A. If God is everywhere, why don’t we see it? We will see God when we leave the earth?
B. Why is there pain in the world?
C. How can we define evil and where does it come from?
Text for reading
161. Someone in the depths of a valley immersed in a thick fog cannot see the sun. Nevertheless, because of the diffused light, he infers the presence of the sun. If he begins to ascend a mountain, then as he ascends, the fog begins to clear and the light becomes brighter, but he still cannot see the sun. It is only after climbing above the haze and finding himself in perfectly clear air that he sees the sun in its entire splendor.
162. The same applies to the soul. Although invisible and intangible to us, the perispiritual envelope is, for the soul, truly material and still too dense for certain perceptions. This envelope becomes spiritualized to the degree that the soul ascends in morality. The imperfections of the soul are like layers of haze that obscure its sight. Each imperfection that it removes is one less stain, but it is only after it is completely purified that it enjoys the fullness of its faculties.
163. Since God is divine essence par excellence, God can be perceived in all God’s glory only by spirits who have reached the highest degree of dematerialization. If imperfect spirits cannot see God, it is not because they are any farther away from God than are the others. Like all the beings of nature, they are immersed in the divine fluid, just as we are immersed in light. The only difference is that their imperfections are “mists” that hide God from their sight. When the fog finally clears, they will see God resplendent; to do so, they will neither have to ascend nor go in search of God in the depths of the infinite. With their spirit sight rid of the moral veils that obscure it, they will see God wherever they may be, even on the earth, because God is everywhere.
164. The spirit purifies itself only over time, and its different incarnations are the alembics at the bottom of which it leaves a few impurities each time. Upon leaving its corporeal envelope, it does not instantly rid itself of its imperfections. It is for this reason that after death it does not see God any better than when it was alive; but to the degree that it purifies itself, it has a more distinct intuition about God. Even if it does not see God, it does comprehend God better – the light is less diffused.
165. Thus, when spirits say that God is prohibiting them from responding to some particular question, it is not that God has appeared to them or has spoken to them in order to condone or prohibit this or that thing – not at all; but they sense God and receive emanations from God’s thought, just as what happens with us in relation to the spirits who envelop us in their fluid, although we cannot see them.
166. No human, therefore, can see God with the eyes of the body. If such a favor were granted to a few, it would be only in the state of ecstasy, when the soul is so disengaged from the bonds of matter that seeing God would be possible while incarnated. Such a privilege would be accorded only to select souls who have incarnated on a mission and not for expiation.
167. Under what form does God appear to those who have made themselves worthy of such a favor? Is it under some form? Is it a human form or a point of resplendent light? This is what human language is powerless to describe, because there is no point of comparison that could provide us an idea.
168. Chapter III - 1. Since God is the principle of all things and since this principle is all wisdom, all goodness and all justice, then everything that proceeds from God must share God’s attributes. Since God is infinitely wise, just and good, God can produce nothing unwise, unjust or evil. Hence, the evil we see cannot have its origin in God.
169. If evil were among the attributes of a special being that we call Ahriman or Satan, then one of two things would apply: either this being would be equal to God, and, consequently, as powerful and eternal as God, or it would be inferior to God. In the first case, there would be two rival powers struggling unceasingly, each seeking to undo what the other is doing, and mutually opposing each other. This theory is irreconcilable with the unity revealed in the order of the universe. In the second case, since that being is inferior to God, it would be subordinate to God. Since it had not existed for all eternity – which would make it equal to God – it would have had to have a beginning. If it was created, it could only have been created by God. Thus, God would have created the Spirit of Evil, which would be the negation of his infinite goodness.
170. Nevertheless, evil does exist and does have a cause. Evils of every kind – whether physical or moral – which afflict humankind, form two categories that must be distinguished: those that humans can avoid and those that are outside their will. Among the latter, one must place natural disasters.
171. Human beings, whose faculties are limited, can neither grasp nor fathom the objectives of the Creator. They judge things from the point of view of their own personality and the artificial interests and conventions they have created for themselves, and which are not in the order of nature. That is why they often consider as evil and unjust what they would consider just and admirable if they were to see the cause, the purpose and the end result. If they were to seek each thing’s reason for being and usefulness, they would realize that everything bears the mark of infinite wisdom, and they would bow before that wisdom, even for the things they do not understand.
172. Humans have received a share of intelligence that can help them avoid, or at least largely mitigate, the effects of all natural disasters. The more they acquire wisdom and advance in civilization, the less such misfortunes will be disastrous. With a wisely forward-looking social organization, they will at least neutralize their consequences if they cannot be entirely avoided.
173. It is thus that humans make unhealthy areas healthy, neutralize pestilent miasmas, make barren lands fertile and manage to preserve them from floods; that they build more sanitary and sound dwellings which are more solid against the winds that are so necessary for the purification of the atmosphere, and in which they shelter themselves from the elements; and finally, that, little by little, necessity has forced them to create the sciences, which have helped them improve the habitability of the globe and increase the sum of their well-being.
174. Since humans must progress, the ills to which they are exposed are a stimulus for exercising their intelligence and all their physical and mental capabilities, thereby inciting them to search for the means to avoid them. If they had nothing to fear, no need would lead them to seek such means and their minds would become sluggish from inactivity; they would invent nothing nor discover anything. Pain is the goad that drives humans forward on the path of progress.
175. However, the most numerous ills are those that humans create for themselves due to their own vices, those that result from their pride, selfishness, ambition and greed, and from their excesses in all things; therein lies the cause behind the wars, disasters, conflicts, injustices, oppression of the weak by the strong – and finally most of the diseases that afflict them.
