Tagged: good and evil
Beyond good and evil
In a rare sunny afternoon in the middle of Winter, the master and his disciple had a conversation on the master’s house rooftop, while overseeing human “progress” in a classical crowded, busy city: Buildings upon buildings of concrete with the characteristic background noise of cars, motorcycles, horns and even fruit salesmen with megaphones, voicing their latest deals. That setting was perfect to practice observation and appreciation skills. Nevertheless, the master had a few pots there, with gorgeous aloe plants and geraniums to look at, and practice those same skills. The art of appreciating Life is in finding beauty in everything.
The disciple asked: “Master, why is it that good people seem to have so many problems to deal with? My neighbor’s kid ran away from her house then she lost all of her savings during a fire. She is a good person! Why does Life seem to be so unfair?”
The master listened attentively and replied:” Our judgment shows our conditioning. Life events occur as consequences of our actions and emotions. Today you may learn something new. Many are not ready for this yet but, you are. Good and evil are part of the human perception of a society ruled by the misunderstanding of duality. It is conditioning. Life itself is beyond those definitions, those borders created by the human mind.”
The disciple was surprised and replied: “ But master, I see people harming another. We cannot call that good.”
The master listened and smiled: “ If we cannot call that good, we call it bad, evil and we will throw in our emotional charge to demonstrate our rejection. Correct? That is exactly the point. Those labels could be used only to identify something due to the limits of language but if you judge, you are missing the point. If you observe someone harming another, do you reject that one? Look at your emotions. If you find rejection, distaste, you are judging based on your social conditioning. Remain unbiased, even if you participate to avoid further harm. ”
The disciple responded:” But what is wrong with that, master? I will do what is necessary to stop that fight and side with the good ones.”
The master smiled and said: “ Observe how you continue using those dualistic words: good, bad, right, wrong to emit judgment. Do as you wish, but observe that your feelings remain unmovable to either side. Let me explain: A strong Earthquake will kill many. Shall we label that as bad and reject that? Interestingly, many call an Earthquake an ‘act of God’ but yet in their minds, that God is good. Do you see the deceiving game of words and judgment? We do not know about the different events that will happen in Life, for Life is uncertain. There is no security in it; but yet if events are suitable to our viewpoint, we label those as good and pretend to find security in them by holding on with something that will change. We experience fear instead, which we then label as bad. That is the conditioning that we need to become aware of. More important than those labels are the emotions that we send out. Those are actions in itself and that which we emotionally reject, will be attracted toward us like a magnet. Our emotional charge becomes the strength of that magnet. Do you remember the time when you saw a couple fighting? What happened?”
The disciple remembered that episode. The boy was starting to beat up the girl and the disciple tried to separate them. To his surprise, the girl said to him: “ Why do you interfere with our fight? Who gives you that right?”
The disciple said: “ I thought I was doing the right thing. But obviously, they didn’t think so.”
The master smiled and said: “Now, you are starting to understand. You acted with an emotional impulse based on your conditioning of what is right to do. You did not feel inside you whether your presence was required there. You did not ask first, if you could be helpful. You merely thought to be right… and that gave you the right. Similarly, you will find out that our social conditioning is very limited to understand Life. Look at the Sun up there. It is giving light to all. It is not judging who is good or bad, who deserves this or that. Ruminate on this: People are caught in the duality of good and evil but Life and the angelic realm are beyond good and evil.”
Our mental conditioning is our own demise
Within the words “reason and logic” our society has built its own way of looking and understanding the world. We say “the world around us” but it is truly within us.
The following has been taught and accepted by the great majority:
“There is good and bad. The “good” needs to prevail over the “bad.” We should strive to become good and eliminate evil completely.”
Most “normal” people will agree with that. After all, it is “logical,” “reasonable;” in a world where good and evil exists, one side has to fight the other and “win.” A logical, but violent deduction from a conditioned mind.
99% of movies, are made to fit that paradigm. We are fed with that idea day and night.
