Evil and How It Operates

Over the course of the last 20 years I have had some practical experience of the way evil operates and how it tries to bring down good. When I lived my semi-monastic existence between 1979 and 2000 my knowledge of this was largely theoretical but going back into the world has given me greater insight into the modus operandi of evil. Particularly, my encounters with certain individuals have taught me quite a bit about the way it goes about its business. I write this piece for others who may find themselves caught up in similar situations because such things happen to many of us on our spiritual journey.

The individuals I am referring to could not be called evil in themselves but they had sufficient spiritual and psychological flaws to be used by evil. They were open to influence because of their misconceptions and personality defects. In saying that, I realise I may sound as if I am claiming the moral high ground for myself which, of course, would make me a typical Pharisee, puffed up with pride, self-importance and self-delusion. But I am not making any such claim. I know full well I have numerous flaws but I am, at least, aware that I have them. The people I am talking about think they are good people and would not accept that they have need of improvement in any radical sense. And this, I have noticed, is a major difference between the genuinely religious person and the non-religious. We are all sinners but the religious person recognises this about himself. He doesn't think he is a good person.

The Masters told me that the more progress an individual makes upon the spiritual path, the more he will be attacked by the dark powers. I have observed this to be true. If you are serious about spirituality or religion you are very likely to have to face something of this kind. The attacks may take place inwardly in the form of temptation to some sort of sin, pride, despair, anger or whatever it may be, wherever you are weakest. Or they may occur in the form of attacks by people you come into contact with, even close contact, even family members.

Here's a list of some of the ways evil seeks to undermine the good and bring down someone who follows the spiritual path. It may seek to do this either directly or by causing that person to react in some way. In conversation it accuses, it abuses, it argues and it shouts. It changes the subject when shown to be wrong and interrupts when countered. It may say that the person who is the object of its attention is mentally ill or morally bad. And, of course, it either lies outright or, more cunningly, subtly distorts reality. I'm sure you get the picture. All of this in the attempt to overwhelm and crush or else provoke some reaction which will drag the person attacked down to its own level. And don't forget that evil always has this advantage over good. It recognises no limit on its behaviour so will always do whatever it takes to get what it wants.

Being subjected to this kind of thing can be most unpleasant but the spiritual powers allow it because there are lessons to be learnt. It is a test of self-control under duress and an opportunity to acquire the ability to rise above personal reactions. It helps one gain a certain detachment and distance from emotion. At least, it can if you respond to it in the way you should which is far from easy. The point is that a person who really is serious about spirituality has to learn to conquer their lower self. The only way to do this for the great majority of people, especially perhaps men, is through the fire.

In the book of Revelation there is an interesting passage which describes Satan and his angels, in effect, the dark powers, as the accusers of the brethren. The brethren are firstly the saints and whole company of heaven, and secondly, and more pertinently, those seeking to join that company but who are not yet worthy in that they have character flaws to iron out. That's you and me. As we journey towards God we must purify ourselves of, putting it in traditional terms, sin. You could also say that we must build a greater spiritual awareness and a deeper love into ourselves. This is a hard task. You may have been told that you only have to believe in God and your salvation is assured. It's not that simple. Belief without inner transformation is nothing. After all, as James famously says in his 2nd epistle, even the devils believe. You have to convert that belief, which can be likened to an architect's blueprint for a house, into the actual building and you must construct that yourself. So, belief is something that must be constantly tended and deepened. The Indian saint Ramakrishna was once asked if it was true that if you bathed in the river Ganges all your sins were washed away. Perfectly true, he replied. Unfortunately when you come out of the river they all fall down from the branches of the trees right back onto you. The point being that belief to be spiritually efficacious must be completely internalised and built into character.

So we are the brethren and the devil and his angels are the accusers. They accuse us of sins we have and sins we don't have because their aim is to disrupt us and cause us to lose hope, succumbing to these sins in the face of relentless attack. But we must stand firm which we can do if we put our faith in God and let go of our attachment to our standing in the world and good reputation in the eyes of others. All those who are intent on treading the spiritual path to its conclusion have to be prepared to face the accusers of the brethren. But in dealing correctly with this experience you will develop the inner poise that God requires of his children and show him that your heart truly is with him and not the world. In fact, this is sometimes the only way you learn to give him your full inner attention. We have always known that the road to heaven is a thorny one but it is these thorns that tear off our self-concern and pride.

