to come to terms with their lower nature and grow as people through all of the difficult circumstance they are subject to by dark forces, including the Man in Black. (2009-2011 Q1)

How the Good Attracts Evil

No negative outcomes are unrelated to the state of consciousness that attracted it. Thus, in history we see how the good attracts evil, when the good has its own shadow of negativity. Examples include:

-Western greed and non-cooperation led to the Great Depression, thereby attracting fascism and 70 million dead during WWII

-The West tried to repress the progressive Russian Revolution and attracted 50 years of Stalinism in which the world arsenals were pitted against one another threatening Armageddon.

-The West engaged in 100 years of diplomatic insincerity in the Middle East and attracted 9/11 fanatics and global terrorism.

When the good is unconscious, it attracts evil. That evil will force the good to confront its limitations. When the good becomes the true, self-existent Good, it will attract no shadow of darkness and evil.

When we come to understand these inner-outer correspondences, we will evolve greatly as a society. (2009-2011 Q1)