Traditional medicine, observes that paradigm as well. “The body fights against pathogens which are the cause of diseases.” That is the belief. Since pathogens are spread out like soldiers, traditional medicine will send a drug (an internal atomic bomb) to destroy “everything,” the pathogens and the defense mechanisms of the body included. Never mind any side effects and complications.
A person may have deep emotional issues or he may be negligent by eating traditional “fast food” on a regular basis; but we only see bacteria as the logical cause of the disease and we need to fight and “win.”
There are many more examples where the mindset of “us” against “them,” prevails.
Do we see the consequences of that limited view of Life? We have been conditioned to fight as a way of living.
Is a “reasonable” explanation enough to gain our belief? The worship of that little word “reason” is truly limiting our understanding of Life. I am not speaking about society with its “reasons.” I am speaking about Life.
Life is birth and death. Life is ups and downs. Life is our ability to enjoy and to mourn. Life is that empty sensation yearning to be filled with some meaning while still alive. We fill that with beliefs trying to convince ourselves that we are on the “right” track.
In the following ending paragraphs, lies my legacy to the “spiritually minded” future generations:
Life cannot be understood by the mind.
Good and bad are not separated.
A theist and an atheist are walking the same path.
Politics is violence.
What we were taught to believe and take as facts, are not the “truth” we thought they were. Go beyond beliefs. Find out for yourself.
Waking up from the dreamy world hasn’t been easy, but when it is our time; there is nothing we can do about it … but open our eyes.
Will resume writing on January 9, 2020.
Best wishes for the new year! 🙂
The intricacies of Morality
For many individuals, Morality is synonym of “righteousness”, “good”, “sainthood”, etc.
Going deeper into the significance of morality, we may discover that it takes away the inherent innocence of an individual to turn him into some sort of preconditioned robot, who is expected to display a certain behavior under certain circumstances. Our society believes that “good” is something that can be DONE regardless of who you truly ARE.
In our society, morality is necessary. Without it individuals would behave in distinct ways which could be unmanageable.
Thus, morality exists as a way of management.
“Who manages who?”
Those with power will manage those without them. Those with power are the few. Those without it, the many.
This is the basic game, the struggle of human beings.
I cannot show up naked to work, for that is “immoral.” If I do, there will be consequences coming from those with power.
There is nothing wrong with being naked or so we are told; the body is beautiful, right? until “morality” is invented. Add some religious morality to the mix, to feel shame of our body. That is the “double standard.”
The surgeon general warning says “smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and may complicate pregnancy…” Nevertheless, cigarettes are “morally” sold to the public under the belief that because someone is 18 years or older, they know what is “best for them.” The magic of a number.
Therefore, “morality” is just a convention to play a game by following certain rules. I am not saying not to play it. Play it by all means, but know that it is not the “true game,” or the “only one.” That space will allow us not to be caught up. It is a game.
However, many will worship that word and take it to an extreme, just to show self-righteousness, ego.
Life, Nature is void of morality. Are you aware of that?
“But those are animals… what can you expect from them?”
Those “animals” know how to live Life harmoniously with their environment. Humans have lost that precious gift, thanks to their emphasis of using only the mind. The “moral” human is destroying his own environment. Fascinating!
What do all Hollywood movies have in common?
The plot of the fight between “good”, and “bad.” That is the “moral” versus the “immoral.”
Although “bad”, “immoral” is rejected, without them there will not be a movie, no plot to make profit. Our society and “spiritual values” will teach us to reject, despise our own shadow; paradoxically, by living in the shadows and away from light.
Light becomes only a mental, intellectual teaching when it is separated from the shadow.
That sort of insanity has been around for hundreds of years. The consequence is a divided man. A human who is unable to fully accept himself, that is incapable of loving the totality of himself.
Do you know about the teaching of “becoming better”? Our society continuously puts that carrot in front of us, donkeys.
“Better, moral, good” … Nice, pretty labels. We have already been conditioned to fully accept them, without going into these things with depth.
Who has the time, when there is so much to accomplish, so much stuff out there to build a “better” ego?
Time is money it is morally said… but in Life, time is change, and change… takes time, not money. 🙂
Exploring the Depth of Living 