176. God has established laws full of wisdom, which have only the good as their purpose. Humans have within themselves everything they need to comply with them. Their pathway is traced out by their conscience and the divine law is engraved on their heart; furthermore, God incessantly reminds them of these laws through messiahs and prophets, through all the incarnate spirits who have received the mission to enlighten, moralize and improve them, and, in these latter times, through the multitude of discarnate spirits who are manifesting themselves everywhere.
177. If humans were to conform strictly to the divine laws, there is no doubt that they would avoid the most pungent ills, and that they would live happily on the earth. If they do not, it is by virtue of their own free will, and so they must suffer the consequences. However, God, full of goodness, has placed the remedy alongside evil, that is to say, evil itself gives rise to the good. A time comes when the excess of moral evil becomes intolerable and makes humans feel the necessity to change course. Taught by experience, they are compelled to seek a remedy in the good, but always as an effect of their free will.
178. When they enter onto a better path, it is due to their will and because they realize the inappropriateness of their earlier ways. Thus, necessity forces them to improve morally in order to be happier, just as this same necessity has forced them to improve the material conditions of their existence.
179. One could say that evil is the absence of the good, the same as cold is the absence of heat. Just as cold is not a special fluid, neither is evil a distinct attribute; one is simply the negation of the other. Thus, where the good does not exist, evil necessarily does. Not practicing evil is already the beginning of the good. God desires only the good; evil proceeds only from humans. If in creation there were a being predisposed to evil, no one could avoid it; but since humans have the cause of evil within THEMSELVES, and at the same time have their free will and the divine laws as a guide, they could avoid evil whenever they wished.
180. Let us take a common example for comparison. A landowner knows that at the edge of his property there is a dangerous spot, where those who venture onto it could die or get hurt. What does the landowner do to prevent accidents? He places a sign next to the spot warning of the danger of going further. Such is the law; it is wise and foresightful. If, in spite of this, imprudent people disregard the warning, go beyond it and something bad happens, whom can they blame but themselves? Thus it is with all evil; humans would avoid it if they would observe the divine laws.
181. For example, God has put a limit on the satisfaction of needs; humans are warned by satiety; if they surpass this limit, they do so intentionally. The disorders, illnesses and death that can ensue are therefore the effect of their own lack of foresight, not God’s.
182. If evil is the result of the imperfections of human beings, and human beings were created by God, then one might say that, if God did not create evil, God created the cause of evil, at least; if God had made humans perfect, evil would not exist.
183. If humans had been created perfect, fate would have led them toward the good. However, by virtue of their free will, fate led them neither toward the good nor toward evil. God willed them to be subject to the law of progress, and for such progress to be the fruit of their own effort in order for them to have the merit for it. In the same way, they bear the responsibility for the evil committed as a result of their free will. The issue therefore lies in knowing the source in human beings for their propensity toward evil.
184. If one were to study all the passions, and even all the vices, one could see that they have their origin in the self-preservation instinct. This instinct can be found in all its might in the animals and in those primitive humans closest to the animal existence, wherein instinct dominates exclusively. Among them there is not yet the moral sense as a counterweight; they have not yet awakened to the intellectual life. Conversely, instinct weakens as intelligence develops, because intelligence dominates matter.
185. The destiny of human beings lies in the spirit life; but in the first phases of their corporeal existence there are only material needs to satisfy, and toward that end the exercising of the passions is a need for the preservation both of the species and individuals – materially speaking. But once they leave that period, there are other needs: first, semi-moral and semi-material needs; next, exclusively moral. It is then that the spirit dominates matter; if it shakes off its yoke, it advances along the providential path and grows closer to its final destiny.
186. If, to the contrary, it allows itself to be dominated by matter, it holds itself back by identifying with the animal. In such a situation, what was once something good because it was a need of its condition, becomes evil, not only because it is no longer a need, but because it becomes detrimental to the spiritualization of the being. That which is considered an attribute in a child becomes a flaw in an adult. So, evil is relative and responsibility for it is proportional to the spirit’s degree of advancement.
187. All the passions have their providential usefulness; otherwise, God would have made something useless and noxious. It is their abuse that constitutes evil, and humans abuse things by virtue of their free will. Later, enlightened through their own interests, they freely choose between good and evil.
Answers to Proposed Questions
A. If God is everywhere, why don’t we see it? We will see God when we leave the earth?
We do not see God due to limited perceptions of our visual organs, unable to view certain things, even material bodies. Solely with spiritual vision is that we can see spirits and things of the immaterial world. Only our soul therefore may have the perception of God, but only the spirits that have attained the highest degree of dematerialization may perceive and therefore will see God. (Genesis, Ch. II, items 31 to 36)
B. Why is there pain in the world?
Pain is the goad that drives the Spirit forward on the path of progress. But you must understand that many evils are created by our addictions; those which come from our pride, selfishness, ambition, greed and excesses. Therein lies the cause behind the wars, disasters, conflicts, injustices, oppression of the weak by the strong – and finally most of the diseases.
If humans were to conform strictly to the divine laws, there is no doubt that they would avoid the most pungent ills, and that they would live happily on the earth. If they do not, it is by virtue of their own free will, and so they must suffer the consequences of their conduct, then the pain arises as a necessary result of their own actions. (Genesis, Ch. III, items 5 to 7)
C. How can we define evil and where does it come from?
Evil is the absence of the good, the same as cold is the absence of heat. Thus, where the good does not exist, evil necessarily does. Not practicing evil is already the beginning of the good. God desires only the good; evil proceeds only from humans. If in creation there were a being predisposed to evil, no one could avoid it; but since humans have the cause of evil within THEMSELVES, and at the same time have their free will and the divine laws as a guide, they could avoid evil whenever they wished. All they need is to fulfill the divine laws. (Genesis, Ch. III, items 8 and 9)
