TALKING ABOU EVIL
It is good to talk about evil but
not to condemn it outright. In fact, there is no perfect and changeless
definition of evil. According to dictionaries evil is morally bad and cruel. It
has a harmful effect on people. It is connected with the devil who said: It is
better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven.
Evil is also defined as: Profound
immorality, wickedness, and anything that causes deliberate harm, suffering, or
destruction to others.
In some religions evils are the antonyms
of virtues and are known as vices. They are also known as deadly sins. Some of
them are : pride, greed, lust, gluttony, anger, and laziness.
Evil is often regarded as : unlucky,
unfortunate, disastrous, catastrophic, ruinous, and woeful.
Some actions have double interpretations.
For example, war is both good and evil. Overwork is beneficial as well as
harmful.
Moreover, nothing is virtuous or
vicious forever. What was evil in the past may be good in the present. Dowry
was a blessing in India not long ago but today it is considered as an undesirable
custom.
Evil does not seem to be ephemeral
even in God’s legislature. Had it been so, there would not have been both heaven
and hell.
Also look at this proverb: One man’s
nectar is another man’s poison. Drinking
is good for some but bad for many.
Here are some famous quotes:
*Hear one
side and you will be in the dark; hear both sides, and all will be clear.
*Even in
evil, that dark cloud that hangs over creation, we discern rays of light and
hope, and gradually come to see in suffering and temptation, proofs and
instruments of the sublimest purposes of wisdom and love.
*The first
lesson of history, is, that evil is good.
*Good has
but one enemy, the evil; but the evil has two enemies, the good and itself.
*There is
nothing truly evil, but what is within us; the rest is either natural or
accidental.
*It is a great
evil not to be able to bear an evil.
*The lives
of the best of us are spent in choosing between evils.
The English poet ,
playwright, and actor William Shakespeare
(1564-1616) said: The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft
interred with their bones.
Finally, look at this eternal
fact. We live in a world of dualities. If there is life, there is also death;
if there is day, there is also night; if there is joy, there is also sorrow.
Also, remember the
natural fact that every cloud has a
silver lining.
******
G.R.Kanwal
20 October 2026
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