The Lesson of Evil

Unrest and pain and sorrow are the shadows of life. There is no heart in all the world that has not felt the sting of pain, no mind has not been tossed upon the dark waters of trouble, no eye that has not wept the hot, blinding tears of unspeakable anguish. There is no household where the Great Destroyers, disease and death, have not entered, severing heart from heart, and casting over all the dark pall of sorrow. In the strong, and apparently indestructible meshes of evil all are more or less fast caught, and pain, unhappiness, and misfortune wait upon mankind.

Unrest, pain, and sorrow are the shadows of life. Everyone in the world has felt the sting of pain. Every mind has been tossed on the dark waters of trouble. Every eye has wept hot, blinding tears of unspeakable anguish. The Great Destroyers, disease and death, have entered every home. They have torn hearts apart and cast a dark shadow of sorrow over everyone. All are caught to some degree in the strong, seemingly indestructible net of evil. Pain, unhappiness, and misfortune await humanity.

With the object of escaping, or in some way mitigating this overshadowing gloom, men and women rush blindly into innumerable devices, pathways by which they fondly hope to enter into a happiness which will not pass away. Such are the drunkard and the harlot, who revel in sensual excitements; such is the exclusive æsthete, who shuts himself out from the sorrows of the world, and surrounds himself with enervating luxuries; such is he who thirsts for wealth or fame, and subordinates all things to the achievement of that object; and such are they who seek consolation in the performance of religious rites.

To escape or somehow lessen this overwhelming gloom, men and women rush blindly into countless pursuits. They cling to the hope that these paths will lead to lasting happiness. Among them are the drunkard and the prostitute, who revel in sensual pleasures. There is also the refined lover of beauty who shuts out the world’s sorrows and surrounds himself with luxuries that sap his strength. Another thirsts for wealth or fame and puts everything else aside to achieve it. Still others seek comfort in performing religious rites.

And to all the happiness sought seems to come, and the soul, for a time, is lulled into a sweet security, and an intoxicating forgetfulness of the existence of evil; but the day of disease comes at last, or some great sorrow, temptation, or misfortune breaks suddenly in on the unfortified soul, and the fabric of its fancied happiness is torn to shreds.

And for everyone, the happiness they seek seems to come. For a time, the soul is lulled into a sweet sense of security and an intoxicating forgetfulness of evil. But the day of illness finally comes, or great sorrow, temptation, or misfortune suddenly strikes the unprepared soul. Then the fabric of its imagined happiness is torn to shreds.

So over the head of every personal joy hangs the Damocletian sword of pain, ready, at any moment, to fall and crush the soul of him who is unprotected by knowledge.

So the sword of Damocles hangs over every personal joy. It is the sword of pain, ready to fall at any moment and crush the soul of anyone not protected by knowledge.

The child cries to be a man or woman; the man and woman sigh for the lost felicity of childhood. The poor man chafes under the chains of poverty by which he is bound, and the rich man often lives in fear of poverty, or scours the world in search of an elusive shadow he calls happiness. Sometimes the soul feels that it has found a secure peace and happiness in adopting a certain religion, in embracing an intellectual philosophy, or in building up an intellectual or artistic ideal; but some overpowering temptation proves the religion to be inadequate or insufficient; the theoretical philosophy is found to be a useless prop; or in a moment, the idealistic statue upon which the devotee has for years been laboring, is shattered into fragments at his feet.

The child longs to grow up. The man and woman long for the lost happiness of childhood. The poor man struggles against the chains of poverty that bind him. The rich man often fears poverty or searches the world for an elusive shadow he calls happiness. Sometimes the soul feels it has found lasting peace and happiness in a religion, an intellectual philosophy, or an intellectual or artistic ideal. But a powerful temptation proves the religion inadequate. The theoretical philosophy turns out to be a useless support. Or the ideal, like a statue the devotee has spent years shaping, shatters at his feet in an instant.

Is there, then, no way of escape from pain and sorrow? Are there no means by which the bonds of evil may be broken? Is permanent happiness, secure prosperity, and abiding peace a foolish dream? No, there is a way, and I speak it with gladness, by which evil can be slain for ever; there is a process by which disease, poverty, or any adverse condition or circumstance can be put on one side never to return; there is a method by which a permanent prosperity can be secured, free from all fear of the return of adversity, and there is a practice by which unbroken and unending peace and bliss can be partaken of and realized. And the beginning of the way which leads to this glorious realization is the acquirement of a right understanding of the nature of evil.

