Goodness is indeed stronger than evil
November 2022
By Suma Varughese
Good is indeed stronger than evil, says Suma Varughese
The country is celebrating Dussehra as I write this. Across the land, households are honouring the victory of good over evil. So, really, is there any innate power within goodness that guarantees this victory in every scuffle with the dark forces?
Most of us would probably shake our heads sadly. We have witnessed only too often the exploitation of the poor and the innocent by the rich and the powerful.
What, however, if we were to change our perspective?
For starters, how about shifting our focus from the short term to the long term? Aha! Immediately, the scenario brightens up. Karma,
to begin with, gallops to our rescue. If we were to follow the lives of wrongdoers into their sunset years, we may find them undergoing many setbacks—financial, relational, or healthwise. Even if their karma decrees a fair passage through the present life, none of us can avoid the consequences of our actions. In some lifetime or the other, it catches up with us, and we pay for every misdemeanour.
Secondly, we need to consider the nature of the Universe itself. Is it good or bad? The more we study Creation (and Nature is our supreme teacher) the more we realise that a golden thread of love, harmony, peace, selflessness, and generosity runs through all of Nature and of life.
Nothing lives for itself alone. The rain falls to bring salvation to the thirsty Earth and waterbodies. The tree offers shade, food and sanctuary to a whole brood of living things, including mankind. Nature ensures that all living things, even in the course of doing their daily rounds, serve the larger whole. While buzzing around looking for nectar to sip, bees pollinate all that they rest on and trigger off the cycle of growth among plant life. Love hums like a tanpura (Indian musical instrument) through all creation. God indeed is love.
How, then, can evil survive? Our national credo, Satyameva Jayate, says it all. In the fullness of time, all falsity fades away, and only truth triumphs. And truth means all that is eternal, including goodness and justice.
Now let’s shift the perspective from the outside to the inside. Outside, a wrong-doer may appear to be the picture of prosperity and peace, but what do we know of their inner life? There is certainly no question that the more harm we do to others, the more the finer qualities within us shut down. Even our conscience, our eternal gatekeeper, recedes. The more our goodness shuts down, the grosser becomes our vibration.
The first thing that happens is our alienation from ourselves. There is such commotion within that we can hardly peep inside. And alienation from ourselves is effectively our vehicle to ruin.
Secondly, we will be denied all the great gifts of life, peace, love, joy, and intimacy with another. Some amount of goodness needs to exist for us to earn these great graces.
And thirdly, we will be completely alienated from God. The more we spin away, the feebler our connection, and the less grace from the Universe. Many of us, especially those who step on the path of growth and transformation, may experience an active sense of being looked after. Miracles visit us fairly often. Help comes to us from unexpected sources. Answers to spiritual questions woo us from all sides. Life appears to be on our side.
So, yes, from the time we take the first step against our conscience, our happiness will be a casualty. As the Buddha rightly said, “Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it.”
Suma Varughese is a thinker, writer, and former Editor-inChief of Life Positive. She also
holds writer’s workshops. Write to her at sumavarughese@ hotmail.com.
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