Good and Evil

Wisdom Teachings
Fundamentals of Spiritual Life

An ancient proverb teaches us where there is light, there is also darkness. There is no light without shadow. Just as there is day, there is also night. There is a full moon and also a new moon. Where there is knowledge, there is also ignorance. People divide the world into good and evil, but for a yogi, this division is illusory; it does not really exist.

Everything and everyone in existence has a spiritual essence. Even in so-called evil people their existence holds a spiritual essence. Existence contains the essence of everything. Occult wisdom does not divide life into good and evil but divides life into knowledge and ignorance. For the wise, there are no good and bad people, only those who know and those who do not know. Those who know have a responsibility towards those who do not know. Those who know respect both because they know the purpose of both. With both, the work can be done. We cannot reject or hate those who do not know. If we hate them, we give them even more power. A true yogi treats a worker of good will with the same ease as a worker who is engaged in evil.

The Hierarchy is neutral; it does not fall into the duality of creation. Therefore, the members of the Hierarchy are friendly to all. They are equally friendly to the good and the evil, to the divine and the diabolical beings. They have no limitations in terms of their connections, as they have reached a point where they know everything is divine. Wherever they are, they transmit divine energies into the environment. They ensure that the ignorant, i.e. those who do not have goodwill, are helped by their presence to find goodwill. Those who are of goodwill are helped to find direction and right alignment. Even when the Hierarchy disciplines some beings, they do so with kindness and love. The division between good and evil then dissolves.

The wise recognise the duality of life and regard light and darkness, or good and evil, as the two wings of the one bird called Life. They are two currents flowing from the same source. Life exists in both; without them, there is no life, no creation.

We should understand the fundamental law of change. No matter how much we struggle with darkness after sunset, darkness remains. It is an aspect of time. Life comes into being and then life is destroyed. Life appears and then withdraws. Everything works in alternation. This understanding is important. In the living body of man, animal or plant there are processes of life and death every second. Life creates what we agree with and what we do not agree with.

There are always two opposing currents that cause crises on the planet or in individual lives – individual crises, family crises, group crises, national crises, crises in humanity. All crises, at every level, have the same message for us:

Recognize and acknowledge the crisis. Observe and rise above the crisis; rise above the opposites and observe. When we rise above the oppositions, we see that they complement each other. When we are caught up in the oppositions, we see two opponents. One sees evil in the other or even labels them as the embodiment of evil. The other sees ignorance.

We read the newspaper and watch the news because we are concerned about a possible war. People then say that this side is right and that side is wrong. Others see it the other way around. This is how humanity is divided in its views. On the plane of thought, this contributes to the manifestation of an event that could actually have been avoided.

To the extent that we judge and criticize mistakes and wrongdoing in others, to that extent the mistakes begin to accumulate in us. Many people do not know this. When we see and recognize evil, we do not give it energy. We call it out if needed. In most cases we ignore it. If we see the underlying divinity, then we remain in contact with the divine.

Nothing happens without divine Will. Some evil arises from certain karma from the past that we are not aware of. Whatever we receive is in accordance with what we have done in the past. Over time, the karmic principle returns to us what we have said and done and we have a corresponding experience. If someone does us harm, we are not to react in kind. The ignorant will meet their fate through their own actions which is karma.

As seekers of truth or aspirants, our work is to know the different sides of an issue, know which side we stand upon and yet, paradoxically, remain neutral. We observe, we are dispassionate and are without prejudice. Initiates exemplify this. They are tolerant and compassionate towards the ignorant and do not reject anyone. They remain neutral while subtly supporting methods that lead to better understanding. They are considered exemplary in bringing dualities together. However, the Masters do not encourage passivity towards good or evil deeds. We are to support and encourage the one and weaken and discourage the other. In this way, we develop the qualities of a soldier who can recognize and bravely defend himself against injustice. The Masters call us to be brave and courageous soldiers like Upasika – this is the spiritual name given to Madam Blavatsky for her courageous actions and fiery aspirations.

Our tasks are to call in and transmit light so that what is harmonious and good for all can come forth. What needs to be neutralised is neutralised on both sides by our radiating light. We do not think in terms of right and wrong, but we shed light on both sides. The more we see the light, the more we are attracted to light-filled beings and activities of light. Prayers spoken in love and for the good of humanity can open the gates of heaven to normalise a situation, and such prayers are to be spoken with great effectiveness. Regular prayers also help to remove the weeds of evil from within ourselves or to keep them away from the environment.

As we become more and more attuned to and directed by the soul, we begin to transcend the pairs of opposites. Another name for soul energy is “the power of love”. Love synthesizes everything. In synthesis, we see that apparent opposites complement each other, and this understanding is true and perfect wisdom. Today, synthesis is a much-used term, but one that is rarely put into practice.

The activities of pompous, controlling people are manipulative and destructive. They cannot recognise their own manipulations because they themselves are distorted. They spread untruths which spreads faster than truths. People repeatedly present their words in such a way that their words are accepted and others are ignored. That is why untruth spreads faster than truth. In the outer world, what is truth and what is untruth is hardly known. It can only be truly recognised by someone who has discernment and discrimination.

Evil has its place in creation, but when the balance of creation is substantially threatened, the Lord descends to restore the law, the Dharma. That is why we pray to the Divine that the door to evil may be closed.

The majority of people are not evil, they are weak. They get carried away by the “mob mentality” and simply follow because everyone else is following. They usually believe the deception and delusion. A very small part of humanity is evil, a large part is weak, and a very small part of humanity is wise.

The wise inform and express themselves. The evil influence, manipulate, control, tell lies, hide the truth, clothe themselves in a false light in order to impress. They make demands, capture people’s mind and hearts, conquer the weak and even cause bloodshed. The wise cannot do this. The means and ways of the wicked are often considered to be stronger than the means and ways of the wise. But there are the Laws of Life and of Nature, which over time have the opposite effect. These are the Laws of Karma. As for the wicked, the perpetrators of evil, a correction by karmic consequences comes upon them like a tidal wave and hits them hard. The evil ones are subject to time and to the Law of Karma. What they sow, they in time, also reap.

In the meantime, the wise ones prepare seeds so that they can, as the crisis and storm abates, sow the right seeds into the minds and hearts of humanity. The present will experience its own crises, but the seeds of love and light and intelligence and truth that are sown and saved through crises will herald a new era. In the meantime, we should secure the right seeds for future generations. This is the vision of the Hierarchy that spans centuries. That is how they see, and then how and when they sow. We sow the seeds of light and love with them.

Sources used: K.P. Kumar: The Seven Waves of Life. The Path of Human Evolution. Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India (www.aquariusbookhouse.com). https://worldteachertrust.org/_media/pdf/en/the_seven_waves_of_life.pdf