Is there, then, no way to escape pain and sorrow? Is there no way to break the bonds of evil? Are lasting happiness, secure prosperity, and enduring peace just a foolish dream? No. I am glad to say that there is a way to destroy evil forever. There is a process by which disease, poverty, or any adverse condition or circumstance can be set aside, never to return. There is a way to secure lasting prosperity, free from all fear that adversity will return. And there is a practice through which we can experience and realize unbroken, endless peace and bliss. The first step on the way to this glorious realization is gaining a right understanding of the nature of evil.

It is not sufficient to deny or ignore evil; it must be understood. It is not enough to pray to God to remove the evil; you must find out why it is there, and what lesson it has for you. It is of no avail to fret and fume and chafe at the chains which bind you; you must know why and how you are bound. Therefore, reader, you must get outside yourself, and must begin to examine and understand yourself. You must cease to be a disobedient child in the school of experience and must begin to learn, with humility and patience, the lessons that are set for your edification and ultimate perfection; for evil, when rightly understood, is found to be, not an unlimited power or principle in the universe, but a passing phase of human experience, and it therefore becomes a teacher to those who are willing to learn. Evil is not an abstract something outside yourself; it is an experience in your own heart, and by patiently examining and rectifying your heart you will be gradually led into the discovery of the origin and nature of evil, which will necessarily be followed by its complete eradication.

It is not enough to deny or ignore evil. You must understand it. It is not enough to pray to God to remove evil. You must find out why it is there and what lesson it has for you. It does no good to struggle and rage against the chains that bind you. You must understand why and how you are bound. So, reader, you must step outside yourself and begin to examine and understand yourself. Stop being a disobedient child in the school of experience. Instead, learn with humility and patience the lessons meant to teach you and ultimately make you perfect. For when evil is rightly understood, it is not an unlimited power or principle in the universe. It is a passing phase of human experience. So evil becomes a teacher to those who are willing to learn. Evil is not some abstract thing outside yourself. It is an experience in your own heart. By patiently examining and correcting your heart, you will gradually discover the origin and nature of evil. This discovery will necessarily be followed by the complete removal of evil.

All evil is corrective and remedial, and is therefore not permanent. It is rooted in igno rance, ignorance of the true nature and relation of things, and so long as we remain in that state of ignorance, we remain subject to evil. There is no evil in the universe which is not the result of ignorance, and which would not, if we were ready and willing to learn its lesson, lead us to higher wisdom, and then vanish away. But men remain in evil, and it does not pass away because men are not willing or prepared to learn the lesson which it came to teach them. I knew a child who, every night when its mother took it to bed, cried to be allowed to play with the candle; and one night, when the mother was off guard for a moment, the child took hold of the candle; the inevitable result followed, and the child never wished to play with the candle again. By its one foolish act it learned, and learned perfectly the lesson of obedience, and entered into the knowledge that fire burns. And, this incident is a complete illustration of the nature, meaning, and ultimate result of all sin and evil. As the child suffered through its own ignorance of the real nature of fire, so older children suffer through their ignorance of the real nature of the things which they weep for and strive after, and which harm them when they are secured; the only difference being that in the latter case the ignorance and evil are more deeply rooted and obscure.

All evil corrects and teaches us, and therefore does not last forever. It is rooted in ignorance, in not understanding the true nature of things and how they relate to one another. As long as we remain ignorant, we remain subject to evil. Every evil in the universe results from ignorance. If we were ready and willing to learn its lesson, every evil would lead us to greater wisdom and then disappear. But people remain in evil, and it does not disappear, because they are not willing or ready to learn the lesson it came to teach them. I knew a child who cried every night to be allowed to play with the candle when its mother took it to bed. One night, when the mother was distracted for a moment, the child grabbed the candle. The inevitable happened, and the child never wanted to play with the candle again. Through that one foolish act, the child learned the lesson of obedience completely. The child also learned that fire burns. This incident fully illustrates the nature, meaning, and ultimate result of all sin and evil. The child suffered because it did not understand the true nature of fire. In the same way, older children suffer because they do not understand the true nature of the things they weep for and strive to obtain. Those things harm them once they get them. The only difference is that, with older children, the ignorance and evil are more deeply rooted and harder to see.

