Evil, suffering and physical death: The causes
Evil always arises from the abuse of freedom. Materialistic man has little discernment, and therefore he often confuses good with evil and evil with good. The only being that can do evil is man. It can be countered that carnivorous animals do evil by hunting and killing other living beings. It can also be countered that some plants are poisonous and therefore they can do evil. Consequently, we might believe that evil could come not only from human beings but also from other beings.
In a completely pristine nature, there are no carnivorous creatures. Plants are not poisonous. Consequently, animals and plants cannot cause evil. To understand this statement, one must first explain that a cyclical phenomenon occurs on all planets in the universe. This phenomenon is eternal. The duration of a single cycle is extremely long. This cycle can be called the cosmic cycle. Each cycle consists of rise and fall. In the time of the rise, people develop spiritually and materially. In the period of the fall, human society degenerates both spiritually and materially. During the rising period of the cosmic cycle, plant species are abundant, so there is plenty of food for both people and animals. Therefore, there are no carnivorous creatures at all during this time. The carnivorous animals appear at the time when people begin to cut down trees. The fewer trees that are left, the less fruit there is. The felled trees fall to the ground and cause the death of many living creatures. There are numerous dead bodies everywhere. Animals and people can no longer find enough plant food and sometimes have no food at all.
Hunger drives animals and people to feed on the corpses lying on the ground. Many corpses are eaten by animals and humans, while others rot. Since there is no more plant food, but also no more meat from corpses, animals and humans begin to hunt animals to satisfy their hunger. This is how carnivorous humans and carnivorous animals came into being. Everything that is biological and occurs in a completely untouched nature is non-toxic. Consequently, so-called poisonous plants are not poisonous. If you know them very well, if you know how to prepare them, and if you know the maximum amount that the body can digest without problems, these plants will not cause poisoning. Even snake venom, given in small amounts, is useful because it immunizes the human body against snake bites and helps in the restoration of the human body. Snake venom, administered in appropriate doses, can cure diseases. The venom of the viper, for example, is one of the basic ingredients of many medicines. It is such an expensive product that it has a higher price than gold. A number of medicines used to treat many diseases are made from venom. The consumption of so-called poisonous plants and snake venom requires a lot of expertise, experience and extreme caution. Thus, evil does not come from plants or animals, but only from man.
Suffering comes from the fact that the suffering man has identified himself too much with matter, with the body and the physical senses. The ego in the spirit of man is constantly chasing after illusory things like the satisfaction of sense pleasure. The misuse of the senses, however, always leads to suffering. Suffering is the signal from the depths of the soul. It shows us that we are running in the wrong direction and have identified ourselves too much with impermanence, although the true nature of our soul is actually eternity. Suffering has another aspect. It is the negative energy that is transmitted into the cosmos in the form of thoughts, words and deeds. This energy is reflected and now comes against the one who sent it, in the form of strange destinies, illness, suffering, poverty and death in suffering. It is also a time when man has the opportunity to reflect on his ephemeral role in this world.
Death is the opposite of birth and not of life. Life is eternal. The divinity speaks through the forms and phenomena of the universe. It explains to us what physical death is. When you light a piece of wood and let it burn until the end, the piece of wood turns into ashes, heat and light. The physical death of man is not a complete disappearance of man, but a transformation. Man becomes ashes (= corpse), heat (= spirit) and light (= soul). The ashes unite with the earth, the spirit unites with the cosmic consciousness and the soul unites with the divinity. Man lives a cosmic life, which is composed of innumerable earthly and astral lives. Physical death at the end of the last life is a transformation.
The human body unites with the earth (= creation in gross material form), the spirit unites with the cosmic consciousness (= creation in fine material form) and the soul unites with the creator (= primal energy). In this way man becomes what he was: the creator and his creation. Man is the Creator and his creation. The human being is indeed immortal. It can die only when it wants to. The moment it dies, it is immersed in the material universe, where it depends on air, water, food and more. Being dead or alive is not a state, but a gradual experience ranging from dead to alive. The more dependent you are, the more dead you are. The more independent you are, the more alive you are. Consequently, life in the material universe can be considered as death. There is no other death. The material universe is a very tangled labyrinth.
The human being can escape from this labyrinth only if he finds the way out. In other words, the lower the level of consciousness, the deader you are. Fear is one of the most important factors that reduce the level of consciousness. Those who are afraid of death have to live their whole lives with the fear in their hearts of not dying too soon and doing their best to live as long as possible, which makes them fall into the hands of those who promise to always keep them healthy. Those who live their whole lives with fear in their hearts are unable to enjoy happiness, because fear destroys happiness. A life without happiness is tantamount to death. Thus, he who fears death is a dead man.
Author: Mihail Ispan