What you call evil is the servant of the good ...Nisargadatta

[Guest guest]

This has got to be one of the sanest posts I have ever read.

 

>Live Facts, not Fancies..C#60 from "I AM That"

>

>Q: You say that whatever you see is yourself. You also admit that you see

the world as we see it. Here is today's newspaper with all the horrors

going on. Since the world is yourself, how can you explain such a

misbehavior?

>Maharaj: Which world do you have in mind?

>Q: Our common world, in which we live.

>M: Are you sure we live in the same world? I do not mean nature, the sea

and the land, plants and animals. They are not the problem, not the endless

space, the infinite time, the inexhaustible power. Do not be misled by my

eating and smoking, reading and talking. My mind is not here, my life is

not here. Your world, of desire and their fulfillments, of fear and their

escapes, is definitely not my world. I do not even perceive it, except

through what you tell me about it. It is your private dreamworld and my

only reaction to it is to ask you to stop dreaming.

>Q: Surely, wars and revolutions are not dreams. Sick mothers and starving

children are not dreams. Wealth, ill-gotten and misused, is not a dream.

>M: What else?

>Q: A dream cannot be shared.

>M: Nor can the waking state. All the three state - waking, dreaming and

sleeping - are subjective, personal, intimate. They all happen to and are

contained within the bubble in consciousness, called 'I'. The real world

lies beyond the self.

>Q: Self of no self, facts are real.

>M: Of course facts are real! I live among them. But you live with fancies,

not with facts. Facts never clash, while you life and world are full of

contradictions. Contradiction is the mark of the false; the real never

contradicts itself.

> For instance, you complain that people are abjectly poor. Yet you do

not share your riches with them. You mind the war next door, but you hardly

give it a thought when it is in some far off country. The shifting fortunes

or you ego determine your values; 'I think;, 'I want', 'I must', are made

into absolutes.

>Q: Nevertheless, the evil is real.

>M: Not more real than you are. Evil is in the wrong approach to the

problems created by mis-understanding and mis-use. It is a vicious circle.

>Q: Can the circle be broken?

>M: A false circle need not be broken. It is enough to see it as it is -

non-existent.

>Q: But, real enough to make us submit to and inflict indignities and

atrocities.

>M: Insanity is universal. Sanity is rare. Yet there is hope, because the

moment we perceive our insanity, we are on the way to sanity. This is the

function of the guru - to make us see the madness of our daily living. Life

makes you conscious, but the teacher makes you aware.

>Q: Sir, you are neither the first no the last. Since immemorial times

people were breaking into reality. Yet how little it affected our lives;

The Ramas and the Krishnas, the Buddhas and the Christs have come and gone

and we are as we were; wallowing in sweat and tears. What have you done,

Sir, to alleviate the world's thrall?

>M: You alone can undo the evil you have created. Your own callous

selfishness is at the root of it. Put first your own house in order and you

will see that your work is done.

>Q: The men of wisdom and of love, who came before us, did set themselves

right, often at a tremendous cost. What was the outcome? A shooting star,

however bright, does not make the night less dark.

>M: To judge them and their work you must become one of them. A frog is a

well knows nothing about the birds in the sky.

>Q: Do you mean to say that between good and evil there is no wall?

>M: There is no wall, because there is no good and no evil. In every

concrete situation there is only the necessary and the unnecessary. The

needful is right, the needless is wrong.

>Q: Who decides?

>M: The situation decides. Every situation is a challenge which demands the

right response. When your response is right, the challenge is met and the

problem ceases. If the response is wrong, the challenge is not met and the

problem remains unsolved. Your unsolved problems - that is what constitutes

you karma. Solve them rightly and be free.

>Q: You seem to drive me always back into myself. Is there no objective

solution to the world's problems?

>M: The world problems were created by numberless people like you, each

full of his own desires and fears. Who can free you of you past, personal

and social , except yourself? And how will you do it unless you see the

urgent need of your being first free of craving born of illusion? How can

you truly help, as long as you need help yourself?

