Good VS. Evil - Is There More To It Than That?

I've been wanting to write something on this for a LONG time, and although this is hardly a thorough examination or explanation, I hope it gives you a little bit of clarity on different views. 

Often this idea of evil comes up, as in, IS there such a thing as evil?  My first response to that would be "Look around!"  In my mind, there is no question that there is evil, and at present a LOT of it.  

Firstly, note that in the last sentence, I said, "In my mind". Hmm...  So here is the first point.  To the mind, there is good and evil. But is there a place where there is NO good or evil?  Good question.  ( or is it an "Evil" question??) :-D   

Secondly, good and evil is a dichotomy - a binary or duality.  But there are other ways to look at it, one of which is much more refined - and that is through the "gunas" or qualities, or "modes of nature".  

There are three primary gunas - Sattva (goodness), Rajas (passion), and Tamas (darkness or ignorance). These three also intermingle to make nine; those nine intermingle to make 81, etc.  So according to the Vedic outlook, everything within the material sphere is made up of some combination of those gunas.  

The Bhagavad Gita explains:

"It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.

Material nature consists of the three modes--goodness, passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes.

O sinless one, the mode of goodness being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode develop knowledge, but they become conditioned by the concept of happiness.

The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunti, and because of this one is bound to material fruitive activities.

O son of Bharata, the mode of ignroance causes the delusion of all living entities. The result of this mode is madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul.

The mode of goodness conditions one to happiness, passion conditions him to the fruits of action, and ignorance to madness."  14.4-9

There is a LOT of information here, and probably best is to simply read it over a few times.  The first verse points out that ALL life comes from God, and that our true home is elsewhere, but God "injects" the spirit essence into the material nature. He is the Father of all life.  

Secondly, ALL material nature consists of these three qualities, or modes of nature, in near unlimited variations or combinations of those three modes.  It doesn't matter if it's your body (or your mind), a tree, a rock, the ocean, the sun, fruits and vegetables or a hamburger - it all is some combination of the gunas.  

Krsna continues that:

"Sometimes the mode of passion becomes prominent, defeating the mode of goodness, O son of Bharata. And sometimes the mode of goodness defeats passion, and at other times the mode of ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy." 14.10

This is going on whether we're talking about your own body, your mind, or even the nation states - these 3 modes are ever in flux.  Basically, the material universe IS an ocean of these modes, intermingling to create everything here, from supremely elevated and beautiful, to most low, ugly and demented.

Explaining the results of the modes of nature further:

"The manifestations of the mode of GOODNESS can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge.

O chief of the Bharatas, when there is an increase in the mode of PASSION, the symptoms of great attachment, uncontrollable desire, hankering, and intense endeavor develop.

O son of Kuru, when there is an increase in the mode of IGNORANCE, madness, illusion, inertia and darkness are manifested." 14.11-13

So, essentially, what we call Good and Evil are simply combinations the modes.  Things which tend to more on the Sattvic side we generally call Good, while things that are more made up of Tamasic and Rajasic we consider evil. 

The Gita goes on to explain and categorize a number of things into these basic classifications, for instance, the foods we eat, the work we do, the types of spiritual activities we perform, etc. Everything is classified into these modes, and the result of those either elevates us or lowers us.  In other words - Karma.  

Spiritual vs Material

Another duality here is the basic one of Spiritual existence vs. material existence.  Is there a place where there is NO good and evil?  Yes, that would be the spiritual sphere, because in that experience, EVERYTHING is God/ The Absolute.  There can be no evil where all is God, because within that sphere there IS no good or evil...just God.  

Even here, good and evil are delineated by the Mind.  The mind determines that THIS is good, but THAT is evil.  But that is largely determined by cultural beliefs.  A common example is eating animals.  In some cultures, the idea of eating dogs is abhorent, while in other cultures they can be a delicacy. Same with cows, or pigs or monkey brains.  And to others the idea of eating ANY kind of animal meat is no different than eating another human being!  Absolutely inconceivable. Then you have fruitarians who will only eat that which has been offered via the trees and bushes and involves no killing of an animal OR plant. You could continue onto Breatharians, who only consume Prana or the vital energy all around us. 

But everything in the universe can fall into these categories. The whole world of politics is almost nothing except which side is good and the other evil.  (It didn't use to be like that. It was okay to have differing political views. Now now evidently.)  

Anyhoo....If instead of looking at something as Good OR Evil, if one assesses them according to the Gunas, the modes of nature, one might get a clearer vision of a things characteristics.  Sattva, the mode of goodness, clarifies and pacifies and controls virtues and qualities such as joy, wisdom, and altruism, while the mode of passion, confuses and impels, and controls greed, anger, lust, ambition, and frustration. Ignorance obscures and impedes and controls laziness, delusion, and apathy.  So, if you assess a thing based on it's qualities, rather than a quick mental delineation of good or evil, you might have a better clue. 

Take, for instance, Government.  Does government (in general) clarify and pacify (Goodness), confuse and impel (Passion), or obscure and impede (Ignorance)???  I can tell you what I think, but, we'll leave it at that.  :-D  

 

Map of Consciousness

Not to make things any MORE confusing, but we can also look at systems that have a scale like nature.  One fairly recent example is David Hawkins Map of Consciousness. (See above)  To be honest, I'm only vaguely familiar with it, so can't elucidate in any depth, but this system places people (primarily I believe) on a scale from Zero to 1,000.  In this range, emotions such as guilt have a "location" of 30, fear of 100, pride 175, etc.  Going up in the scale, we have acceptance at 350, reason at 400 and love at 500.  Even Peace is only at 600, and then you have Enlightenment in the 700 to 1,000 range.   

But no matter what system you use, in the end, the idea is to go beyond all of them.  As Lord/Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:

"The Vedas (and all scriptures) mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature (because everything IN the material universe consists of these modes).  Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to ALL of them. Be free from ALL dualities (such as good and evil) and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the SELF."  Gita 2.45

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हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे 

हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे