[Advaita-l] "The Problem of Evil"

[S Jayanarayanan]

--- kuntimaddi sadananda <kuntimaddisada at yahoo.com> wrote:

> My vaasana-s determine my world of experinces - your vasanaas
> determine
> his world, and other peoples world is determined by thier vaasanas.  
> 
> The total world is the result of sum total of all vaasnaa-s.  If my
> vaasana-s are good the world around me will be good - if my vaasana-s
> are bad the world also will be evil. 

I would replace "VasanA" with "Karma". We can see a definite corelation
between Karma and experience:

good Karma --> good experience
bad Karma --> bad experience

> If we want to have a better
> world,
> we need to develop better samashTi vaasana-s.  We create our world -
> God
> is a factor who create the world demanded by the samashhTi vaasana-s.
> 
> World is nothing but expression of our vaasana-s.  
> 
> We can create a world free of evil - if we all work for it!
> 

I think this is veering away from the true call of the Vedanta. Trying
to "create a world free of evil" is a far cry from what Shankara
teaches. To quote H.H. Chandrashekhara Bharati, "If there are good
times, they are sure to be replaced by bad times. If there are bad
times, they are sure to be replaced by good times." And HH then advises
detachment from both good as well as bad times. 

The Bhagavad Gita calls what you would advocate "rAjasIka Karma", Karma
performed for the sake of a certain result, and asks us to avoid it. 

> Future vaasnaa-s are nothing but past vaasanaas modified by present
> action.  The problem of evil rests squarely on us! Let us stop
> complaining but work for the betterment of the world. UttishhTa -
> Jaagrata - Arise and awake is the call of Vedanta.
> 

Arise and Awake from Karma itself (which includes both good as well as
bad Karma), not merely "bad Karma" alone. 

"Arise, Awake and Stop not till the slightest attachment to Action is
destroyed!"

-Kartik

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