>Q: In what way did the ancient sages help? In what way do you help? A

few individuals profit, no doubt; your guidance and example may mean a lot

to them; but in what way do you affect humanity, the totality of life and

consciousness: You say that you are the world and the world is you; what

impact have you made on it;

>M: What kind of impact do you expect?

>Q: Man is stupid, selfish, cruel.

>M: Man is also wise, affectionate and kind.

>Q: Why does not goodness prevail?

>M: It does - in my real world. In my world even what you call evil is the

servant of the good and therefore necessary. It is like boils and fevers

that clear the body of impurities. Disease is painful, even dangerous, but

if dealt with rightly, it heals.

>Q: Or kills.

>M: In some case death is the best cure. A life may be worse than death,

which is but rarely an unpleasant experience, what ever the appearances.

There for, pity the living, never the dead. This problem of things, good

and evil in themselves, does not exist in my world. The needful is good and

the needless is evil. In you world the pleasant is good and the painful is

evil.

>Q: What is necessary?

>M: To grow is necessary. To outgrow is necessary. To leave behind the

good for the sake of the better necessary.

>Q: Why all this trouble then?

>M: Whose trouble? Which trouble? Do you pity the seed that is to grow and

multiply till it becomes a mighty forest? What is wrong with life, ever

more life: Remove the obstacles to growing and all you persona, social

economic and political problems will just dissolve. The universe is perfect

as a whole and the part's striving for perfection is a way of joy.

Willingly sacrifice the imperfect to the perfect and there will be no more

talk about good and evil.

>Q: Yet we are afraid of the better and cling to the worse.

>M: This is our stupidity, verging on insanity.

>

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[Guest guest]

"This has got to be one of the sanest posts I have ever read."

 

I agree, the whole book is like that..

Aloha,

Alton

 

 

RamanaMaharshi, "maz" <maz@g...> wrote:

> This has got to be one of the sanest posts I have ever read.

>

> >Live Facts, not Fancies..C#60 from "I AM That"

> >

> >Q: You say that whatever you see is yourself. You also admit that

you see

> the world as we see it. Here is today's newspaper with all the

horrors

> going on. Since the world is yourself, how can you explain such a

> misbehavior?

> >Maharaj: Which world do you have in mind?

> >Q: Our common world, in which we live.

> >M: Are you sure we live in the same world? I do not mean nature,

the sea

> and the land, plants and animals. They are not the problem, not

the endless

> space, the infinite time, the inexhaustible power. Do not be

misled by my

> eating and smoking, reading and talking. My mind is not here, my

life is

> not here. Your world, of desire and their fulfillments, of fear

and their

> escapes, is definitely not my world. I do not even perceive it,

except

> through what you tell me about it. It is your private dreamworld

and my

> only reaction to it is to ask you to stop dreaming.

> >Q: Surely, wars and revolutions are not dreams. Sick mothers and

starving

> children are not dreams. Wealth, ill-gotten and misused, is not a

dream.

> >M: What else?

> >Q: A dream cannot be shared.

> >M: Nor can the waking state. All the three state - waking,

dreaming and

> sleeping - are subjective, personal, intimate. They all happen to

and are

> contained within the bubble in consciousness, called 'I'. The real

world

> lies beyond the self.

> >Q: Self of no self, facts are real.

> >M: Of course facts are real! I live among them. But you live with

fancies,

> not with facts. Facts never clash, while you life and world are

full of

> contradictions. Contradiction is the mark of the false; the real

never

> contradicts itself.

> > For instance, you complain that people are abjectly poor.

Yet you do

> not share your riches with them. You mind the war next door, but

you hardly

> give it a thought when it is in some far off country. The shifting

fortunes

> or you ego determine your values; 'I think;, 'I want', 'I must',

are made

> into absolutes.

> >Q: Nevertheless, the evil is real.

> >M: Not more real than you are. Evil is in the wrong approach to

the

> problems created by mis-understanding and mis-use. It is a

vicious circle.

> >Q: Can the circle be broken?

> >M: A false circle need not be broken. It is enough to see it as

it is -

> non-existent.

> >Q: But, real enough to make us submit to and inflict indignities

and

> atrocities.

