Evil and temptation

The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

“Do not be afraid,” Moses replied. “For God has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning.”

But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people.

It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

§ The Gemara cites another source that interprets the verse cited above. The Sages taught a baraita explaining the verse: “And you shall keep yourself from every evil thing” (Deuteronomy 23:10), which is immediately followed by the verse: “If there be among you any man who is not ritually pure by reason of that which happened to him by night” (Deuteronomy 23:11). This teaches that a person should not think impure thoughts by day and thereby come to the impurity of an emission by night.

§ The Gemara previously discussed the impropriety of the trait of arrogance. Now the Gemara discusses the source of its prohibition. From where is the warning derived, i.e., what is the source prohibiting the behavior of the arrogant? Rava says that Ze’eiri says: The source is from the verse: “Hear, you, and give ear, be not proud, for the Lord has spoken” (Jeremiah 13:15). Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said the warning is from here: “Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:14), and it is also written in that same passage: “Beware lest you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:11).

Rather, to what purpose does the verse state: “Their backs toward the Sanctuary of the Lord”? It is an allusion to the fact that in addition to turning their backs on the Sanctuary of the Lord, they performed an additional evil. It teaches that they would expose themselves and defecate downward, a euphemism for the direction of the Divine Presence.

And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind magic and that which was revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut. Nor did they (the two angels) teach it to anyone till they had said: We are only a temptation, therefore disbelieve not (in the guidance of Allah). And from these two (angles) people learn that by which they cause division between man and wife; but they injure thereby no-one save by Allah's leave. And they learn that which harmeth them and profiteth them not. And surely they do know that he who trafficketh therein will have no (happy) portion in the Hereafter; and surely evil is the price for which they sell their souls, if they but knew

Evil as an example are the folk who denied Our revelations, and were wont to wrong themselves

And as for those who do evil, their retreat is the Fire. Whenever they desire to issue forth from thence, they are brought back thither. Unto them it is said: Taste the torment of the Fire which ye used to deny

Narrated ʿAbdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The main source of disbelief is in the east. Pride and arrogance are characteristics of the owners of horses and camels, and those bedouins who are busy with their camels and pay no attention to Religion; while modesty and gentleness are the characteristics of the owners of sheep

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The signs of a hypocrite are three: 1. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie. 2. Whenever he promises, he always breaks it (his promise ). 3. If you trust him, he proves to be dishonest. (If you keep something as a trust with him, he will not return it) Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up. 1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays. 2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie. 3. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous. 4. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner

O Prince! Purity prevails when passion and ignorance are overcome; passion, when purity and ignorance are overcome; and ignorance when it is overcome by purity and passion.

The objects of sense turn away from him who is abstinent. Even the taste for them is lost in him who has seen the Truth.

Lord Shri Krishna: It is desire, it is aversion, born of passion. Desire consumes and corrupts all things. It is the greatest enemy of man.

O Agni (Bright Being)! Lead us to blessedness by the good path. O Lord! Thou knowest all our deeds, remove all evil and delusion from us. To Thee we offer our prostrations and supplications again and again.

The Self is subtler than the subtle, greater than the great; It dwells in the heart of each living being. He who is free from desire and free from grief, with mind and senses tranquil, beholds the glory of the Atman.

He who knows at the same time both the Unmanifested (the cause of manifestation) and the destructible or manifested, he crosses over death through knowledge of the destructible and attains immortality through knowledge of the First Cause (Unmanifested). The face of Truth is hidden by a golden disk. O Pushan (Effulgent Being)! Uncover (Thy face) that I, the worshipper of Truth, may behold Thee.

The fool imagines that evil is sweet, so long as it has not yet ripened. But as soon as that evil ripens, they fall into suffering.

For it is by oneself that evil’s done, one is corrupted by oneself. It’s by oneself that evil’s not done, one is purified by oneself. Purity and impurity are personal matters, no one can purify another.

Sorrow springs from desire, fear springs from desire; one free from desire has no sorrow, let alone fear. Sorrow springs from craving, fear springs from craving; one free from craving has no sorrow, let alone fear.

