It is not possible to talk about religion and not to talk about marriage, and to clarify what the Good and Evil is without clarifying whether sex is good or evil. For these thoughts are forerunners in everyone's mind like the horn of a unicorn.
And the current religions in the west and also India increased the sensitivity and confusion of this topic. For they condemn and cut down the sex and other pleasures. Many are drawn away from religion these days for they think religion means no sex, no food, no home, no laughter, no happiness, no travel, no nothing. They fear and see religion as a boring box within which the follower is prisoned with head down and hands up to heaven all the time in painful prayer and regretful repentance.
The paintings from the days of old show monks with ragged clothes in similar postures and ruined backdrops, and all these disturbed the mind of young people and spiritual seekers in our days. Thus, naturally the first question they ask is whether our religion also encourages such an image. They will ask us about marriage, about sex, and about other pleasures under this blue sky, and if we abstain from writing about these here we will have to write at a later time. So we chose to write about them now and make them clear now so that our religion is vindicated with a clear image. And what we write about pain and pleasure might be painful to some and pleasant to some other religions, but our concern is to appeal to the Truth and not to any religion or institute.
Underlying in many western and Indian religions is the ancient belief that Good and Evil are correlated with "pain" and "pleasure": things that give pain and discomfort are good and things that give pleasure and comfort are bad and evil. Along the same line, these religions also correlate Good and Evil with "materiality": that all things immaterial and invisible are good and spiritual, and all things material and visible are bad and evil, and this includes the human body as well. As a result, followers of these religions seek to distance and detach from the body as much as they can, and this leads to austerity and mortification culture which was widespread in old Christianity and Indian religions.
But are these definitions of Good and Evil correct? Is this what God wants? Does God want my tears? Does God want my bones? Is goodness an empty invisible space? Pure religion turns its back to such notions, and it is indeed evil to think about Good and Evil in this way. For Good and Evil have their own definitions based on a clear understanding of spiritual knowledge. Indeed, this knowledge is not trivia and needs training and study. Underestimating this science led to all these confusions, and drew people away from religion and from the path of truth. This science was the tree that God planted in the middle of the garden of Eden according to the ancient creation myth. The tree was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For indeed this knowledge is what to be placed in the middle of heaven, and the whole religion and path of salvation revolves around this knowledge, knowing that is fortune and peace and not knowing that is failure and pain.
The goal of this book and the whole pure religion is to focus man on this science and knowledge. Now we attempt to delve into this and explain what good is and what evil is, and to dispel the confusion that good and evil are simplistically defined by pain and pleasure, or material and non-material boundaries.
Good is what that does not harm anyone, does not offend, does not violate one's right and honor. It is that which facilitates the learning of knowledge and virtue, that which produces friendship, creates beauty, removes burdens and barriers, solves problems and brings relief and peace. Good can be both pleasant and painful: The joy of seeing a beautiful natural scenery, the peace of being with friends and family, the elation of learning knowledge, the satisfaction of producing or observing arts, the glory of defeating an evil enemy are all examples of pleasant Good. And then the toil to develop a skill, the struggle to wake up early in the morning, the effort to stop the anger and forgive a brother, turning down an evil suggestion for bribery or other unfair actions are examples of painful Good. This pain will eventually turn into a pleasure and a light and peace will surround the soul. Yet, at their inception, these actions require will and effort and are not pleasant at the time of occurrence.
All these are true of Evil too, and it can be both pleasant and painful. The joy of revenge and crushing a brother, the joy of becoming rich by deceit and lie, the joy of insulting and belittling people by impure words are examples of pleasant Evil. And then the darkness of constant selfish anger, the depression caused by greed, and the bitter hatred caused by jealousy are examples of painful Evil. Pleasant or painful, these are Evil, one begins with sweetness and the other with bitterness, but both forms end with bitterness. For "a bad tree cannot bear good fruit" [Matthew 7:18].
In regard to material vs non-material, both Good and Evil manifest both in material and non-material realms equally like twins in a womb. As for the realm of materials, beautiful scenes, perfumes, art, order, cleanliness are examples of Good, and dirtiness, ugliness, stench, chaos, garbage are examples of Evil. In the realm of non-material, good intention, mental strength, will, determination, faith in God, adherence to moral principles are examples of Good, and bad intention, hatred, carelessness, mental gloom, faithlessness and others are examples of Evil. In fact the very Evil essence is a non-material principle, from which all evils come into the material world and manifest.
Therefore, Good and Evil exists in all stations and realms of existence, in pain and pleasure, in matter as well as non-matter. The former notion that everything pleasant or material is evil was due to lack of spiritual knowledge in regard to the principles of existence. Good and Evil are qualities present in all stages of existence, from the highest realm to the lowest.
The goal of pure religion is to manifest Goodness in all dimensions and aspects of life, in non-material as well material aspects, in spirit, in mind as well as in body. We are not content with just spiritual qualities, but also want excellence in the material aspect as well. A follower of pure religion should be clean, with clothes well-adorn, with room well-decorated. For beauty is a Divine attribute and it is below the honour of a pure religion follower to be dirty, ugly or miserable.
For this reason a follower of pure religion can, and even must, partake of all the lawful pleasures. For lawful pleasures in essence are also Divine manifestations. So one can go out in the world, visit gardens and forests, see the sunset on the beach and sunrise in the mountains, and listen to the sounds of drums and graceful music, and sit at dinner tables with companions. No true religion ever forbids these, nor our religion. Pleasures help relieve the nerves and prepare one for the mission of life, which is to guard goodness and establish justice on earth. As long as one is endeavoring in this path and fighting, one is entitled to any pleasure provided it does not harm anyone. This is why the poet said: "a righteous man who eats and gives is better than a monk who fasts and leaves."
