Evil...

He who stores evil in his heart cannot see beauty.

Bowl of Saki, February 6, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

When someone tells another about some evil, he thinks that he himself is so good, so free from all evil. This side of human nature we see even in children. One child will come and tell how naughty the other is, thinking, 'I must be called good.' Such a tendency grows and develops. Life gathers the wickedness in people. The heart becomes impressed. In time the evil is stored up. That which is the store becomes the treasure, the world within.

He who stores evil cannot see good, because there is no good in this world that has not a little spark of evil in it. There is no evil in this world that has not a little spark of good. If a person only tried to find the spark of good, he could find it. But if a person seeks to find a little spark of evil in every good, he can do that also. Someone may say of another, 'He is very good.' But the neighbor says, 'Yes, he is good, but you do not know this about him: I will just tell you what he does!' Is there anyone who never contradicts when somebody is praising another? There has never been anyone in history about whom somebody has not spoken evil.

What is really good? The answer is, there is no such thing as good or evil. There is beauty. That which is beautiful, we call good. That which is ugly compared with the beautiful, we call evil: whether it is custom, idea, thought or action. This shows that this whole phenomenon of the universe is the phenomenon of beauty. Every soul has an inclination to admire beauty, to seek for beauty, to love beauty, and to develop beauty.

Once an ascetic thinker was taken to a variety show in New York, where there were all sorts of dances and acts and different amusements, the one who took him there was eager to find out what his opinion about it was and said to him, 'This must disgust you, a contemplative person, to come and see this nonsense going on the stage.' He replied, 'No, never. How can it be disgusting? Is it not my Krishna who is playing there?' It is those who have touched the inner beauty who are capable of appreciating beauty in all forms. It is not only that they appreciate it, they admire and worship it. If worship is given to anything or anyone it is given to God who is hidden in the form of beauty