The Mystic's View of Evil: Understanding Darkness

# The Mystic's View of Evil: Understanding Darkness My dearest friend, let us start on a journey together into a topic that has troubled the human heart for millennia: the nature of evil and darkness. I know this can be a heavy subject, one that brings up fear, confusion, and pain. But I want you to know that you are safe here. We will explore this together with love, compassion, and a gentle curiosity. My name is Paul Wagner, and for over thirty years, I have walked the path of the mystic, seeking to understand the deepest truths of our existence. And what I have learned, above all else, is that love is the ultimate reality. So, let us begin by taking a deep breath together. Breathe in love, and breathe out any fear or apprehension you may be holding. Let us create a sacred space where we can look at this topic of darkness without being consumed by it. For the mystic does not fear the dark; they seek to understand it, to find the hidden light within it, and to integrate it into the wholeness of their being. ## The Great Misunderstanding: The Illusion of Separation From the mystic’s perspective, the root of all that we call “evil” stems from a fundamental misunderstanding, a great illusion: the illusion of separation. We perceive ourselves as separate beings, isolated individuals in a vast and often hostile universe. We see ourselves as separate from each other, from nature, and most more to the point, from the divine source of all that is. This sense of separation gives rise to fear. Fear for our survival, fear of not having enough, fear of being alone. And from this fear, all manner of darkness is born: greed, hatred, jealousy, violence. When we believe we are separate, we act from a place of lack, of scarcity. We try to protect our little, separate self, often at the expense of others. This, my dear friend, is the genesis of what we call evil. But the mystic knows a deeper truth. The mystic has experienced, in moments of striking clarity and union, that we are not separate at all. We are all expressions of the one divine consciousness, the one infinite being that is the source of all creation. We are waves in the great ocean of existence, each unique, yet all made of the same water. When we truly understand this, when we feel it in the very core of our being, the illusion of separation dissolves, and with it, the root of evil.

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## The Dance of Duality: Light and Shadow in the Cosmic Play Our world is a world of dualities. We have up and down, hot and cold, day and night, and of course, good and evil. It is easy to see these as opposing forces, locked in an eternal battle. But the mystic sees them as two sides of the same coin, a necessary part of the cosmic dance. Without the darkness, how would we know the light? Without the challenges, how would we grow in strength and wisdom? I remember sitting on the floor during one of Amma’s hugs, my body trembling uncontrollably as wave after wave of release rolled through me. Years of holding tension, fear, and grief dissolved in that shaking, raw and undeniable. It wasn’t some airy, pretty feeling — it was grit and surrender tangled deep in my nervous system. That moment taught me that darkness isn’t something to run from; it’s a body screaming for honest attention. Think of a beautiful piece of music. It is not just the notes that create the melody, but also the silences between them. The darkness is the silence that gives shape and meaning to the light. It is the fertile ground from which new life can spring. The ancient Taoists spoke of the yin and the yang, the two complementary forces that make up all of life. The darkness is the yin, the receptive, the mysterious, the unknown. It is not to be feared, but to be honored for the role it plays in the great unfolding of the cosmos. When we can hold this perspective, we can begin to see the challenges and difficulties in our lives not as punishments or mistakes, but as opportunities. Opportunities to learn, to grow, to deepen our compassion, and to find the light that is always present, even in the darkest of times. ## The Voice of the Ego: The True Source of Darkness So, if evil is not some external force, where does it come from? The mystic would say that it comes from the ego. The ego is the part of us that identifies with the separate self. It is the voice in our head that tells us we are not good enough, that we need to be more, have more, do more. It is the source of our fears, our judgments, and our attachments.

