Evil?
I am struck by the diversity of how people see or envision evil.
Many seem to see it as an embodied form, such as the devil or demons. Some seem to see it as actions and thoughts that are done by conscious beings who may or may not be aware that what they are doing/thinking is "evil". Others may reject the notion entirely and say no things or actions are good or evil, it is only the conscious observer who assigns the word "evil" to them. I am curious as to what your views on "evil" are and why you hold them. |
I Just don't like the word. I say negative. Evil to me is a religious word.
I think there are negative actions and behaviours of the ego. |
Evil is whatever you are trained to think it is by the majority belief in society at the time. If you want to add an esoteric religious Flair to it then although man did create evil and the devil man is the devil as well because the devil is depicted as having that triangle pointed tail in a lot of old historical paintings and depictions and he's also known as a dragon well the tail is because your sacrum makes a triangle point your spine makes a snake and it also makes a dragging when you look at the rib cage as wings and it's connected to the lower portion of your brain which is called The Reptilian Brain where all your desires come from and those desires mainly being things like food /anger/ sexual appetite /basically all the things that relations says are of the devil
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'evil' is 'live' backward - complete coincidence? woowooo :smile:
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I prefer to 'skate around' that word. I don't acknowledge it and I do not give power to claiming something as being evil. Evil is analogous to that of demons as far as I am concerned: If you believe in them,; they exist. Conversely if you don't believe in them, they don't bother you. Evil might be a thought form we energize and in some cases actually created. That just my opinion.... |
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Well, many thought his dancing was evil at that time so there is that. And you do have all the letters for Evil in Elvis, plus plural.... the Evils of Elvis... coincidence??? You are on to something there, maybe the old folks were right, it was the devil up there doing his evil dancing to the sinful music. And of course peanut butter and pickles is just plain evil. |
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So maybe seeing Elvis live was seeing evil, maybe still is since he is not really dead ya know, pretty sure I saw him alive the other day...hasn't aged a bit? |
Hi ketzer, |
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I would just amplify that by saying it is a perversion of LIFE due to ignorance. My friend quotes his grandmother as having say: "Honey Chile, if they knew better they'd do better!" :smile: I also resonate with "This is not present in lower kingdoms of Nature, but becomes a possibility in human beings due to the dual principle of reflective self-consciousness available through mind." Well thought out and well said (IMO). |
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"sin" just means to miss the mark, or error. These errors tend to lead to suffering. I do not at all believe in evil. Things called evil are actions/energy that often come from a deep well of fear or pain, or not understanding themselves/their wounds/others... if they knew better they would do better, or forgive them they know not what they do |
I think of "evil" as malicious intent to harm others.
If you harm someone out of stupidity, you're just stupid. If you know you'll hurt someone and do not care, or actually relish the thought... that's EVIL. So if there are entities in the Universe who get a thrill out of harming humans or other living things... then yes, those are evil, whatever else you may call them. |
Interesting, I see evil more like an illness :D A sign something is wrong and needs correcting lol.
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I see your point...... but...... what is 'wrong' is something I have a hard time with. I look at it as 'just being'. And then you look, some people will agree that 'wrong' is evil and other people might look at the 'wrong' as good and some people might not even have an opinion. |
Evil
1. Profoundly immoral and wicked. 1.1. (of a force of spirit) embodying or associated with the forces of the devil. 1.2. Harmful or tending to harm. 1.3. (of a smell or sight) extremely unpleasant. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/evil Evil exists! |
Evil/Live
As above so below blah blah blah |
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If one believes a teaching to be a powerfully persuasive perversion of truth, then one may consciously choose to remain ignorant of it for fear of ones mind becoming perverted by its power. Many religions teach that teachings outside of their own orthodox dogma are dangerous and misleading and could result in the soul going astray and succumbing to evil. Of course religions have their own self serving reasons for teaching this, but nonetheless, such dangerous and misleading teachings that could lead one astray do exist. For example, one may become persuaded by Nazi propaganda, convinced that one is saving the world from a great evil. So what then is the best path to take? Do we expose our mind to all teachings and philosophies and hope we do not get drawn down dangerous paths of ignorance and false truths, or do we try to avoid exposing our minds to false, yet deceptive and persuasive, teachings? Just how confident are we in the evolved state of our consciousness to recognize the difference? How many times have I allowed myself to be fooled in the past, only to look back in wonder in how I let it happen? |
