The evil in ourselves - Part 1 of 2
November 3, 2013
The Lion took the Hare with him:
they ran together to the well and looked in.
The Lion saw his own image:
from the water appeared the form of a loin with a plump hare beside
him.
No sooner did the Lion espy his enemy
than he left the Hare and sprang into the well.
He fell into the pit which he had dug:
his iniquity recoiled on his own head.
O Reader, how many an evil that you see in others
is but your own nature reflected in them!
In them appears all that you are --
your hypocrisy, iniquity, and insolence.
You do not see clearly the evil in yourself,
else you would hate yourself with all your soul.
Like the Lion who sprang at his image in the water,
you are only hurting yourself, O foolish human.
When you reach the bottom of the well of your own nature,
then you will know that the wickedness is in you.
(adapted from Selected Poems of Rumi,
translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, p. 27)
***
The above is taken from the Mathnavi, by Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi, and is preceded by a story that further contextualizes the excerpt. In the story, there is a Lion that was terrorizing the animals of a certain area by constantly hunting and killing them for food. Since none of the animals were “strong” enough (in a worldly sense) to subdue the Lion, they negotiated a deal where every day one of the animals would deliver itself to the Lion to be eaten. The animals felt this was better than being in fear of unexpected attacks all the time. (How often do we negotiate an apparent “lesser” evil for the sake of feeling safe?)
The deal was upheld for some time until, one day, it was the Hare’s turn to offer himself to the Lion. Note that the Hare is one of the smallest and “weakest” animals yet this little creature had a plan. Asserting that wisdom is the way of Allaah, the Hare trusted that the Beloved might choose something “weak” to overcome the “strong;” and, therefore, surrendered himself to be a vessel of the Beloved’s will.
The Hare left and intentionally arrived late before the Lion. To assuage the Lion’s anger for his tardiness, the Hare explained that he and another hare were on their way when another lion seized the second hare. Hearing this, the Lion became incensed and demanded that the Hare show him where this trespassing lion attacked. For those who don’t know, male lions can be very territorial and won’t tolerate the presence of another male lion it has not befriended within its turf. Pretending to be scared, the Hare asked the Lion to carry it on its back and then directed the Lion to a well. Arriving there, the Hare exclaimed the trespassing lion was in the well. Fuming, when the Lion looked into the well, he saw its own reflection with the Hare upon it. In rage, the Lion jumped into the well to attack the other lion -– which was only its own reflection. Meanwhile, the Hare jumped to safety and escaped as the Lion drowned in the well. As Jalaal ud-Diin’s words profess:
No sooner did the Lion espy his enemy
than he left the Hare and sprang into the well.
He fell into the pit which he had dug:
his iniquity recoiled on his own head.
Without getting into an in-depth exploration of evil, a simplistic definition of evil in the Sufi sense can be: disobedience to the commands and will of Allaah. But how can there be disobedience without obedience, and vice versa: each one distinguishes the other. In this vein, Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi states: “that evil is inseparable from good -- for good is the giving up of evil, and the giving up of evil is impossible without evil.” (A.J. Arberry’s translation of Fihi Ma Fihi, p. 231) Sufis regard good and evil as inseparable, holding both to be creations of the Beloved. They deem the existence of evil as necessary to fulfill the commands of the Beloved to be good by refraining from evil.
In Islam, the foundation of obedience begins with adhering to divine laws (moral code of behavior) and upholding the five pillars of the religion. Yet, when one is established in this obedience, good and evil can become relative to the situation -- but I must emphasize this only applies to one established in the foundation of obedience. For example, it would have been evil for the Hare to tell a lie to get out of going before the Lion. And in most cases, the basis for telling such a lie is selfishness -- in this case, the ego being scared to die. But was it evil for the Hare to deceive the Lion into thinking there was another lion in his territory? Was it evil to lead the Lion to the well where the Lion drowned himself? This deceptive scheme came to the Hare only after he surrendered (his ego) to be a vessel for the will of the Beloved.
The appearance of what is evil can be fluid although in most cases obedience to the Beloved doesn’t venture beyond the foundational morality of divine laws. But there are exceptions when the Beloved will use a surrendered soul to fulfill Its will in ways that go beyond the limitations of such morality.
All this is important for a few reasons: that as we journey the path of the heart and deepen into the purity of living good, we should understand its inseparableness from evil. But how often are we aware of the more subtle evil tendencies within our being? Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi shares: “All evil qualities -- oppression, hatred, envy, greed, mercilessness, pride -- when they are within yourself, they bring no pain. When you see them in another, then you shy away and feel the pain.” ( Fihi Ma Fihi, p. 43) If we understand pain as disturbance, most humans are not disturbed by evil tendencies within themselves but can be greatly disturbed by seeing these in others. How many gossipers are not bothered at all by their gossiping, even if it is excessive, but are greatly troubled if they hear a rumor spread about them?
The wise have learned that the evil we see in others often reflects these same tendencies we have within ourselves: “O Reader, how many an evil that you see in others / is but your own nature reflected in them! ” The evil you see is significant: because there may be other evil tendencies in others that you don’t see because they don’t reflect your present nature. But seeing evil through reflections is a mercy since few humans have attained the spiritual maturity to see face to face our own evil traits. Often we can be extremely hard on ourselves for our own evil tendencies: “You do not see clearly the evil in yourself / else you would hate yourself with all your soul.” Such hate only gets in the way of Love, and we should not let evil or goodness distract us from the greater treasure of Love. Although the existence of evil is necessary to live goodness, the wise know there is a “field” beyond good and evil on the path that leads straight to the Love of the Beloved.
This field is easier to reach through the footsteps of goodness, so it is to our benefit to identify and refrain from the evil tendencies we carry within ourselves. This is an elementary step in being purified of all evil. The Beloved, through abounding mercy, often reveals to us our own evil tendencies by reflecting these through others. For example, I may regard myself to not be argumentative. Yet, as I move through life, if I constantly find myself in the presence of others arguing, it would be wise for me to examine if the seed of argumentation is within me -- perhaps concealed. If I have this seed, there is a benefit in remaining good by walking away from arguments when opportunities for such arise. But there is a “better” field beyond both the tendency to argue and the moral restraint to not argue: a field without the stuff of the mind / ego, where there are no objects to cast shadows upon creation from the Light of the Beloved.
Now how does this connect with the Lion and Hare? Part Two of this post will address that.
