====== The Inner Life ====== == THE HERALD OF THE NEW AGE | OCTOBER 1937 == ---- ==== THE ORIGIN OF EVIL ==== DEAR SIR and Brother: Your letter has been forwarded to me for attention; you do not approve of the use of the term “powers of evil,” but it is evident that you are not very clear as to what you do, or do not, believe. In one sentence you say that as there is only “One Presence, One Power, One Intelligence—Universal Mind, in which we all live and move and have our being, therefore there can be no evil,” etc. In the following sentence you say, “The only evil power which I recognize is man’s carnal mind, which is enmity against God,” etc. That is the crux of the whole matter. There is evil in the universe, and you yourself admit it. As all life is force, or power, it is evident that there are Powers of Evil just as much as there are Powers of Good. If you still doubt that fact you have only to consider the world around you. The truth is that you are up against the old, old problem of the “origin of evil.” Every reasonable being knows that evil does exist, but the lower mind cannot reconcile that fact with the other fact of Omnipresent Good. That is the problem. First, realize that all manifested being is dual—light and darkness, heat and cold, energy and inertia, and so on, ad lib. The very essence of manifestation is duality—that which is, and that which it becomes. Therefore, the First Primary Law on every plane of Being is Polarity—positive and negative—the “Pairs of Opposites.” These are inseparable from manifestation. The next step is to realize that the nature of universal manifestation is positive and negative. In the ultimate analysis you will find that the one condition or aspect is merely the absence of the other. Thus darkness is absence of light, cold is the absence of heat, inertia is the absence of energy, etc. None of these are qualities, in themselves, and have no actual active existence—they are negative. Add to the above list the qualities “good” and “evil” and you approach the solution of your problem. Good, or “God,” is positive and eternally self-existent, and as you say, is everywhere present. Granted. But it is not everywhere and at all times manifested, and in that fact lies the other half of your explanation. Remember that the whole Universe is in process of unfoldment—it is not as yet perfect. On certain planes (or states of being) the Principle of Good, while it is ever-present, is not in active manifestation, and wherever that is the case we have that state of negation which most men refer to as “evil.” Remember that every plane of manifested existence is made up of living intelligences. None of these are as yet perfect, in the sense of absolute perfection. In some the positive, or good, predominates; in others, the negative state, or “evil.” This applies to spiritual beings, human beings, and sub-human beings. To those spiritual beings who are negatively polarized, we apply the term “Powers of Evil.” Man is either a power for evil or a power for good, depending on the state of his unfoldment or evolution. The same applies to the sub-human kingdoms. Also bear in mind that a law of Nature operates on all planes; it is invariable and without exception. You know quite well that the Law of Polarities is universal; you cannot have a positive pole on any plane, without its corresponding negative. Therefore if you have “God” or “Good” or all-embracing Bliss, there must be its opposite pole in manifestation. Ultimately, and in the course of untold aeons of time, the Positive or Bliss will absorb unto Itself the negative or non-Bliss. When that end is consummated, we have Universal Pralaya, withdrawal from Manifestation, the end of a Maha-manvantara. I trust that this brief and incomplete explanation will be of assistance to you. These problems are not easy for the mind of the ordinary man to grasp. The purpose of “The Three Truths”* is to help the wayfaring man to realize and understand the fundamental truths of existence.—From Foundation Life and Teachings. ————o———— //*See page 8 of the front Advertising Section herein. Also there will be found on the same page a description of “Foundation Letters and Teachings,” from which the above article is taken, being the 13th of the very illuminating “Early Letters” written by the Founder of the Aquarian Foundation, which organization had its brief existence in 1926-28, and during that time made a profound impression upon thinkers in the Occult and Metaphysical world by the many new truths proclaimed.// ---- {{ theoriginofevil193710-1024.jpg |}} ---- {{ theoriginofevil193710-1025.jpg |}} ---- //← [[jesus_christ_oct37|previous]] // | [[:the_inner_life_vol._5|The Inner Life 1937]] | // [[can_we_teach_the_dead|next]] → //