VijayaDashami Greetings ! Triumph of Good Over Evil ?

[Guest guest]

My fellow advaitins :

 

All over the , devout hindus are celebrating 'Vijayadashami' - in

North India , it s the celebration of Sri Rama's victory over the

ten headed Demon Ravana . In west bengal , bengalles are celbratibng

the victory of Devi durga over many of the asuras over a ten day

period and in south india , Sri lalithamika's victory over demon

bhanda is being celebrated . The underlying theme is the same - the

Triumph of Good over Evil !

 

But my question to all students of Veana , is there somethuing

called 'good or bad' in a vedantin's dictionary ? Our beloved

Sunderji has quoted a beautiful passage from Srimad Bhagavatam. may

i also quote another passage from the same text ?

 

" Good and evil of this world of duality are unreal,

are spoken of by words, and exist only in the mind. "

- Bhagavatam, XI, ch. XXII.

 

ASHTAVAKRA GITA ALSO SAYS

 

One established in the Absolute state with an empty mind does not

know the alternatives of inner stillness and lack of inner

stillness, and of good and evil. 17.18

 

THE POINT IS - Ten headed demon like Ravana thinks he is

protecting 'raksha cukture ' when he is attacking the YAGNAS OF

RISHIS in the hermitages of the forest . SO , FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW

RAVANA IS PERFORMING HIS SWADHARMA THAT OF PROTECTING THE RIGHTS AND

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A RAKSHASHA KING !

 

this is a narrow interpretation - the esoteric interpretation is

Ravana the ten headed monster internal or external .... ?

 

so the debate continues ....

 

Advaitins , please let me know what do you all think ? is

ther 'good or evil' in the world or is it all in our imagination

only !

 

As an Earth Mother , i always remember this

 

" What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil. "

 

Maybe our Mother of the universe is also an embodiment of

compassionate cruelty ! She does destroy all the internal demons

within us - kama ,krodha , lobha , modha ,matsarya and

ahamkara .....

 

on this note , let me wish you all a very happy happy

vijayadashami !

[Guest guest]

Advaitins , please let me know what do you all think ?

is

ther 'good or evil' in the world or is it all in our

imagination

only !

 

What a cosmic question!

Without the perceiver there is nothing to be

perceived. Yet, because there is a perceiver

everything is perceived.

 

Internally, esoterically I need to contain the " pairs

of opposites " , keep them within and not project them

out onto the world, other people, circumstances,

situations, history, future. Internally, I can contain

the opposites, let the war be there until the

opposites unite in a third thing, awareness. The

internal jihad, the internal crusade. The infidels are

within me, the righteous are within me. The good/evil

is within. I have to see the arising of " evil " but not

identify with it. I have to see the arising of " good "

within and again, not identify with it. Those " pairs "

are not mine. My feeling is that God arises AS the

pairs of opposites. How can it not be so? Is God any

less manifested in cow dung than in a saint? Is one

side of the universe God, an another side not?

 

I see two levels to this. Outwardly, for societies to

function, there must be this judgement of good and

evil, attempts to find a balance. Inwardly, I can move

toward containing the opposites and find harmony there

and let those move within without identifying with

either side of the " pair " ...or at least I can TRY! One

guy's opinion, only!! Best wishes, Steve

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

" LET THERE BE LIGHT " were the first words it is said. Then began

creation.

 

Light couldn't remain alone. It needed darkness to validate itself

and give it company. What is light without darkness?! So, with light

came darkness. Which came first and which came after are irrelevant

questions. This irrelevance points at the irrelevance of all pairs

of opposites.

 

Good and evil are no different. Saint needs Satan to be himself or

at least as a frame of reference and vice versa. Creation entails

pairs of opposites and, in creation, we can't avoid dealing with them.

 

Creation is supreme in that it gives us ample opportunities to vainly

oppose, negate, contradict, reconcile and sublate in our search for

our real nature - the Truth. Thank God for that! However, Truth is

truly beyond the shores of negation, contradiction, reconciliation,

sublation and even definition. Yet, it is understood as sustaining

the maze and shining both the dung and the holy ash produced by

burning it (the dung). The reconciled one remains untouched and

steady in the presence of both and with good and evil too, for he

knows he, as Truth, is the secret of the maze. Vijaya Dashami is

truly his.

 

Pranams.

 

Madathil Nair

_________________________

 

advaitin , Steve Stoker <otnac6 wrote:

>

> Advaitins , please let me know what do you all think ?

> is

> ther 'good or evil' in the world or is it all in our

> imagination

> only !

>

> What a cosmic question!

> Without the perceiver there is nothing to be

> perceived. Yet, because there is a perceiver

> everything is perceived. .......