Spirituality and Evil

Here are some old questions which have been given different answers at different times but which we should look at again because they are as important now as they have ever been. They are also less likely to be answered correctly today, given the fact that we have closed our minds to so much of reality.

Is evil real? If it is real, is it supernatural in origin? If it is supernatural in origin, what is its purpose? If it has a purpose how can we, mere mortals, respond to that purpose?

We should begin by pointing out that any spiritual approach must include a proper understanding of evil if it is to encompass the whole of life and not simply represent a retreat from unpleasant parts of it.

Next, I'd like to quote the Russian philosopher Vladimir Soloviev who wrote the following. "Is evil only a natural defect, an imperfection disappearing of itself with the growth of good, or is it a real power, possessing our world by means off temptations, so that for fighting it successfully, assistance must be found in another sphere of being?".

 I quote Soloviev because framing the question in this way gives what I regard as the right answer. Yes, evil is real. It is not just an absence of good as darkness is an absence of light. Or rather it is that but it is not only that. There is something deliberate about evil which takes it beyond simple negativity. It is not merely a defect of mind (using Soloviev's word), it is also the product of a warped will.

And this means that evil is a real thing that must be fought against.

If it is real then where does it come from? Some would say it is the consequence of free will and so human in origin, the result of egotism and selfishness. There is nothing we can really call evil in the animal world though some behaviour comes pretty close. But really where there is no proper sense of self, there can be no good or evil. So evil is human. But is the human will the sole ground of evil or is there something further back, deeper in the fabric of life? And, if so, is evil just a kind of growth mechanism in the moral universe that brings out positive good by showing and enabling us to experience its opposite? Or is it the result of a rebellion against the natural order that actively aims to corrupt and lead astray?

A rationalistic philosopher might conclude the first of these two options. Evil is there to help us know good. It serves to awaken self-consciousness and then maybe even take us beyond that. By this criterion, the devil is a kind of dark twin to Jesus and, ultimately, they play for the same side. But this also means there is no such thing as evil really. It's not much more than a trick.

I see the persuasive power of such a theory but I reject it. Because although evil might be used by God to bring certain things about, it did not form part of his original plan for creation. Given the fact of evil, God can incorporate it, to some extent, into his scheme for evolving consciousness but only to bring some good out of an already existing evil. It has nothing good about it in itself and was not envisaged for a specific, spiritual purpose.

I believe the Christian idea of evil to be closer to the truth. The one reality is good but God gave his creatures free will in order that they might participate in creation themselves and help to create it from the inside. Not to mention, to allow for the possibility of real love between self-conscious beings. But as a result of this freedom certain spirits high in the order of being rebelled, pride and the desire to be equal to God being behind this rebellion. These spirits now have an agenda which is to mar creation and turn it against its creator. We are the intermediaries in this battle.

And it is a battle. The purpose of supernatural evil is to destroy spiritual good, and one of the principal places they seek to do this is the human heart. Human beings are the children of God, made in his image, and intended to grow to full awareness of that through experience in the world where they can, so to speak, make themselves from the raw material God has given them, that being their individual souls. This is why we do not have access to spiritual reality now. We must gain that ourselves by right decisions, right thinking and right actions. It could not be ours if we did not win it for ourselves. We cannot just be given it. But the evil forces seek to prevent that for reasons we can only guess at but probably because it is the tendency of corrupted souls to want to corrupt others, perhaps to try to prove themselves in some way right, perhaps out of simple resentment and malevolence.

Evil in our day seeks to disguise itself as good. That is because the purpose of evil is not to destroy minds or bodies but to destroy souls and souls can only be destroyed when they give themselves up to evil of their own volition. But who will do that knowing that it is evil? Very few. But if you can convince the soul that evil is good and good evil then you are well on the way to corrupting it spiritually. Of course, you can only convince those whose inner orientation to truth and real good is weak and in whom egotism is stronger than love of God, and this is the great test of our time. Will we seek the false good which ultimately serves the human ego or the true good which demands we give that up but in love not for some kind of self-advantage?

Jesus famously said "Resist not evil", and he allowed himself to be tried and executed without protest. Does that mean we should not fight evil? This is where wisdom and spiritual discernment are required. For resist not evil does not mean we should allow evil to pass unchallenged. It means don't fight it inwardly by reacting to it according to its own mode. Resist it outwardly but remain detached within, without giving way to hatred and anger (though there may well be such a thing as righteous anger). If evil is not identified and, yes, resisted, it will triumph. But when you, as you should, resist evil in thought, word and deed, do not resist it by fighting it with its own weapons. Keep your heart unaffected by the fight and let your motive be purely and simply love of God. After all, Jesus did not follow his own advice all the time (if that advice is interpreted purely passively). So, don't fight evil with its own weapons but fight it with all your might.