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When we are identified with the ego, we are living in a state of contraction. We are cut off from the expansive, loving nature of our true self. The ego is like a lens that distorts our perception of reality, making us see separation where there is only unity, and lack where there is only abundance. It is the ego that whispers temptations of power, control, and self-gratification, leading us down the path of darkness. But here is the secret, my friend: you are not your ego. The ego is a part of you, but it is not the whole of you. You are the awareness that is aware of the ego. You are the silent, spacious presence that is always there, beneath the chatter of the mind. When you can learn to observe your ego without judgment, to see its fears and desires with compassion, you begin to dis-identify from it. You begin to reclaim your power from the ego and to live from the heart, from the place of your true, divine nature. ## Ancient Wisdom on Darkness These are not new ideas, my dear friend. The mystics of all traditions have been pointing to these truths for centuries. I’ve sat across from thousands of people in intuitive readings, witnessing their stories etched in every muscle and breath. One woman came in crippled by a shadow she couldn’t name, her chest tight like a cage. Through breath work and shaking, I watched the walls she’d built begin to crack, her nervous system unclenching piece by piece. Evil and darkness, I’ve learned, often live in these locked-down places inside us, desperate for movement and truth. In **Advaita Vedanta**, the great mystical tradition of India, they speak of **Maya**, the veil of illusion that conceals the true nature of reality. Maya is what makes us see the world as a collection of separate objects, rather than as the one, indivisible Brahman, or ultimate reality. Evil, in this view, is a product of this illusion, a consequence of our ignorance of our true, divine self. In **Buddhism**, the focus is on **dukkha**, or suffering. The Buddha taught that suffering arises from our attachments, our cravings, and our aversions. It is our constant grasping for pleasure and our pushing away of pain that creates our own personal hell. The path to liberation, therefore, is not to fight against the darkness, but to understand its roots within our own minds and to cultivate a state of non-attachment and equanimity. In **mystical Christianity**, we have the story of the **Fall from Grace**. This can be understood not as a historical event, but as a metaphor for the human condition. We have all “fallen” from the state of unity with God into the illusion of separation. The path back to grace, the path of **at-one-ment**, is to die to the false self, the ego, and to be reborn in Christ, which is the universal, divine consciousness that lives within each of us.

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And in the **Kabbalah**, the mystical tradition of Judaism, they speak of the **Sitra Achra**, the “other side,” which is the area of darkness and impurity. However, the Kabbalists also teach that even in the Sitra Achra, there are sparks of holiness. Our sacred task, they say, is **Tikkun Olam**, to repair the world by finding these hidden sparks of light and raising them up, so restoring the unity of all things. ## Practical Wisdom: How to Work through the Darkness So, how do we apply this ancient wisdom to our own lives? How do we work through the darkness that we encounter, both within ourselves and in the world around us? First, we must cultivate the practice of **self-observation without judgment**. This means learning to watch our thoughts, our emotions, and our reactions without getting caught up in them. When you feel anger, for example, instead of either acting it out or suppressing it, can you simply observe it? Can you feel the energy of it in your body without judging it as “bad”? When you can do this, you create a space between yourself and the emotion, and in that space, you have the freedom to choose how you will respond. Second, we must cultivate **compassion and forgiveness**. This is not always easy, especially when we have been deeply hurt. But compassion is not about condoning harmful behavior. It is about recognizing the suffering that is at the root of that behavior. It is about seeing that the person who hurt you was acting from their own pain, their own illusion of separation. And forgiveness is not something you do for the other person; it is something you do for yourself. It is the act of releasing the burden of resentment and reclaiming your own peace. And finally, we must learn to **turn towards the light within**. No matter how dark it may seem, there is always a light within you. It is the light of your own divine consciousness, your own true self. You can connect with this light through meditation, through prayer, through spending time in nature, through acts of kindness and service. The more you turn your attention to this inner light, the more it will grow, until it illuminates your entire being and shines out into the world.

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## Conclusion: Embracing the Whole of You My dear friend, the mystic’s view of evil is not one of fear or condemnation, but one of striking compassion and understanding. It is a view that invites us to embrace the whole of ourselves, both the light and the shadow. It is a view that reminds us that we are all on a journey of remembrance, a journey back to the truth of who we are: divine, eternal, and one with all that is. So, I invite you to take a moment now to reflect on your own relationship with darkness. Can you find it in your heart to offer a little more compassion to the parts of yourself that you have judged as “bad”? Can you see the challenges in your life as opportunities for growth? Can you feel the spark of divine light that is always shining within you? Know that you are loved, you are whole, and you are a precious part of this beautiful, mysterious, and sacred dance of life. May you walk in love, may you walk in light, and may you always remember the truth of who you are. With all my love, Paul Wagner