One teacher had this doctrine and view: ‘The one who acts does a bad deed when they punish, mutilate, torture, aggrieve, oppress, intimidate, or when they encourage others to do the same. A bad deed is done when they kill, steal, break into houses, plunder wealth, steal from isolated buildings, commit highway robbery, commit adultery, and lie. If you were to reduce all the living creatures of this earth to one heap and mass of flesh with a razor-edged chakram, evil comes of that, and an outcome of evil. If you were to go along the south bank of the Ganges killing, mutilating, and torturing, and encouraging others to do the same, evil comes of that, and an outcome of evil. If you were to go along the north bank of the Ganges giving and sacrificing and encouraging others to do the same, merit comes of that, and an outcome of merit. In giving, self-control, restraint, and truthfulness there is merit and outcome of merit.’

“But Sāriputta, suppose they were to ask you: ‘What is the source of grasping?’ … But Sāriputta, suppose they were to ask you: ‘What is the source of craving?’ How would you answer?” “Sir, if they were to ask me this, I’d answer: ‘Feeling is the source of craving.’ That’s how I’d answer such a question.” “But Sāriputta, suppose they were to ask you: ‘But how have you known and seen so that the relishing of feelings is no longer present?’ How would you answer?” “Sir, if they were to ask me this, I’d answer: ‘Reverends, there are three feelings. What three? Pleasant, painful, and neutral feeling. These three feelings are impermanent, and what’s impermanent is suffering. When I understood this, the relishing of feelings was no longer present.’ That’s how I’d answer such a question.”

When a noble disciple recollects the faith, ethics, learning, generosity, and wisdom of both themselves and the deities their mind is not full of greed, hate, and delusion. At that time their mind is quite unswerving. They’ve left behind greed; they’re free of it and have risen above it. ‘Greed’ is a term for the five kinds of sensual stimulation. Relying on this, some sentient beings are purified in this way.

The Praises of the Creator, the Enticer of the mind, are potent to destroy sins. The All-powerful Lord is the boat, to carry us across; He saves all our generations. O my unconscious mind, contemplate and remember Him in the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation. Why are you wandering around, enticed by the darkness of doubt? Remember Him in meditation, for an hour, for a moment, even for an instant. Chant the Name of the Lord with your tongue. You are bound to worthless deeds and shallow pleasures; why do you spend millions of lifetimes wandering in such pain? Chant and vibrate the Name of the Lord, O Nanak, through the Teachings of the Saints. Meditate on the Lord with love in your soul. ||2||

Tilang, Fourth Mehl: The evil-minded person continually does fruitless deeds, all puffed up with pride. When he brings home what he has acquired, by practicing deception and falsehood, he thinks that he has conquered the world. ||1|| Such is the drama of the world, that he does not contemplate the Lord's Name. In an instant, all this false play shall perish; O my mind, meditate on the Lord. ||Pause|| He does not think of that time, when Death, the Torturer, shall come and seize him. O Nanak, the Lord saves that one, within whose heart the Lord, in His Kind Mercy, dwells. ||2||2||

Pauree: According to the deeds which one does, so are the fruits one obtains. If someone chews on red-hot iron, his throat will be burned. The halter is put around his neck and he is led away, because of the evil deeds he has done. None of his desires are fulfilled; he continually steals the filth of others. The ungrateful wretch does not appreciate what he has been given; he wanders lost in reincarnation. He loses all support, when the Support of the Lord is taken away from him. He does not let the embers of strife die down, and so the Creator destroys him. Those who indulge in egotism crumble and fall to the ground. ||32||

When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them. Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on. It is by avoiding such indulgence that such weariness does not arise. Therefore the sage knows (these things) of himself, but does not parade (his knowledge); loves, but does not (appear to set a) value on, himself. And thus he puts the latter alternative away and makes choice of the former.

Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder. Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones. He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.

The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he makes the mind of the people his mind. To those who are good (to me), I am good; and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;—and thus (all) get to be good. To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere; and to those who are not sincere (with me), I am also sincere;—and thus (all) get to be sincere. The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all. The people all keep their eyes and ears directed to him, and he deals with them all as his children.