How do we do this? The first thing to do is to identify it for what it is. That is not always easy in modern times when evil, in many cases successfully, seeks to disguise itself as good. But it can be done if we focus on the underlying spiritual reality of being and realise life is a struggle between truth and falsehood. This is where Christianity has the advantage over a religion such as Buddhism or any religion that does not grant a full, albeit contingent, reality to creation. Christ taught the fact of evil and that it must be countered whereas for the Buddha, it is more the product of ignorance, dispelled by enlightenment which takes one beyond the dualistic world of good and evil. Consequently, there is a tendency for the Buddhist to ignore evil. He doesn't acknowledge its cosmic roots, not fully anyway, and so is less able to deal with it in the world even if he can within himself. I would go so far as to say that Buddhism in the modern world is largely ineffectual against evil. How can you fight something that you don't regard as real?

When we have identified it then we must proclaim the good. For evil is perhaps best fought by shining the light of God onto it. Then the spuriously attractive coverings it surrounds itself with are shown to be tawdry rags, and the darkness at its heart is revealed. And what is the good? Surely it is the light of the risen Christ. This is the one thing against which evil has no defence.

Today we live during a time of ever increasing spiritual and cultural evil. This evil is subtler than in the past with the result that most people don't see it and go along with it, even seeing it as good since good it might appear to be according to a twisted metaphysics that denies the transcendent and the natural and spiritual orders of being that are rooted in that. But those who do see it must fight it or they will find that it will conquer them. If you don't stand against evil then you will eventually succumb to it. This is a law. So stand against it and fight it with the word of God.

Spirituality and the World

When I first became interested in religion and spirituality some forty years ago, religion and spirituality were what I was interested in. That is to say, my focus was on the deeper truths behind the world and the world itself did not really matter much, not in itself. It could carry on as it wanted in a non-spiritual but, on its own terms, reasonable way. It was something that was there and I lived in it but I was not particularly concerned with what went on in it or how it went about its business. But that was then. Now the world has become not just not spiritual but positively anti-spiritual, and this means I have to pay attention.

Then the world was clearly rooted in the normal and everyday even if the seeds that are now almost fully sprouted were present in inchoate form. So, it may not have been spiritual but it was at least natural. However today not only have we lost the spiritual, we are in the process of losing the natural as well. Probably there is an inevitable downward trend once the basic truth of life, that it is a spiritual thing with a divine progenitor behind it, is no longer acknowledged. When we lose that basic truth, all the subsidiary ones that are effectively grounded in it start to go too. Consequently, while I used to think that a person who aspired to spiritual understanding could pursue his path and let the world go its merry way, I now see that there is no real separation between this world and higher ones. When we abandon all connection to the higher worlds this world is cut loose from its moorings and will drift away into ever greater darkness and illusion. It's just a matter of time.

This is why a spiritually orientated person in the modern era can no longer ignore what is taking place around him in the ordinary world. He must stand out against it and proclaim its falseness, and he must do this because otherwise one day all human beings will live in a world from which it is almost impossible to escape. The lie will be triumphant. It is one thing to seek the spiritual in a world which may be largely materialistic but still has the residue of a belief in God and the supernatural underlying it and conducts its affairs according to a reasonably sane agenda rooted in the natural order. There is still the opportunity to seek the true God from within such a world. It is quite another when even the natural order has been destroyed and spiritual values are not just ignored but actually inverted and turned against themselves. This is what is happening now and the speed at which it is happening is astonishing. Each generation is considerably more severed from reality than the last and will therefore find it harder to make its way back. We will always have Christ, and the Christ of the Gospels will always have the power to guide us to truth, but when the religious channels through which Christ is presented to us in the world are corrupted and a distorted image of him presented as the true one, the situation is a lot more complicated.

