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Summary of Question:	The Conscept Of Evil
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Sunday, 5/25/2003 8:51 PM MDT

This might be a really odd question, I will try to explain it as much as I can.

I have a problem believing that there is such thing as GOOD or EVIL. Let's just take that as relevent to each other, if there is evil, there is good and vice versa.

Let's take evil. I'll start from an example:
My dad was shot (just last month) by a robber. Therefore, the robber did evil. But did he really? He was intoxicated and high on drugs which distorted his perception, he did not that he was killing a human being and wouldn't even dream of it if he were fully aware. Now many would say, that doung drigs is evil and he should have thought of the consequences before. Do we know why he did drugs? There's no "just because" in every evil done. He might have had a bad past which has pushed him into the quicksand of drugs, plus, he probably had peer-pressure and mis-information which led him to start taking drugs and keep guns.

Now In the world, it is sane to put him into jail so he would not do this again, but what about in god's court? Will he get punished?

I do not believe that ANYONE would do evil without a reason. No one wakes up in the morning and decides to go hurt some body. It's ALWAYs either personality(which is supposedly god's creation), some kind of mental unstability (in case of Hitler for example), mis-information (which is usually the deal), or simple not knowing what's the deal (in instances where the person does not know of the outcome or if he does not know how to handle his/her emotions).

I've thought about this really, and if god knows why someone does what he/she does (he should understand), they should not get punishment or reward, and therefore no Karma. Therefore, one destination after death.

Please help me because I'm unable to understand all this.

Jazz

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Dear Jazz,

I'm sorry to hear about your father. I hope he is on the mend now.

It is not an odd question at all. I also do not think that there is an evil as described in most religions. Out of personal pain and anguish, people do harmful things, but they are not possessed by the devil/satan. Here we have the nature/nurture argument again, as is discussed in any Psychology 101 college class. Nature is what some is born with, like a predisposition in their genes for addiction, schizophrenia, depression, personality disorder, high intelligence, low intelligence, humor, easy-going personality, athletic, musical, etc., etc. Nurture is the environment in which one lives, like parents, religion, education, opportunities, financial security, culture, etc. Some one may be born in a poor situation, but because they have a loving, supportive family, they excell. Have you seen the movie Antwone Fischer? I read the book. He was born in a poor situation and didn't have loving caregivers, but somehow he made it. I think his more easy-going and shy personality might have saved him. Remember his foster brother,who was more fiery and angry, he didn't do so well. Of course, I think we also bring with us karma from past lives, which we have to face in subsequent lives.

Newton's Law, (for every action, there is a reaction) is just the concept of karma. If I do good acts, good things will come back to me. If I do hateful, and hurtful ones, those kinds of things will come back to me as well. What if something horrible happens to a good person? It seems unjust doesn't it? My only explaination is that that person is paying off karma real fast. Between lives, I think there are a lot of negotiations going on between souls before they even come back into another human form, to make sure everyone gets the lessons they need to live out their karmas.

We are living in a very chaotic, insecure world today. Most people don't know how to manage their stress and emotions. Therefore, they use destructive things to cope. This does not mean that they are evil; they just don't know anything else. What can we do? We can pull our lives together...I use Breath, Yoga, Meditation,Shabd Guru and exercise to do that. Then, we can model our tranquility to others and teach them when they are ready to learn.

I hope this answers your question, Jazz. May Guru guide you. GTKK