Duality of Good and Evil

By on September 9, 2010 in Balance

Question:

Is duality definitely a human creation? I was discussing Good and Evil in the universe with a friend and we both agreed that each exist. I argued the two were related as humanity had created a distinction between the two. He argued that both existed, but they did not necessarily need each other to exist. Thus, he believes fighting to eradicate manifestations of Evil is more pure than accepting Evil as a necessary counterpart to Good in the totality of wholeness. He says that Good is an ideal worth fighting to uphold rather than following your advice to surrender to choiceless awareness. I want to respond with ideas of wholeness, detachment, and acceptance, but he is not convinced that humanity necessarily created this separation between Good and Evil. Is there any way to fully know? I hope you can help me by elaborating on the subject.

Answer:

I wouldn’t say that duality is so much a human creation as it is a human misinterpretation. Ultimately reality is one, and that is our essence. Not knowing our true nature means we lose knowledge of that ultimate oneness. We see duality and all diversity as a result.

I see good and evil as moralistic human constructions that are not intrinsic to the cosmos.  Fighting for good and fighting against evil means you are fighting based on your present level of limited awareness that is subject to change. I prefer to strive for dharma which is evolutionary action that is in balance and harmony with the environment, and leave out the labels of good and evil.

Love,

Deepak

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Time Magazine heralded Deepak Chopra as one of the 100 heroes and icons of the century, and credited him as "the poet-prophet of alternative medicine." Entertainment Weekly described Deepak Chopra as "Hollywood's man of the moment, one of publishing's best-selling and most prolific self-help authors." He is the author of more than 50 books and more than 100 audio, video and CD-Rom titles. He has been published on every continent and in dozens of languages. Fifteen of his books have landed on the New York Times Best-seller list. Toastmaster International recognized him as one of the top five outstanding speakers in the world. Through his over two decades of work since leaving his medical practice, Deepak continues to revolutionize common wisdom about the crucial connection between body, mind, spirit, and healing. His mission of "bridging the technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east" remains his thrust and provides the basis for his recognition as one of India's historically greatest ambassadors to the west. Chopra has been a keynote speaker at several academic institutions including Harvard Medical School, Harvard Business School, Harvard Divinity School, Kellogg School of Management, Stanford Business School and Wharton.His latest book is "Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul."
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2 Responses to Duality of Good and Evil

  1. ardverk September 9, 2010 at 12:22 am #

    Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ;)

  2. Viewer September 9, 2010 at 5:43 am #

    Dear Deepak….I've been following you for a long time, since early 90's. Of late, you're totally Immersed in being a Karma yogi…just uplifting humanity. All your talk nowadays is 100% directed towards that, which is fine I think. But when you do that, you cannot quite see and talk abt the dark forces of nature.

    It's like saying the Destructive force of the nature is not Intrinsic to the cosmos. How incorrect is that Deepak! Have you forgotten the Equilibrium in the Universe? When Tsunami occured, when u were questioned by L.king, u said "actually I see the presence of God in this" what u meant was the Destructive force of nature.

    When Nisargadatta Maharaj talked abt the Saint and the Sinner, what do you think he must have talked??

    The Intrinsic forces of the cosmos are not all goody goody stuff Dear Sir. Two equal and opposite forces are at play.

    Peace&Love…Sachin

    PS: Primarily intended for Deepak, Dear Folks. I wud never get into a discussion or debate here. I Thank all. Thank you again.