Conflict of the Opposites

A week before when an youngster asked this question to me "Anna, what in this world is Good and What is Bad?"

I quote here a saying by renowned philosopher J.Krishnamurthi to add more.


I wonder if there is such a thing as evil? Please give your attention, go with me, let us inquire together. We say there is good and evil. There is envy and love, and we say that envy is evil and love is good. Why do we divide life, calling this good and that bad, thereby creating the conflict of the opposites? Not that there is not envy, hate, brutality in the human mind and heart, an absence of compassion, love, but why do we divide life into the thing called good and the thing called evil? Is there not actually only one thing, which is a mind that is inattentive? Surely, when there is complete attention, that is, when the mind is totally aware, alert, watchful, there is no such thing as evil or good; there is only an awakened state. Goodness then is not a quality, not a virtue, it is a state of love. When there is love, there is neither good nor bad, there is only love. When you really love somebody, you are not thinking of good or bad, your whole being is filled with that love. It is only when there is the cessation of complete attention, of love, that there comes the conflict between what I am and what I should be. Then that which I am is evil, and that which I should be is the so-called good.You watch your own mind and you will see that the moment the mind ceases to think in terms of becoming something, there is a cessation of action which is not stagnation; it is a state of total attention, which is goodness. 


- by J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life


Thinking about these lines from Krishnaji.. "When the mind is totally aware" What does he calls mind here. The conscious one or the Un-conscious one or super conscious one. All lies within ourselves. That is the fact. But Human may often misunderstand this statement, that whatever mind is aware with alertness, then that will be an awakened state. 




But there is not only the self, we have something called society around us, which may easily discriminate this state into good and bad with its own defined rules. Society often may not be aware that it frequently adjusts these rules when it makes mistakes or what is so called as unawareness. It is too tough to educate the society.


But as human being a social animal, he cannot easily enter into this awareness. He will not surely. But will take it as granted for working out freely in his own attitude, causing troubles and trauma to the living environment. 


A week before when an youngster asked this question to me "Anna, what in this world is Good and What is Bad?"


My answer was similar to what Krishnaji said, but added I said, " This needs a proper understanding of you in attachment with the current environment you live in. Because you are marked by the society, though the self is the judging center. If you have to match the both in right terms, then it needs too high level of understanding of both. When you have this understanding, then whatever you do will become a state of acceptance to the society and vice versa. The conflicts between you and the society will still continue. But when everyone in the society get this deep level of understanding, then these so called conflicts will cease. Then there will not any idealization of Good and Bad. But on the run this is not possible practically. Because this needs a high level of Maturity which humans don't possess or want to possess"


Then comes the next line "When you really love somebody, you are not thinking of good or bad, your whole being is filled with that love"


Almost explained in my above passage of explanation to the boy, I feel this is true, but if it don't match up with the rules of the society, then as an individual self, we become helpless in our real attempt of Love, with awareness, and the society marks us as somebody BAD and leaves untouchable. The fact being, that loved somebody, belonging to the same society, also accepts what society has marked. 


So the conflict of this opposites : Good and Evil must be taken practically by every human and understand the real fact. For after all we, human are behind the scents of Peace, Happiness and Harmony, whose rules are still formulated by the living society.