All waters are brooded over by Nârâyana, but every kind of water is not fit for drink. Similarly, though it is true that the Almighty dwells in every place, yet every place is not fit to be visited by man. As one kind of water may be used for washing our feet, another may serve the purpose of ablution, and others may be drunk, and others again may not be touched at all; so there are different kinds of places. We may approach some, we can enter into the inside of others, others we must avoid, even at a distance.
Ramakrishna
The only way to understand what’s evil, and how evil is not a dual reality outside the Absolute, is through the understanding of contingency, simple events, that lies in the manifested realm of existence. This manifested realm must contain the elements that permit movement which are ultimately represented in the Ying-Yang symbol, a fluctuating duality between light and shadows, where possibilities are open to be in endless combinations, and none of these combinations is outside of the One.
The fall from grace is an event which is proper from the manifested realm, but this fall comes from the confusion itself of the uses we give to the things in this world rather than the things by themselves. Whereas food is there to nourish us, we have separated this purpose to only focus in the instant gratification of gluttony, as we do with sex, with sleep, with art, etc.
Therefore, the right uses of the things in this world, can lead us to a holier life. “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” Corinthians 6:12. In the contingency of this world, and in our independence, we feel free to take any pleasure with no consequence to our good, nonetheless, we must be wise to choose what things are really helpful, in order to reach God through His will, in the use we give to the things in this world, to finally transcend the duality of this manifested realm, to be not brought under the power of any thing.
To use the right waters in the right places is the ultimate act of human in accordance to the design itself of reality. That’s the end of sin and the beginning of grace.
In countless myths from all traditional cultures of the world, strong, fair heroes do battle with vile and deformed beasts. Sometimes the heroes are remarkable mortals, sometimes the gods themselves, the villains also varying in power. These tales have endured in popularity, even to the modern day, although their true meaning is no longer widely understood. It is often assumed that these tales serve to show the triumph of good over evil and to serve as an inspiration to act in a similar manner. While this is an accurate interpretation, it is not the most profound level of understanding, and one must not neglect the metaphysical significance, the meaning of the tales that can be applied to internal spiritual realization.
The characters in these myths represent the eternal metaphysical principles that govern the world and the life of man. The “battle” that takes places represents the struggle in manifested things that exist suspended between the beauty and order of the divine and the shadow existence of matter. These things can either hold fast to the divine and thereby stabilize their existence (that is, the heroes can be triumphant), or they can veer towards matter and dissolution (that is, the villains can be triumphant). The Greek philosopher Proclus describes it thus, referencing the myth of Athena doing battle with the giants:
“The true warfare with the giants takes place in souls: whenever reason and intellect rule in them, the goods of the Olympians and Athena prevail, and the entire life is kingly and philosophical; but whenever the passions reign, or in general the worse and earth-born elements, then the constitution within them is tyranny.” ¹
Many of those who deplore modernity lament that the glorious struggles of past legends are absent from a world that has been reduced by technology and quantitative valuations, and they long for an age when a man can exert all of his energies in a struggle for the good. While such external conditions are indeed desirable, a yearning for such an external struggle must not obscure the true battle. If the true battle is in our souls, then good men must be more fervent in this battle; they must crave victory and sacrifice in this struggle just as assiduously as they would with swords in their hands. Unlike the physical battle, this inner battle does not end, at least not for any but the most advanced spiritual masters. Consider, then, how hard you would fight and strain when facing enemies on the field, and make that thought present in your mind when the worse elements within yourself begin to assert themselves.
¹Proclus. Proclus’ Commentary on Plato’s “Parmenides” Trans. Glenn R. Morrow and John M. Dillon. New York: Princeton UP, 1992. Print, 71.