Good and Evil--Part II: Evil
I was trying to think of a fancy or clever title for this post. Something to embody and encapsulate evil. But I decided, or realized rather, that evil is just one of those words that needs no embellishment. What it represents is so evocative that it needs no dressing up. Evil: just, evil.
So what images does this evocative word conjure? Of course, this may vary from person to person. Maybe when I say evil the name “Harry” flashes in your mind as you remember the evil ex-boyfriend with wandering eyes. Or perhaps you think “neighbors” as images of your evil, music-blasting-til-4am co-dwellers flood your mindwaves. Whatever the case, particulars aside, there are some general images that are not unlikely candidates for immediate word association.
Try: “devil” “hell” “fire” “witch” “satan” “satanic” “angel” (you know, in case you’re one of those opposite-thought types) “cruel” “demonic” “pain” etc. I doubt, though I have conducted no sociological studies to confirm the matter, that most people would think of the word “ego” as an immediate correlated term. Ego, evil; evil, ego. Perhaps the association should be stronger than it is.
Somehow, many of us have fooled ourselves into believing that ego is a good thing. That at the root of most of our problems is a lack of confidence, low self-esteem, not enough pride. But maybe that’s not the problem at all. Maybe spending so much time thinking about ourselves is the problem. Good bad negative positive confident insecure— it doesn’t matter. Why should the bulk of our thoughts center on our own small, insignificant selves?
As I mentioned in Part I, in the Bahá’í Faith we do not recognize evil as an independent force that exists on its own. Rather evil represents a turning away from good. A purely materialistic outlook that would have us behave as though we were nothing more than breathing bodies with animalistic needs to satisfy, rather than noble souls with heavenly aspirations to fulfill.
In more concrete terms, one of the greatest hindrances to this turning towards good is our ego. Our ego binds us to the material world. Our ego feeds a competitive nature which seeks to prove that we are better than others rather than in harmony with others. This is not by any means a plea for mediocrity. We should all strive for excellence at all times. But the drive behind this striving should not be to improve our status or inflate the positive perception others have of us. Because that kind of motivation may begin as a seemingly innocent one and can soon turn into greed, dishonesty, and a justification of any and all means for mostly self-serving ends.
So, then, even if we accept that evil is a lower nature within us that we have to struggle against, what about those who seem to fail this struggle on a pretty daily basis—are they “evil”? Are they rejected souls in the sight of God?
In “The Promulgation of Universal Peace”, ‘Abdu’l-Baha explains in beautiful language how we must treat all people, regardless of their condition, and in this passage, he also touches upon the idea of the lower nature of man. He says:
Maybe the desire to label others, to brand them as rejected, evil, incurable, is another manifestation of our own evil inclinations. Maybe we feel better about ourselves when we can condemn others. Because if my neighbor Becca is a gossip and a rampant liar, my occasional white lies aren’t all that bad, right? I’m not all that bad, right? In fact, I’m awesome. Not like that lying, spattling wench, Becca.
And so it goes.
And we so we must find the balance. Not to dwell on the flaws of others to make ourselves feel good, and simply not to dwell on ourselves- period. We should be aware of our strengths and weaknesses but not be prideful due to the former or feel deflated by the latter.
When we center our thoughts on God, when we work hard to inspect our motives and behave more selflessly, then will we be apart from evil.
So what images does this evocative word conjure? Of course, this may vary from person to person. Maybe when I say evil the name “Harry” flashes in your mind as you remember the evil ex-boyfriend with wandering eyes. Or perhaps you think “neighbors” as images of your evil, music-blasting-til-4am co-dwellers flood your mindwaves. Whatever the case, particulars aside, there are some general images that are not unlikely candidates for immediate word association.
Try: “devil” “hell” “fire” “witch” “satan” “satanic” “angel” (you know, in case you’re one of those opposite-thought types) “cruel” “demonic” “pain” etc. I doubt, though I have conducted no sociological studies to confirm the matter, that most people would think of the word “ego” as an immediate correlated term. Ego, evil; evil, ego. Perhaps the association should be stronger than it is.
Somehow, many of us have fooled ourselves into believing that ego is a good thing. That at the root of most of our problems is a lack of confidence, low self-esteem, not enough pride. But maybe that’s not the problem at all. Maybe spending so much time thinking about ourselves is the problem. Good bad negative positive confident insecure— it doesn’t matter. Why should the bulk of our thoughts center on our own small, insignificant selves?
As I mentioned in Part I, in the Bahá’í Faith we do not recognize evil as an independent force that exists on its own. Rather evil represents a turning away from good. A purely materialistic outlook that would have us behave as though we were nothing more than breathing bodies with animalistic needs to satisfy, rather than noble souls with heavenly aspirations to fulfill.
In more concrete terms, one of the greatest hindrances to this turning towards good is our ego. Our ego binds us to the material world. Our ego feeds a competitive nature which seeks to prove that we are better than others rather than in harmony with others. This is not by any means a plea for mediocrity. We should all strive for excellence at all times. But the drive behind this striving should not be to improve our status or inflate the positive perception others have of us. Because that kind of motivation may begin as a seemingly innocent one and can soon turn into greed, dishonesty, and a justification of any and all means for mostly self-serving ends.
So, then, even if we accept that evil is a lower nature within us that we have to struggle against, what about those who seem to fail this struggle on a pretty daily basis—are they “evil”? Are they rejected souls in the sight of God?
In “The Promulgation of Universal Peace”, ‘Abdu’l-Baha explains in beautiful language how we must treat all people, regardless of their condition, and in this passage, he also touches upon the idea of the lower nature of man. He says:
[Some] souls are weak; we must endeavor to strengthen them. Some are ignorant, uninformed of the bounties of God; we must strive to make them knowing. Some are ailing; we must seek to restore them to health. Some are immature as children; they must be trained and assisted to attain maturity. We nurse the sick in tenderness and the kindly spirit of love; we do not despise them because they are ill. Therefore, we must exercise extreme patience, sympathy and love toward all mankind, considering no soul as rejected. If we look upon a soul as rejected, we have disobeyed the teachings of God. God is loving to all. Shall we be unjust or unkind to anyone? Is this allowable in the sight of God? God provides for all. Is it befitting for us to prevent the flow of His merciful provisions for mankind? God has created all in His image and likeness. Shall we manifest hatred for His creatures and servants? This would be contrary to the will of God and according to the will of Satan, by which we mean the natural inclinations of the lower nature. This lower nature in man is symbolized as Satan — the evil ego within us, not an evil personality outside.
Maybe the desire to label others, to brand them as rejected, evil, incurable, is another manifestation of our own evil inclinations. Maybe we feel better about ourselves when we can condemn others. Because if my neighbor Becca is a gossip and a rampant liar, my occasional white lies aren’t all that bad, right? I’m not all that bad, right? In fact, I’m awesome. Not like that lying, spattling wench, Becca.
And so it goes.
And we so we must find the balance. Not to dwell on the flaws of others to make ourselves feel good, and simply not to dwell on ourselves- period. We should be aware of our strengths and weaknesses but not be prideful due to the former or feel deflated by the latter.
When we center our thoughts on God, when we work hard to inspect our motives and behave more selflessly, then will we be apart from evil.
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