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Huh? How could anyone remain ignorant of what they know? If I know enough about some construct to determine its truth value as being harmful, evil, how can I then ‘unknow’ it? I might choose to not utilize it, but to remain ignorant of what I know? |
Evil is relative. What one calls evil another migth say innocent, safe, benign, etc. |
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It's not relative. You may refer to different perspectives we can have when committing deeds. I think most people are unwilling to admit that evil is or can be a part of them, so they come up with excuses when they hurt others. At that moment they may think it was necessary or there was no other way, but it does not change the impact it has on the recipient. |
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I share the following 'philosophical' premise from my treatise as a possible 'corrective' in said regard: A soul’s being and becoming process does not depend on any external event‑factor – on whether one is physiosocially handicapped or privileged, for instance; or on how biologically young or old one is when he, she or it ‘dies’; or the relative degree of personal pleasure or pain, success or failure, affirmation or rejection, welcome or persecution, etc. one experiences while one is still ‘alive’. Any and all worldly events and conditions are just ‘fodder’ for a nascent soul’s development, ‘grist’ for its psychospiritual ‘mill’ to make what it wishes to become out of. As already suggested, ‘situations’ and ‘occurrences’ are just incarnational stage-prop ‘set-ups’ which provide souls with challenges and opportunities whereby they may be stimulated and enabled to ‘grow’ to become more Love and Joy capable and adept if and as these are responded to and utilized with such purpose in mind and heart. This statement pertains no matter how daunting, in terms of what one thinks and feels one can possibly cope with, or how unjust, in terms of what one thinks and feels, and so ‘judges’ to unacceptable, an event or condition may initially be experienced as really being! |
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There are various Christian groups that claim what we believe is dark and evil whereas most of us believe what we believe is very good... even enlightening. How can that be..... perspective. |
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Agreeing with Jyotir |
In my opinion what we call “evil” is the activity of bondage, as the soul, our deeper being,
seeks to set us consciously free. Bondage is a test of faith, and that is the purpose of what many call “evil.” Alas, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. In knowing, and experiencing that truth of being, all evil vanishes. There is really no such thing as “evil,” there is only the illusion of bondage and the reality of freedom. |
Whatever one may believe about evil it was unknown until mankind appeared upon the scene. Good and evil (as we understand them to be ) have stepped outside nature. A dinosaur killing a tiger for lunch was quite normal, had the same dinosaur killed and eaten my cousin Harry it would be evil.
We now all live in a world of goodies and baddies, cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, and so on. We all know that certain religions, countries, politics and beliefs are inferior to ours and that only we see the world in a true light. We are also quite prepared to bomb, desecrate, destroy, ruin, eliminate and remove all we consider to be some kind of evil. With good intentions of course. Sometimes even in God's name. |
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Self-(ego)-interest I would say. In the myth, Lucifer (a/k/a Satan) just couldn't stand being subordinate, i.e. not being 'Number One'. He responded to the 'failure' of his 'rebellion' in said regard by becoming 'vengeful' and willfully aiming to desecrate Life. This is the kind of 'evil' I think Jyotir/Aurobindo spoke of. P.S. IMO, self is actually a necessary (and potentially beneficial) tool/means for serving the 'cause' (meaning purpose) of Life which (I think) is to maximally experience and express Love and Joy in relationship to and with others (who in combination constitute Life's Being-n-Doing). It is when 'self' rebelliously runs rampant (goes 'crazy' and puts its 'own' Love and Joy 'ahead' of that of co-related others) that Life ends up being dis-severed and de-secrated. For all the 'damage' it does, 'evil' is a short-sighted and ultimately pathetic 'rebellion', however. As the myth accurately (IMO) portrays, in terms of 'its' goals', it is 'doomed' to eventually 'fail'. (What's more, it also inadvertently ends up serving Life' purpose, as it 'wakes up' those who are positively relational at heart to what not to 'fall' :smile: for!) |
A child sex ring, in my opinion would be considered evil acts.
