This life is all about struggle and the Earthly realm was created to exemplify this.  Remember that “evil”, the “devil” is a creation of God just like you, the trees, animals, etc.  So why would God create such a thing?  Well… This Earthly realm is one of duality:  hot/cold, love/hate, night/day, male/female, up/down, etc.  So without “evil” we would not recognize good.

Sidi al-Jamal writes in his book Music of the Soul of the “evil one, the devil, the darkness…”:  “The presence of the evil one cries out and sends its voice to every side saying, ‘I am the guide of the darkness.  God placed me in this station.  I know Him well.  I love Him and do not refuse any order from my beloved Lord.  It is necessary that everyone is pure and polite before he can enter and live inside the garden of the knowing.  He must pray the deep praying and wash himself of everything of this world and then dress in clothes of light after everything within is transformed to be special for God.  If anyone tries to enter with uncleanness and impoliteness and impurity, then I catch him by these qualities and turn him back.  This is His wisdom and to Him everything returns.  Conquer me and I will surrender.  I am the rock of darkness.  Do not listen to my voice.  My voice is full of darkness.  If you refuse my order and do not follow me, you come to be free.  Understand the outside and the inside of this teaching and do not say why or what.  This is my story in the world.  I am nothing and God is everything.’”

So my beloved brothers and sisters, since struggle and duality are the very essences of this realm, struggle we must.  However, we do get to choose our struggle.  We can struggle to “do the right thing”, “make the highest choices”, live knowing that no thought or deed goes unrecorded, examine our wants and struggle against those that are not in our best interest or the best interests of others.  Or, instead of this struggle, we can choose the other struggle.  We can live our lives doing what we want, what we feel like doing, we can live with the attitude of “I can do whatever I want and as long as I hide it from others it won’t matter.  As long as I “don’t get caught” it doesn’t count.  I promise you… making these choices WILL result in struggle.

THERE ARE ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES TO EACH OF OUR ACTIONS!!!  The consequences of living our lives with a self centered attitude, catering to our lower desires, guarantees struggles in all areas of our lives as we struggle with people and situations.  These consequences will continue to rear their ugly little heads over and over again.  The consequences of living our lives struggling AGAINST following these lower desires will be ever increasing joy, peace and harmony.  I personally like these consequences much, much better.  Either way, struggle we will.

Just because struggle is inherent in our daily lives it doesn’t mean that it has to be a bone crushing ordeal each and every moment, nor does it mean that it is like flipping a light switch when we decide to follow our “higher selves”.  Life is a journey, an unfolding flower.  In the beginning we will choose to follow the lower desires more than choosing to make the “higher choices”.  As we experience the joys that result from conquering that “evil voice”, we will gradually, more and more, find it easier to resist the temptations of the lower realms.

Either way we struggle...

Struggle against the consequences that result from following the lower desires?

-OR-

Struggle against that voice Sidi writes about in his portrayal of the “dark one” and reap the consequences of love, peace, mercy and justice?