Isvara in Good and Evil

Isvara in Good and Evil

The universe consists of both good and evil. There are many good things happening in the universe. There is love, service, charity, knowledge and so on. At the same time there are evils like stealth, deception etc.

If there is an Isvara, he should be all-pervasive. Therefore, Isvara is present in both good and evil alike. “I am the gambling of the deceivers” says Bhagavan in Gita (10.36).

Then, is the Isvara affected by the evil? He is not. He transcends both good and evil. The Sun illumines both good and bad, pure and impure. Yet, remains unaffected, untouched. The space accommodates both good and bad, small and big objects; yet remains unaffected. Likewise, Isvara, in spite of being the support of both good and evil, transcends good and evil.

The scriptures use the word ‘Antaryami’ to describe Isvara. Antaryami means the one who is present in everything (antah) and sustains everything (yami). He is present in every object in the universe as the sustaining principle.

The universe is a collection of various objects like space, the earth, the Sun, the Moon, stars, mountains, oceans and so on. All these are meaning of various words. We human beings have a tendency to name every object we come across. Therefore, the universe consists words (nama) and their meanings (rupa).

Every nama-rupa is associated with the “is”. There is no object in the universe without the idea of “is”, which means existence. There is existence in mountain, river, ocean, trees and so on. We cannot conceive of any object without existence.

The objects appear to be different from each other. On closer enquiry, an object differs from another in terms of nama-rupa and not in existence. There is no difference in the existence of a pot and existence of a cloth. Therefore, if we keep the name and form aside, the whole universe is one undivided existence – the Brahman, which is the true nature of Isvara. The Brahman transcends good and Evil. Therefore, if our goal is Brahman, our goal does not end in becoming good. Our goal is to transcend both good and evil.

There is no Absolute Good and Absolute Evil

Good and evil are relative. According to the western religions, there is a God and a Satan. God is absolutely good and Satan absolutely evil. It sounded true when I was a child. As I grow, I understand, there is nothing in the world that is absolutely good or absolutely evil. Good and evil are relative.

Some of our emotions are considered good and some are bad. Yet, no emotion is absolutely good or evil. Let us take the instance of lust. We would not have been born without lust. Lust – Kama – is a manifestation of Isvara. Yet, lust is also evil.

Anger is generally considered evil. We have been taught that anger is not good. If our soldiers on the border do not get angry with the enemies, who would have fought for our country? Their anger is our defence, our protection.

Thus, good and evil are relative. On many instances, our Perception Determines good and evil. In many cases, social or cultural norms decide good and evil.

There are no two exclusive powers that determine good and evil. There is only one power – one shakti. It pervades both good and evil. It is present both in Devatas and Asuras. Ya devi Sarvabhuteshu Samsthita – Devi Mahatmyam.

The fights between Devatas and Asuras symbolise the fight between knowledge and ignorance. The same divinity is present in asuras also. What makes them asura is ignorance. Once the ignorance is destroyed, he is no longer Asura.