I have no doubt this is a demonic strategy. As long as human beings, even if materialistic, live according to natural ways they can relatively easily return to the spiritual. The way back has not been closed off because it is, in a way, just an extension and deepening of what you already are. But once nature itself has been rejected then the spiritual is very hard to attain. Oh, a false spiritual can be imagined but this is most likely to lead its advocates right into the jaws of the demons who will be waiting to welcome any hapless victims to their world. You think this is fanciful, even hysterical? Let me tell you that there is a supernatural world, even what you might think of as a spiritual (in that it is immaterial) world, beyond this one which is the home of the demons. That is where those who pursue a spirituality not grounded in the real transcendent risk ending up if they are not guided by humility, wisdom and genuine love. There is a false love, widespread today, which is based on not hurting people's feelings but this is not a spiritual thing and will not lead anyone to the true God.  For just as all that glitters is not gold so not everything that is called love is love. True spiritual love is known in the heart and, while directed towards all things as all things are manifestations of God, is principally directed towards those things in which God is most manifested. Which makes sense given that God is the ground of love so the nearer something is to him, the more love it will call forth. However, the modern version of love is largely theoretical, a head thing which is meant to be directed towards everything equally. Hence it is not love but an idea about it and, because separated from God, it is not even an accurate idea.

It seems that fewer and fewer people recognise the fact that we are losing all connection to reality. But if you don't see this it is because your spiritual compass, your inner sense of right and wrong, is not pointing due north. This not an intellectual thing but a moral one so it cannot be argued about. It's a fact that is there and seen or not seen. Unfortunately it is increasingly not seen as people identify the good and the bad in terms of how they are in relation to this world. Actually, they don't even do that though they might think of it in that way. For, in truth, the way we look at the world and ourselves is not just about augmenting worldly happiness and diminishing suffering. It is also about destroying even worldly excellence and reducing everything to the same level because of such unsavoury human sentiments as resentment, anger and hatred. But these are usually not acknowledged and often justified in highfalutin moral terms.

Sincere spiritual people can either turn their backs on the world completely and concentrate on their own salvation or else, while still seeking this as their primary objective (and it is, there is nothing selfish about it, it's our principal responsibility), try to present the case against progress. Of course, I mean apparent progress, progress according to a false vision of humanity. For that is what all this is about. In the not too distant past, the world may have been materialistic but it still organised itself according to natural principles and the connection between Heaven and Earth, while weak, still existed. No longer. That connection is being cut. I don't suppose it can ever be completely cut because the world would cease to exist but the link can become so attenuated that it might as well not be there. It is difficult to find one's way home when the road is being dug up and the signposts taken down. All those who recognise this have a duty to point it out.


Afternote: This might sound more pessimistic than I meant it to be.  The current situation certainly is bad but the fact of the matter is God is always there and he is reality whatever outer appearances might suggest. Besides, all this was prophesied as was the end of it. So we know that, however bad things may seem, the good cannot be defeated.

A Visit to Church

I went to church yesterday morning, a Catholic church as, though I'm not Catholic, the rest of my family is. It was a communion service and the church was overflowing with people of all ages. There were flowers and incense, and the church itself, while not old, was built in a traditional style with some fine stained glass windows above the altar. The choir sang well and the priest seemed kind and friendly.

But there was absolutely no feeling of holiness or even, if that's expecting too much, reverence. Now, you might say this was because it was Easter Sunday and the church was full of people who, like me, only go on special occasions.  That was no doubt a factor but the problem goes much deeper. It is rooted in contemporary religion itself which is usually just an external thing. By that I don't mean believers don't believe but their belief does not affect them anywhere near deeply enough. Of course, this is not a new phenomenon but it does seem worse now. Religion, even where it exists, has just got shallower and more tailored to this world. 

Too often the substance of it is just believe in God and be nice to everyone. Otherwise, live your life just like everyone else, enjoying and valuing what everyone else does. There is no call to deep repentance and reorientation towards the real spiritual. There is no real understanding that rebirth in Christ actually means becoming a totally new, completely different kind of person. So it seems there is basically no fundamental difference between a religious person and a secular one, if the latter is more or less a decent law-abiding type. They both identify themselves with their worldly egos and see themselves in a similar way. One believes in some kind of idea of God and an afterlife and the other doesn't, but they do not really see the world in a different light.

All of which leads me to ask, what does it mean to believe? What is belief? Is it just intellectual assent to a particular proposition or is it something that must turn our life round completely and transform what we are, what we think and how we act? Should it affect every single aspect of our life and how we see ourselves and our purpose or should it leave these largely untouched?  Obviously, it's the former. It must not just be a mental thing. Belief in God must be all-consuming to the point that nothing else matters except how it appears in the light of that. I am going to say that even our relationships with those we love must be seen in the light of the reality of God. If that shocks you, well, Jesus said the same thing.

