Question: Is evil simply the absence of God's Presence, or is it an actual force?

Sri Chinmoy: It is a force. God’s Presence is everywhere, but we can say that evil is a force that has less light or insufficient light or insignificant light. Anything that has insufficient light we call a harmful or destructive force. Anything that has light in a very insignificant measure and, at the same time, does not add to our divinity, we can call evil. But from the real spiritual point of view, there is no such thing as evil; it is only that something is less perfect, less illumined and less fulfilling.

First we have an iota of light and peace, and gradually, gradually we increase it until we have infinite Light and infinite Peace. If we take this iota of light, which we had in the beginning, and compare it with the infinite Light that we will eventually have, immediately we see a vast difference. Our iota of peace or light can easily be assailed by fear, doubt, anxiety or jealousy because it is so small and weak. But if it makes friends with these unillumined forces, we don’t say at that time that it becomes an evil force.

If we are suffering from worries and anxieties, these are our possessions or we are their possessions. But we are still seekers. Some of the time we are consciously crying for God’s Peace, Light and Bliss. Inside us we always have an inner cry, so how can we be an evil force? Right now we do not have boundless light or boundless peace at our disposal. We have inside us a tiny drop of light, a tiny drop of peace. If we know that we have or we are a tiny drop, then let us jump into the sea of Light and become the sea itself. Let us not be afraid. There is nothing in the sea to devour us or kill us. Others are swimming in the sea, so let us also jump into the sea.

The little forces and big forces that we call destructive we have to throw into the effulgence of Light. The part of us that is keeping a sense of separativity, the small portion that wants to enjoy its sense of individuality or personality, is not actually evil. It is creating problems for us because it is unwilling to become unlimited. Anything that is limited, anything that does not aspire to become unlimited, we may see as evil, but the real problem is that it is limited. If we can throw that limited reality into the unlimited Reality by virtue of our inner cry and aspiration, then that limited thing will become unlimited. Once the drop enters into the ocean it becomes part and parcel of the vast ocean. If the limited thing can be enlarged and made unlimited, then where is the so-called evil?

From:Sri Chinmoy,Sound and silence, part 1, Agni Press, 1982
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