When we come to understand that everything is interconnected with everything else, it seems incongruous that there is evil in the world. Where is the “oneness” in all of this?
According to the kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the entire world has light—evil is really the absence of that light.
When we discover this light within our own self, it has the capacity to illuminate our way in life. It can make us realize the consequences of our actions and guide us in our decision making so that we can achieve what we’ve set out to do.
A lack of light means a lack of love—a lack of compassion, respect, and understanding. Without light we could cause harm unintentionally and bring an experience of darkness to another human being. When we make a conscious decision in the way we approach our life, by choosing to nurture the light within and be attentive to express it in our actions we can, one by one, make progress in dissolving darkness. It would be extremely naive to expect this to happen overnight, but like a stream of water that wears away a stone day by day, consistently focusing our attention toward a lightness of being has a way of lifting our spirit and clearing the air around us.
When we look at the acts that are considered evil in the present day, we can see that evil is not a thing in itself, but a belief in the hearts of the perpetrators that life—even their own—is of no value. In their tragic acts of violence they have projected that lack of light on to the rest of humanity, creating fear and suffering with their actions. Their lack of light is clearly their lack of appreciation for the great responsibility that comes to all of us with the gift of being able to choose. Sadly, their choice has been to damage the light.
We each have the capacity to eventually eradicate darkness in the world through our determination to consciously create an abundance of light. In the same way that even one small light can illuminate a room that has been filled with darkness, when we take on the responsibility to live in a compassionate way that is in partnership with the light from within, and support those who wish to do the same, we can create such an abundance of light that ultimately evil will not have a space to exist.
In elevating our own consciousness we don’t just create our internal peace—we also expand our ability to transmit this peace to others, and have a healing effect on those around us. In this way we can eventually transform any darkness into light.
Adapted from “Awakening Love: A Spiritual Quest Into Judaism” by Myra Estelle. www.myraestelle.com