> >M: Insanity is universal. Sanity is rare. Yet there is hope,

because the

> moment we perceive our insanity, we are on the way to sanity. This

is the

> function of the guru - to make us see the madness of our daily

living. Life

> makes you conscious, but the teacher makes you aware.

> >Q: Sir, you are neither the first no the last. Since immemorial

times

> people were breaking into reality. Yet how little it affected our

lives;

> The Ramas and the Krishnas, the Buddhas and the Christs have come

and gone

> and we are as we were; wallowing in sweat and tears. What have you

done,

> Sir, to alleviate the world's thrall?

> >M: You alone can undo the evil you have created. Your own callous

> selfishness is at the root of it. Put first your own house in

order and you

> will see that your work is done.

> >Q: The men of wisdom and of love, who came before us, did set

themselves

> right, often at a tremendous cost. What was the outcome? A

shooting star,

> however bright, does not make the night less dark.

> >M: To judge them and their work you must become one of them. A

frog is a

> well knows nothing about the birds in the sky.

> >Q: Do you mean to say that between good and evil there is no wall?

> >M: There is no wall, because there is no good and no evil. In

every

> concrete situation there is only the necessary and the

unnecessary. The

> needful is right, the needless is wrong.

> >Q: Who decides?

> >M: The situation decides. Every situation is a challenge which

demands the

> right response. When your response is right, the challenge is met

and the

> problem ceases. If the response is wrong, the challenge is not met

and the

> problem remains unsolved. Your unsolved problems - that is what

constitutes

> you karma. Solve them rightly and be free.

> >Q: You seem to drive me always back into myself. Is there no

objective

> solution to the world's problems?

> >M: The world problems were created by numberless people like you,

each

> full of his own desires and fears. Who can free you of you past,

personal

> and social , except yourself? And how will you do it unless you

see the

> urgent need of your being first free of craving born of illusion?

How can

> you truly help, as long as you need help yourself?

> >Q: In what way did the ancient sages help? In what way do you

help? A

> few individuals profit, no doubt; your guidance and example may

mean a lot

> to them; but in what way do you affect humanity, the totality of

life and

> consciousness: You say that you are the world and the world is

you; what

> impact have you made on it;

> >M: What kind of impact do you expect?

> >Q: Man is stupid, selfish, cruel.

> >M: Man is also wise, affectionate and kind.

> >Q: Why does not goodness prevail?

> >M: It does - in my real world. In my world even what you call

evil is the

> servant of the good and therefore necessary. It is like boils and

fevers

> that clear the body of impurities. Disease is painful, even

dangerous, but

> if dealt with rightly, it heals.

> >Q: Or kills.

> >M: In some case death is the best cure. A life may be worse than

death,

> which is but rarely an unpleasant experience, what ever the

appearances.

> There for, pity the living, never the dead. This problem of

things, good

> and evil in themselves, does not exist in my world. The needful is

good and

> the needless is evil. In you world the pleasant is good and the

painful is

> evil.

> >Q: What is necessary?

> >M: To grow is necessary. To outgrow is necessary. To leave

behind the

> good for the sake of the better necessary.

> >Q: Why all this trouble then?

> >M: Whose trouble? Which trouble? Do you pity the seed that is to

grow and

> multiply till it becomes a mighty forest? What is wrong with life,

ever

> more life: Remove the obstacles to growing and all you persona,

social

> economic and political problems will just dissolve. The universe

is perfect

> as a whole and the part's striving for perfection is a way of joy.

> Willingly sacrifice the imperfect to the perfect and there will be

no more

> talk about good and evil.

> >Q: Yet we are afraid of the better and cling to the worse.

> >M: This is our stupidity, verging on insanity.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Post message: RamanaMaharshi@o...

> > Subscribe: RamanaMaharshi-@o...

> > Un: RamanaMaharshi-@o...

> > List owner: RamanaMaharshi-owner@o...

> >

> >Shortcut URL to this page:

> > /community/RamanaMaharshi

> >

> >Your use of is subject to

 

> >

> >

> >