4 thoughts on “The Existence of Evil”

1. Hi, I’m really interested in Eastern philosophy and religion, so I’ve been reading Ms. Blavatsky’s works for some time now. They’re brilliant, as Eastern philosophy is brilliant in general, but there are concepts I still don’t totally grasp.

   Eastern philosophies insist on the importance of doing Good (loving, sharing, helping others, etc). Yet they believe the Absolute Principle can’t be given any quality, and therefore is beyond concepts like Good and Evil which exist only in the manifested world. If the goal of life is to reunite with our Atman (which is the same as Brahman, if I’m not mistaken), that’s to say with a “qualityless” entity, why is it necessary to choose one of these qualities (“Good”) over another to approach it?

   It would imply there’s a great scale of spiritual evolution, where there is a “right thing to do” and a “wrong thing to do”, (i.e. obeying our animal urges, satisfying our Ego etc.) otherwise we’re stuck with the karmic consequences of our karma, the same pain and sorrow we caused to other people. If we ultimately have to do good to evolve, how can you say the “Designer” of that scale wasn’t biased?

   I’m sorry if expressed myself badly or if my interrogations are pointless, these considerations have just come to my mind, and I’d really like your opinion on the subject. Don’t be mistaken either, I’m not an Evil worshiper (on the contrary!) nor am I a “there’s-no-good-no-evil” atheist.

   Best regards

   1. Hello John, you have asked a very profound and worthwhile question, not a pointless or badly expressed one at all!

      Why is it necessary to choose good in order to make real progress on the spiritual path, when pure eternal Spirit itself is absolutely transcendent, infinite, Nirguna (i.e. without qualities, attributes, or characteristics), and beyond all the “pairs of opposites” of good and evil, right and wrong, love and hatred, and so forth?

      The answer Theosophy offers to this question is that although the Absolute is non-dual and beyond all qualities, characteristics, distinctions, etc., the qualities which we can apply and practice here such as goodness, love, compassion, altruism, purity, etc., are those which bring about a more universal, impersonal, selfless, refined, and elevated state of consciousness within us, and that thus they approach more closely to the eternal state of Brahman, which as you rightly say is the same as our Atman, for our Higher Self IS the Supreme Self, the ONE Infinite Divine Life.

      So in other words, although the Absolute is beyond all qualities, there do happen to be particular qualities which somehow and in some way are much more closely related to It than others.

      But if you ask why this is, I can only say that I don’t know but that it’s something worth thinking and meditating upon!

      1. Hello again,
         Many thanks for your response! Indeed it would be worth meditating upon. Perhaps the beginning of an answer regarding that question would be that Spirit actually preceded Matter, and we all know, in all fields of science (whether it be in physics, metaphysics or science) how great it is to prefer the Source of something to any following degradations. For instance, the Ego is only an interface so the experiences we have with our environment can teach us, it’s useful but it is a mere downgrade of consciousness, and so are the attitudes feeding it (ignorance, selfishness, greed…). To me, having compassion and helping others is like going up back to the original form of the creation process i.e spirit (not of creation itself, since nothing is born that has not already been, as wise men of India demonstrated), while having a cold, selfish attitude is going down the path humans created for themselves. Water is always purer in high mountain than in the river’s mouth.

         Again, maybe I’m deeply mistaken. Anyway I’m glad to have this conversation, since Eastern philosophy isn’t a subject of the everyday world. The simple mention of the word “soul” make people look at you as if you were some kind of alien (talk about “downgrade”!)

         Best regards

2. I add one idea to the explanation. (sorry, I do not master English).
   not only do (good) but the river flows quietly (evolution) and if we put an obstacle in his way (evil) the Evolution would be disrupted.
   involved (good) means track and let it run the law of nature and the cosmos, it is no longer a question of good or evil. evil does not exist, it is the negation of good.
   a man falling from a mountain, I do not help him, he falls, he dies, is what I have done wrong? yes, not because I have done wrong in itself, but because (I did not do well).

   jihad

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