Evil has always been symbolized by darkness, and Good by light, and hidden within the symbol is contained the perfect interpretation, the reality; for, just as light always floods the universe, and darkness is only a mere speck or shadow cast by a small body intercepting a few rays of the illimitable light, so the Light of the Supreme Good is the positive and life-giving power which floods the universe, and evil the insignificant shadow cast by the self that intercepts and shuts off the illuminating rays which strive for entrance. When night folds the world in its black impenetrable mantle, no matter how dense the darkness, it covers but the small space of half our little planet, while the whole universe is ablaze with living light, and every soul knows that it will awake in the light in the morning. Know, then, that when the dark night of sorrow, pain, or misfortune settles down upon your soul, and you stumble along with weary and uncertain steps, that you are merely intercepting your own personal desires between yourself and the boundless light of joy and bliss, and the dark shadow that covers you is cast by none and nothing but yourself. And just as the darkness without is but a negative shadow, an unreality which comes from nowhere, goes to nowhere, and has no abiding dwelling place, so the darkness within is equally a negative shadow passing over the evolving and Light-born soul.

Evil has always been symbolized by darkness, and Good by light. Hidden in this symbol is the perfect interpretation, the reality. Light always floods the universe. Darkness is only a tiny speck or shadow cast by a small object blocking a few rays of the limitless light. In the same way, the Light of the Supreme Good is the positive, life-giving power that floods the universe. Evil is the insignificant shadow cast by the self, which blocks the illuminating rays trying to enter. When night wraps the world in its dark, impenetrable cloak, its darkness covers only half our little planet, however deep it is. Meanwhile, the whole universe blazes with living light, and every soul knows it will wake in the morning light. So, when the dark night of sorrow, pain, or misfortune settles over your soul, remember this. As you stumble along with tired, uncertain steps, you are merely placing your personal desires between yourself and the boundless light of joy and bliss. You alone cast the dark shadow that covers you. The darkness outside is only a negative shadow, an unreality that comes from nowhere, goes nowhere, and has no lasting home. In the same way, the darkness within is a negative shadow passing over the evolving soul born of Light.

“But,” I fancy I hear someone say, “why pass through the darkness of evil at all?” Because, by ignorance, you have chosen to do so, and because, by doing so, you may understand both good and evil, and may the more appreciate the light by having passed through the darkness. As evil is the direct outcome of ignorance, so, when the lessons of evil are fully learned, ignorance passes away, and wisdom takes its place. But as a disobedient child refuses to learn its lessons at school, so it is possible to refuse to learn the lessons of experience, and thus to remain in continual darkness, and to suffer continually recurring punishments in the form of disease, disappointment, and sorrow. He, therefore, who would shake himself free of the evil which encompasses him, must be willing and ready to learn, and must be prepared to undergo that disciplinary process without which no grain of wisdom or abiding happiness and peace can be secured.

“But,” I imagine someone asking, “why go through the darkness of evil at all?” Because, in your ignorance, you have chosen to do so. And by doing so, you may come to understand both good and evil. You may also appreciate the light more after passing through the darkness. Just as evil comes directly from ignorance, so ignorance passes away when the lessons of evil are fully learned. Wisdom then takes its place. But a disobedient child may refuse to learn lessons at school. In the same way, a person may refuse to learn from experience. That person may remain in constant darkness and suffer recurring punishments in the form of disease, disappointment, and sorrow. So anyone who wants to break free from the evil surrounding them must be willing and ready to learn. They must also be prepared to undergo the discipline required. Without it, they cannot gain any wisdom or lasting happiness and peace.

A man may shut himself up in a dark room, and deny that the light exists, but it is everywhere without, and darkness exists only in his own little room. So you may shut out the light of Truth, or you may begin to pull down the walls of prejudice, self-seeking and error which you have built around yourself, and so let in the glorious and omnipresent Light.

A man may shut himself in a dark room and deny that light exists. But light is everywhere outside, and darkness exists only in his own little room. In the same way, you may shut out the light of Truth. Or you may begin to tear down the walls of prejudice, self-interest, and error that you have built around yourself. Then you can let in the glorious Light that is everywhere.

By earnest self-examination strive to realize, and not merely hold as a theory, that evil is a passing phase, a self-created shadow; that all your pains, sorrows and misfortunes have come to you by a process of undeviating and absolutely perfect law; have come to you because you deserve and require them, and that by first enduring, and then understanding them, you may be made stronger, wiser, nobler. When you have fully entered into this realization, you will be in a position to mould your own circumstances, to transmute all evil into good and to weave, with a master hand, the fabric of your destiny.

Through honest self-examination, try to truly realize that evil is a passing phase, a shadow you create yourself. Do not merely accept this as a theory. Realize that all your pain, sorrow, and misfortune have come to you through a law that is unwavering and absolutely perfect. They have come because you deserve and need them. By first enduring and then understanding them, you may become stronger, wiser, and nobler. Once you fully realize this, you will be able to shape your own circumstances and turn all evil into good. You will be able to weave the fabric of your destiny with a master's hand.