mercy

[Guest guest]

My dearest friends and Siblings,

It has long been my custom to search for truth

and wisdom in a very many places, and I have very

often found it in unlikely sources.

There is much attention these days here in the

USA concerning a book first published 50 years ago in

the UK. It is a set called "Lord of the Rings." A

movie version of this book was just released recently,

filmed mostly in New Zealand. I wish today to comment

on one of the many lessons that can be taken from this

book; there are many others that perhaps I shall

address at some other time.

The Lord of the Rings reads very much like

ancient mythology. This is not a coincidence. The

author (J. R. R. Tolkien) was professor of ancient

literature at Oxford University in England. He drew

much of his inspiration from very old German and

Scandinavian myths. He inserted his own beliefs about

good and evil and created some of the most vivid and

life-like characters in all literature.

I wish today to address the question of mercy.

This plays a central role in the story. Here is a

summary:

 

Many centuries ago, there was an immensely powerful

demon named Sauron. He wanted to conquer the entire

world and enslave all the peoples in it. Sauron was

hideously cruel and would torture people for fun. He

decided to pour most of his evil power into a gold

ring. One day in battle, his finger was cut off. The

ring fell into a river and was lost.

Centuries later, a hobbit named Deagol was

swimming in the river and found the ring. A hobbit is

a humble and fun-loving creature much like a human but

only 1 meter tall. Deagol's brother, Smeagol, kills

Deagol and takes the ring for himself. Remember that

the ring is evil, and its power much too strong for a

hobbit. The ring twists Smeagol and turns him into an

evil being. He lives in a cave, killing fish and

animals for food, crawling around in shadows, and

murdering anyone and anything he can find.

Many years later, another hobbit named Bilbo

walks into the cave and finds the ring. Bilbo and

Smeagol fight over the ring, and Bilbo wins. He holds

his sword ready to kill Smeagol, but changes his mind.

Bilbo goes home, allowing Smeagol to live.

Many more years later, Bilbo gives the ring to

his nephew, Frodo. Frodo's good friend Gandalf is a

wise wizard, actually an agent of the gods although

you have to read some of Tolkien's other books to

learn this. Gandalf looks at the ring and realizes

that there is something special about it. He

investigates and learns that this ring is the one that

Sauron created many centuries earlier.

The ring must be destroyed. If Sauron gets it

back, he can use it to conquer the world. The only

place where it can be destroyed is the volcano where

it was created, very close to the tower where Sauron

lives. This is of course extremely dangerous. But

Frodo reluctantly agrees to this quest.

I wish to focus on the conversation in which

Gandalf is explaining this to Frodo. Frodo says

concerning Smeagol: "It is a pity Bilbo did not stab

that vile creature when he had the chance!"

Gandalf replies "Pity? Pity is what stayed his

hand. Pity and mercy, mercy not to strike without

need. And he has been well rewarded." Gandalf

explains that the reason Bilbo was not twisted into an

evil creature in the same manner as Smeagol is that he

began his ownership of the ring with an act of

kindness.

Frodo objects "But certainly Smeagol deserves

death."

Gandalf says "Deserves it? I daresay he does.

Many that live deserve death. And some that die

deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be

too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the

very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope

that Smeagol can be cured before he dies, but there is

a chance of it. Ane he is bound up with the fate of

the ring. My heart tells me that he some part yet to

pay, for good or ill, before the end, and when that

comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many,

yours not the least."

So Frodo journeys to the volcano. I shall omit

very much detail. Read the book. Along the way, Frodo

encounters Smeagol. He, too, has an oportunity to kill

him but decides not to. Instead, he adopts Smeagol as

a guide, asking him to show him the road to the

volcano. Frodo actually protects Smeagol when other

people want to kill him. I count 6 people who had a

chance to kill Smeagol but did not.

They arrive at ths volcano. The evil of the

ring overcomes Frodo. This small hobbit is not strong

enough to resist the immense evil power of the ring.

He cannot destroy it.

But at that moment, Smeagol betrays Frodo.

Smeagol is evil and wants the evil ring for himself.

He jumps on Frodo. They fight over the ring. Smeagol

bites off the finger where Frodo is wearing the ring.

Smeagol has won the fight. He has his precious ring.

But in his joy, he dances too close to the edge of the

volcano. He falls in. Smeagol and the ring are

destroyed, and Sauron is prevented from conquering the

world.

 

Let us examine this story. Smeagol is an evil creature

who has murdered many. According to the laws and

customs in the lands he visits, he should be put to

death. Six people have the opportunity to do so, yet

they all allow him to live. The wise Gandalf knows the

wisdom of this. The decision of whether a person lives

or dies is a decision for the Divine, not for us.

Sometimes there is an unknown fate lying in the

future, a fate that not even someone as wise as

Gandalf can foresee. If any of these six people had

killed Smeagol, Sauron would have recaptured the ring

and enslaved the entire world.

I ask the question: Is mercy a good action or

an evil one? Some say that mercy is a sign of

weakness. They say that the good and righteous should

eliminate all the evil from the world by killing off

all those who commit evil. Fight fire with fire, they

say. But I say that mercy is by its nature a tender

and loving act, whereas killing is hateful regardless

of how many excuses a person can invent to try to

justify it. One does not destroy hatred by becoming

hateful. The goal should be to overcome the hatred and

replace it with love.

Killing a person who has committed evil deeds

does not change the evil deeds. Nothing can do that.

All this does is makes us a little bit more evil

ourselves, filling our souls with enough hatred to end

the life of another. Killing is also arrogant,

adopting for oneself a decision best left to the

Divine. The Divine understands good and evil far

better than we humble humans, and Divine knows much

that we do not.

I understand that sometimes the evil that a

person has done is so immense and so hideous that

picking up the sword to fight it is the only viable

alternative. Classic example of course is Hitler. Many

people tied to use peaceful means to dissuade him from

his evil path. Even his close friend Mussolini tried

to talk him out of his plans.

But these are the exceptions. While we

recognize that such exceptions are real and that they

do happen in the world, we do not rejoice in them. We

use forceful methods only when all loving methods

fail. And we mourn the fact that the evil in others

became so intense that we were forced to use hateful

methods ourselves. We do not pretend that forceful

actions are not hateful. We recognize that they are,

and we mourn when we are forced to use them.

Let us all pray for the day when demons such as

Hitler and Sauron are banished forever from the Earth,

and that all peoples everywhere may live in peace and

harmony. Jai Mahakali!

 

Sister Usha

 

=====

Sister Usha Devi

Founder, Divinely Female and worshipper of the Sacred Flame that shines inside

every woman

 

 

 

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