I'm sure these were all good people in the worldly sense, probably much friendlier and more charitable than me. And I know no man can judge the heart of another. I wasn't sitting there looking for things to feel superior about or criticise. I would rather not have thought what I did. But you cannot escape the fact that even of those people who think themselves religious or spiritual, many are only so superficially. Their focus is on this world and they see themselves as what they appear to be, physical beings, not spirits clothed in flesh come to this world for a brief duration to learn certain lessons before returning to their true home in heaven. This world is not our home and anyone who identifies with it and its goods is not truly a spiritual person, whatever their feelings. That seems a good Easter message to me. If it seems a little too close to Gnosticism for you then consider this. Do you see above in terms of below, spirit in terms of matter, or below in terms of above? If the former then, whatever your beliefs, however deep you might think your faith to be, you are a materialist. Just like many modern Christians.

Crucifixion

Human beings have abandoned spiritual/intuitive and natural/instinctive ways of thinking and fallen into what they believe to be rational, logical ways, but reason and logic as based on materialism (which is irrational but never mind). That is why such things as homosexuality, feminism and now transgenderism are not just accepted but actively promoted these days.

There can be no meeting between the two ways, spiritual and material, or people who perceive the world according to them. Each group has a different idea of what is good and what is bad, what is true and what is false, and the differences between them are fundamental in the most literal sense.

Given that the materialists are wrong (and they are; crudely put, can a conscious mind really come from a pile of rubble?), we have to ask why. Are they well-meaning but mistaken or is there something actually wrong with them?

As I know many ordinary people who are materialists, including in my own family, it's hard to say this but the only answer I can honestly come up with is, yes. There is something wrong with them. For the truth of God really is within us. It's usually in an undeveloped form, which is why there are primitive religions that are full of ignorance, and it does need cultivating and nourishing to become truly known. Nonetheless, all human beings are made in God's image and we do have that image as a living reality imprinted on our hearts.

 I used to think that there were bad people and spiritually weak people who just went with the flow. However, the fact is that, while there certainly are actively bad people and others who do just passively follow the zeitgeist, and there is, of course, a qualitative difference between them, "He who is not with me is against me." If the truth is in you, then you will see the truth. You can't help it. If it is not positively in you then it must be asked, why is it not? Given that God is in all of us, it can only be because you have suppressed the knowledge of God for your own egotistical ends. And then the difference between active evil and passive acquiescence to it is not so large.

Jesus the man was crucified at Golgotha 2,000 years ago but he rose from the dead three days later. Jesus the divine image is crucified in our hearts every day today. Whether he rises from that crucifixion or not is up to us.

Ideology

The world today is a hotbed of competing ideologies, the result of the tendency towards abstraction of the modern (over-) educated mind.  I wrote in a comment elsewhere that all ideologies are evil because they are attempts to impose thought on reality and reality comes before thought so should never be required to submit to it. This point also has a connection with the previous post so let me expand on it a bit here. 

Fundamentally, I hold that ideologies are both evil and violent which are obviously strong words, especially when used to apply to any ideology regardless of what it is. But I use them because I see ideologies as attempts by man to force reality into the straitjacket of thought as opposed to him living naturally and harmoniously with reality, conforming his being to that instead of expecting that to conform to him. This implies that anyone living according to an ideology is rejecting God and living dualistically meaning there is always a division between the person as what he is and his behaviour as what he does instead of the two being one. Hence it is always artificial.

Christianity is not an ideology in essence (though it can become one) because it is based on revelation of reality and love. Islam is an ideology since it is based on submission to authority.  It is also the product of one man's mind because even if, for the sake of argument, there was some revelation in the Koran, that is clearly deeply overlaid by the thought of Muhammad. Buddhism is not an ideology in essence because it is based on the experience of a man who had transcended the limitations of thought.  Hinduism is many things but at its heart in the Vedas there is direct insight, though this too has become overlaid by human opinion.

Thought separates man from God. Ideology is thought pursued to the limit. This is not to denigrate thought per se but to put it in its place and that place is as a builder not an architect. Thought is there to clothe instinct and intuition with form and help them to manifest in the world. It is not there to usurp their function of insight into reality, unconscious or conscious, and when it does the result is chaos and disorder. Thought as master places man outside creation and makes of him an exile from reality. Ideologies are all towers of Babel, man's attempts to dethrone God.