In regard to money, the followers of the pure religious should strive to be rich. Money is a tool and can be used for both good and evil purposes. Pure religion aims to use it for goodness, to establish libraries and houses of wisdom, to establish hospitals and charities, to promote all good causes. Nothing can be done without money. A poor man cannot serve others, and often time is in need of being served. If good people do not collect money then evil people will collect them all, and use them all to create all types of trouble and havoc in the world. That is why in many ancient spiritual stories the main character is a king. Here king does not refer to a political position, but the one who, in addition to spiritual qualities, also has material qualities. For richness should be manifest in both spirit and matter. The picture of a poor but spiritual man is not realistic, and is a trick of Evil to defeat forces of light by disarming them.
In regard to food, pure religion followers must partake of nutritious food. Physical training and strength is a must. A pure religion follower must be physically strong. To establish goodness in the world, valor is needed and thus it is a virtue. A hungry and weak monk cannot fight evil and oppressors in the world, and praying alone does not dispel evil men but just to make them laugh. The sword of justice, as depicted in many cultures, is moved by the strong hand of the strong men. The strength is not just in spirit but also in physics. A spiritual man should be athletic and fit.
In regard to sex and marriage, it is one of the pleasures, and even more than just a pleasure, it is what connects people through bonds of affection, it is what sits groups of people at a dinner table in laughing and pleasant time, it is what causes roses to be offered and pictures remain in family albums to everlasting memories. Even our own very existence comes from this. Then will there be any doubt as to its goodness? And not just that, we proclaim that it is required for any pure religion follower to benefit from its manifold benefits, and form family and blessing. Abstaining from sex does not lead to any virtue or spiritual state as imagined by some sects.
The constitution of marriage was not to forbid or limit sex, but to make it more possible. To address certain emotions and feelings involved in the partnership, it posed rules and restrictions as every wise ruler would do so in an ideal state. As such, since in some cases a partner may feel jealous and unsettled if his or her partner mixes and mingles with another, the rule of monogamy and royalty was prescribed. And again, some conditions pertaining to livelihood in the days of old required marriage being long term and even life term. But these were not dogmas, and they can be altered when both parties consent to and benefit from. Thus, marriage can be agreed to be non-monogamous or agreed for a shorter term between two eager parties. Nothing prevents that under this blue sky, nor it will be against the law of righteousness. As long as all the involved parties consent, as long as no harm is done and no door to injustice opens, it is valid and permitted, it is honorable and and should not be badly labelled.
Whatever the term and condition of marriage is, it must be promoted and made widespread. All young men and women should be engaged, and no one left behind, nobody should be alone, and look upon others with jealousy and desire. Majority of social problems are rooted in sex deprivation, and this is what is choking societies in both east and west. We are close to saying that marriage and sex even should be made mandatory. For people do not know their needs, they may think they are good by themselves, and take pride, without realizing that their ailes and depression are coming from a long term sex deprivation. A religion that tries to restrict sex is not realistic, and not even from God. People need sex and will need sex, and without it we will have a dry and dark world, like a world without sun. Pure religion prescribes sex and forbids its forbidding.
At this point we mention the rule of limit in the science of Good and Evil. For everything that is Good can turn into evil if done excessively and beyond a limit. Food is necessary for the body and rejuvenates the heart, but eating too much leads to illness, to discomfort, and thus turns it into an evil cause. Sleeping refreshes the body, but too much sleep will reverse the result and increase tiredness. Sex is necessary for the purification and balance of mind, but too much of it will drain the vital energy and produce depression.
Therefore, every Good action or trait has a limit, beyond which it turns into evil as evident from example above. If in some religions and the words of sages there was talk of limiting or abstaining, it was a reference to this law of balance. If the sages limited sex to marriage it was a way to set a limit on it, and not to forbid it altogether. And if fasting was prescribed it was to regulate eating and prevent gluttony and sickness. Same with other limitations and rules that the sages of old imposed on sex or other pleasures. Other than such considerations, the pure religion does not seek to limit or reduce pleasures, but to maximize them as much as possible. It teaches the proper limits for each pleasure so that it turns not into evil, and what started with sweetness does not end with bitterness.
In ancient times people observed negative traits, laziness, sloths, stench, gloom, and others, and thought the source of these is the body, and proclaimed that the body and matter are source of evil and all these negativities. At the same time they observed asceticism and abstaining from pleasures in some occasions lead to strength and health. All these led them to the conclusion that pleasure is evil and asceticism and mortification is goodness. But illusion was all of this, and a defective conclusion. For laziness can also come from the mind or spirit, and so do all other negative traits: anger, sloths, depression and others. And indeed a certain degree of abstinence could lead to strength, this is what is called discipline and we agree with that. But beyond this degree, it can also lead to harm and depression, and closes spiritual channels. At the same time, partaking from pleasures, if done correctly and with the right measure, leads to cheerfulness and a bright mind that is in tandem with spiritual growth.
Thus the notion that separation from body and pleasures can lead to any spiritual insight is false. if one detaches from the body and all the material impulses, one may experience a new state of being but won't be free from negative traits of laziness, anger, sloth, gloomy mind and others. History did not show any inverse correlation between material engagement and spiritual level. For many Divine and spiritual men among us lived in the same body and same society, they would go to the marketplace everyday and in the midst of all this commotion and material engagement were full of wisdom, full of God and spirit. For spiritual man is not one who abstains from matter or body, but the one who abstains from evil, and evil is everywhere, in matter as well as in spirit. Verily, the distinction between matter and spirit is also artificial, for they are the same and just different frequencies of existence. Matter is a form of spirit and spirit is also a form of matter. One who sees difference does not see the truth. Pure religion is to make superior men, both in material and spiritual realms.