When we hear the phrase good vs evil , we normally think of a story, an incident or even some people. 

The stories that we heard from the ancient past (sometimes mythological) are filled with stories of good vs evil. The evil was always represented by something unnatural and demonic. None of us wanted to be associated with those evil characters. Later, as we started reading stories with morals, it was difficult to distinguish between the good and the evil because they did not look any different. We could tell them apart only based on their actions. As we grew older we realized that these good and evil characters are not always outside us , they stay right within us.

Let me share with you an excerpt from one of my favorite stories. It is from a great epic of ancient times.   

Long ago there lived a Prince who dreamed of becoming the King one day. He wanted the whole kingdom to himself. But, according to the law and the circumstances that prevailed at that time, he was asked to hand over the kingdom to his cousins or at least share the kingdom with them. He refused to do so, and was willing to start a bloody war to get rid of that part of his family and friends that stood against him. He wanted his cousins thrown out of the kingdom and refused to give them any consideration at all.

The Prince was approached by a negotiator who told him that giving away a couple of villages in the Kingdom to his cousins in order to avoid a war was not a bad idea at all.  When The Price refused to budge, the negotiator tried another tactic. He said, “O Prince, you know very well that you are not doing the right thing. You know the Kingdom rightfully belongs to your cousins and you are being unreasonable by waging a war. Your actions will always be considered deplorable. Why are you doing this?” To this The Prince replies ” I know what I should do and what I should not. I can distinguish the right from the wrong. Yet I cannot put it into practice. I can’t help it.”

That was the beginning of a war that went on for a very long time, bringing destruction and death. The Prince pays the price with his own life. This is a story of good vs evil.

End of the story.

(This is a story from the The Mahabharata. Duryodhana, the Prince and Krishna, the negotiator)

I love this story because it talks about the power that each person has to steer his life in either way. It shows how easy it is to become evil. Being good on the other hand takes a lot of effort and practice.

This war happens within us all the time. The war of good vs evil, the war between what we are supposed to do and what we want to do. The difference between the good and evil being the willingness to practice the right and the decision to give in to the wrong. 

Every time the good in us wins over the evil in us, we are putting the knowledge of good into practice. Each time we do this, it is our victory and it calls for a celebration.

There are many ways in which we celebrate the victory of good over evil. Millions of people in the Indian subcontinent celebrate this victory of good over evil every year in the form of a festival. They celebrate the return of a righteous (good) king, Rama, from a war that killed a demon (evil), Ravana. This is done by decorating homes, lighting lamps, distributing sweets and bursting crackers. ( This is a story from the epic- Ramayana)

That lamp which lights the home is symbolic of taking away the darkness caused by evil thoughts and by ignorance. A festival that celebrates the victory of light,  knowledge and good. 

Here is me, lighting a little lamp in my corner of the world to celebrate that victory and to remind myself that good always prevails . May the light of knowledge and good take away the darkness created by ignorance and evil.

Happy Diwali.

Image by Omni Matryx from Pixabay

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