I believe the word speaks to acts that create physical or moral and other injury knowingly. |
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We may think evil does not have to exist, but we do not know how to exclude it. |
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Some people believe if a 12 year old gets pregnant by somebody who is an adult, the person who got her pregnant is evil. But then...... most people believe Mother Mary got pregnant when she was 12 and had Jesus when she was 13. Similar conflict of beliefs occur over issues of war. For example, some believe if they get drafted, they are not fully responsible for their actions. |
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Bondage is the same whether we are in bondage or we place someone else in bondage. Notwithstanding people who are a danger to themselves or others, in my opinion, need to be locked up in either a mental health or correctional facility. I visited inmates on death row at a prison and they seemed mentally and emotionally freer than some people who were living freely in society. I have spoken to military veterans who had been P.O.W.’s and some of them told me that while their body was imprisoned their mind was free. So bondage as I see it is more mental and emotional than it is physical. Bondage is and illusion because it is illusive, it comes and goes. While freedom is a natural state of our soul, and everlasting state. As far as Satan is concerned, if there be such and entity that entity was created by God. I know the story that he was once and angel who disobeyed God. But in my opinion he still works for God. As God has dominion over all, including heaven and hell, to use Christian references. In this respect what we call “evil” most likely serves a Godly purpose. As I see it, the darkness is nothing more than the shadow of the light. It’s like pictures that used to have a negative. The picture was a positive representation while the negative was devoid of appearances. But today most still pictures are digital without negatives. Yes, I would agree, we place ourselves in bondage, especially if we are referring to internal bondage. |
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Good points that for some odd reason, most Christians can not grasp. |
I associate evil with intense desires in the form of cravings and aversions, which are responsible for all crimes like murder, rape, theft, paedophilia, brutality and minor vices like gluttony, dishonesty, arrogance, partiality, jealousy and so on.
Evil can also be associated with negativity, emotivity and reactivity.... I have created a thread in this regard elaborating this.... http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/sh...ad.php?t=63983 |
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I see your points. But then those who do evil, are they doing the evil or are they being over shadowed by someone who does the evil? |
For better or worst we are all possessed.:icon_eek:
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Untrue. God does not ask that children be raped or hurt. Yes God is with everyone but it doesn’t mean everyone is with God. Bless. |
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Some people say the Devil or Satan or Shaitan made them commit the crime or do evil, but I would say it is just an excuse. You create and attract whatever is there within you. This is why it is said that the greatest Jihad is the Jihad against one's own self, or impurities within oneself. The Prajapita Brahmakumaris state the same thus, "When we change, the world changes." By getting rid of the vices and lower state of consciousness within oneself and by creating a higher state of consciousness through meditation, love and virtuous conduct, we can effect a positive change on the world and its collective state of consciousness. Individual transformation only can bring about world transformation. Thus all depends on individual responsibility. |
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I respect that you see it as "untrue," but what I am referring to is internal and what you are referring to is external human behavior. Internal feelings take us over and manifest in all sorts of ways, depending on our maturity or immaturity. All the emotions in existence have been put there by God to serve the purpose of our own growth and development. What we do with those emotions, thoughts and feelings, is a product of our own ego. Again, we may be in bondage to certain feelings and impose those feelings on others. What we see in this world, whether we call it "good" or "evil" comes from within us. We are responsible for our outward behavior, and I feel life is about lessons, and I don't know what the lessons are for others, barely are aware of my own lessons. The lessons may look harsh on the surface but the impetus for those lessons came from within. Nonetheless, I do accept that we are often tested. You are talking about the victims of others failed tests. Every circumstance of my life is about God dealing with my soul. We are all victims and we are all perpetrators; for example most people in the U.S., and elsewhere, have purchased things that were produced by slave labor, etc. Regardless I try to have compassion for others without judgement. P.S. Personal disclosure: I know what it is like to be raped as a child and I worked as a social worker with children who had been sexually abused. When something happens to us we often ask "why." I worked with kids right here in the U.S. who were the victims of generational sexual abuse. Great grandparents had sex with their kids, and their kids had sex with their kids, and on and on. |
Thank you Starman. I feel great sadness sometimes, at the world, but also spend most of my time doing nothing, or not enough, about it.
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In my opinion the best thing we can do for this world is bring joy and love into it. For me, quieting my mind helps in doing that. Happiness is and inside job. I also try not to compare my life with the life of others, although volunteer work with those in abject need has often helped me to appreciate my situation. We do not have to do much, little things add up, like just smiling at someone or offering them good tidings. I was in and office building walking down the hallway when I saw a small child alone by himself, on his toes trying to get a drink from a public water fountain. I went over and asked him if he needed help getting a drink, he shook his head yes, and I lifted him in my arms and pressed the button so he could get a drink. He gulped down the water, and then I placed him back on his feet on the floor. Noticing that a woman with a child in her arms was standing a few feet away smiling and looking at us. Turns out the woman was his mother, and the child said "thank you" to me in a sweet child-like voice and ran over to her. I went on my way, but that simple act made my day, and I remember it with joy even to this day. Each person has to find what works for them, and sometimes the search seems long. Find out what you have a passion for and try to go with that. Depression is the most widespread mental disturbance in the world. Most people have acute depression, some have episodic depression, while others have chronic depression. Not watching a lot of T.V. helps me stay away from depression. Trying to inspire others, and spreading love and laughter, without expectations, I think is the best medicine. |
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