第7章 在不幸中成长The Lesson of Evil(2)

No,there is a way,and I speak it with gladness,by which evil can be slain for ever;there is a process by which disease,poverty,or any adverse condition or circumstance can be put on one side never to return;there is a method by which a permanent prosperity can be secured,free from all fear of the rectum of adversity,and there is a practice by which unbroken and unending peace and bliss can be partaken of and realized.

And the beginning of the way which leads to this glorious realization is the acquirement of a right understanding of the nature of evil.

It is not sufficient to deny or ignore evil;it must be understood.It is not enough to pray to God to remove the evil;you must find out why it is there,and what lesson it has for you.

It is of no avail to fret and fume and chafe at the chains which bind you;you must know why and how you are bound.Therefore,reader,you must begin to examine and understand yourself.

Evil is not an abstract some thing outside yourself;it is an experience in your own heart,and by patiently examining and rectifying your heart you will be gradually led into the discovery of the origin and nature of evil,which will necessarily be followed by its complete eradication.

All evil is corrective and remedial,and is therefore not permanent.It is rooted in ignorance,ignorance of the true nature and relation of things,and so long as we remain in that state of ignorance,we remain subject to evil.

Evil has always been symbolized by darkness,and Good by light,and hidden within the symbol is contained the perfect interpretation,the reality;for,just as light always floods the universe,and darkness is only a mere speck or shadow cast by a small body intercepting a few rays of the illimitable light,so the Light of the Supreme Good is the positive and life-giving power which floods the universe,and evil the insignificant shadow cast by the self that intercepts and shuts off the illuminating rays which strive for entrance.

When night folds the world in its black impenetrable mantle,no matter how dense the darkness,it covers but the small space of half our little planet,while the whole universe is ablaze with living light,and every soul knows that it will awake in the light in the morning.

Know,then,that when the dark night of sorrow,pain,or misfortune settles down upon your soul,and you stumble along with weary and uncertain steps,that you are merely intercepting your own personal desires between yourself and the boundless light of joy and bliss,and the dark shadow that covers you is cast by none and nothing but yourself.

And just as the darkness without is but a negative shadow,an unreality which comes from nowhere,goes to nowhere,and has no abiding dwelling place,so the darkness within is equally a negative shadow passing over the evolving and Lightborn soul.

“But,”I fancy I hear someone say,“Why pass through the darkness of evil at all?”Because,by ignorance,you have chosen to do so,and because,by doing so,you may understand both good and evil,and may the more appreciate the light by having passed through the darkness.

As evil is the direct outcome of ignorance,so,when the lessons of evil are fully learned,ignorance passes away,and wisdom takes its place.

He,therefore,who would shake himself free of the evil which encompasses him,must be willing and ready to learn,and must be prepared to undergo that disciplinary process without which no grain of wisdom or abiding happiness and peace can be secured.

A man may shut himself up in a dark room,and deny that the light exists,but it is everywhere without,and darkness exists only in his own little room.

So you may shut out the light of Truth,or you may begin to pull down the walls of prejudice,self-seeking and error which you have built around yourself,and so let in the glorious and omnipresent Light.

By earnest self-examination strive to realize,and not merely hold as a theory,that evil is a passing phase,a self-created shadow;that all your pains,sorrows and misfortunes have come to you by a process of undeviating and absolutely perfect law;have come to you because you deserve and require them,and that by first enduring,and then understanding them,you may be made stronger,wiser,nobler.

When you have fully entered into this realization,you will be in a position to mould your own circumstances,to transmute all evil into good and to weave,with a master hand,the fabric of your destiny.