Comments on: Good and Evil – Part II: Evil

By: green

green — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:07:00 +0000

“Strive ye then with all your heart to treat compassionately all humankind –except for those who have some selfish, private motive, or some disease of the soul. Kindness cannot be shown the tyrant, the deceiver, or the thief, because, far from awakening them to the error of their ways, it maketh them to continue in their perversity as before. No matter how much kindliness ye may expend upon the liar, he will but lie the more, for he believeth you to be deceived, while ye understand him but too well, and only remain silent out of your extreme compassion.” Abdul-Baha

It’s important to keep the above quote in mind when dealing with narrcissistic tyrants. Do not be a martyrer for lack of knowledge.

By: Nava

Nava — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:24:17 +0000

Thanks for the comment Liz! It’s true how focusing on the negative aspects of others really only causes us harm–even inducing things like bad blood pressure!

Kikomo, I haven’t read The Alchemist; however, with regards to seeing what we don’t like in ourselves reflected in others, you raise an excellent point. Baha’u'llah admonishes us not to magnify the faults of others that our own faults not appear great. He says:

O Companion of my Throne!
Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee; and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. Live then the days of thy life, that are as a fleeting moment with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and they nature sanctified, so that, free and content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom for evermore.

By: LizKauai

LizKauai — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:13:26 +0000

Thanks for the reflection! Good for the soul and the blood pressure!

By: Kikomo

Kikomo — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:24:27 +0000

Beautiful message from the Bahai writings.

I think however that when we think of someone as evil , we are essentially looking at our mistakes reflected in other people and we don’t like what we see.

It’s funny how when you look at people and things positively, thats exactly the result you get.
Anyone read the book The alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.??