Question: I am struggling with the dual concepts of good and evil as they are perceived from the mundane perspective in relationship to Krishna. I understand that Krishna is the source of everything, which brings a few questions that I cannot resolve in my mind. They are: How can Krishna be considered “all-good” and yet be the source of evil at the same time? Also, Is Krishna’s goodness (Love) superior to his evil or are they qualitatively the same? And lastly, is there a difference between human evil and Krishna’s evil, and if there is a difference what is it?
Answer by Romapada Swami: Srila Prabhupada resolved this conflict by saying that for Krishna there is no good or evil. “Everything within Krishna is transcendental goodness,” he explained.
Does that mean that goodness and evil are of the same importance for us? No. Rather, for God there is nothing evil, just as for the sun there is no darkness. But for us, there is light and darkness. If one keeps one’s back to the sun, one will find darkness. And if you face the sun, there is no darkness. We create darkness as soon as we deny our constitutional position by turning our attention away from Krishna. If instead of remaining in front of God we keep God to our backs, then we will experience darkness. When we forget God, we experience what is known as evil. As one who remains within the light of the sun knows no darkness, so also one who remains in true God consciousness can perform no evil.
