Not many people have a concrete sense of the existence of evil spirits. I do, however, and so do a few people around me. One question that arises regarding evil spirits is, “If God is omnipotent, why does He let them exist? Why has He let them be for 100 million years?” People often use this argument when they criticize religion. They say, “If God is truly almighty, demons shouldn’t exist, and therefore, neither should good and evil. If God is ultimate good, there should only be good in the world, and no evil people or criminals should exist.”

Others would argue that Christians are fighting each other, and this makes no sense.

Looking at the power of evil from a broader perspective, questions like these arise.

Just as Einstein said, however, everything in the world is relative. In the world, many things exist relatively to one another: men and women, light and darkness, good and evil. We are only able to realize who we are by looking at our relationship to everything else around us. It is the same as the coordinates in the night sky. We know our approximate position in the universe by looking at the multitude of stars and galaxies around us.

When we look and compare the various different and extreme ideologies around us, we are able to know where we stand. In this sense, the world is such that everything is relative, and everything is related.

The Meaning of Evil in Religion

When we think about why evil exists, we see that it is a trial or an ordeal for any religious leader throughout the ages, including myself. The trial of whether we can defeat evil, or lose to it, is always there.

There were many throughout history that have lost in this trial. Evil sometimes manages to creep inside some religions, working to increase the number of evil henchmen. They spread like bacteria, and so there must be an opposing force that stops this.

Seen in this way, the world may at first seem quite unfair. But I think that this is teaching people to learn and experience what good and evil truly are. So I don’t think it can be as simple as God extinguishing evil in a single instant. When we begin to experience spiritual phenomena around us, we realize that hellish spirits and demons are truly unpleasant beings. Seeing this, some people naturally think that God ought to extinguish such vile beings right away; we would certainly feel easier if He made them evaporate or destroyed them. But in a way, this would be the same as Auschwitz during the Holocaust. If those who made mistakes were erased, we would doubt God’s mercy.

Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody does bad things. But everybody also has an inner shining, divine nature he or she has received from God. Precisely because people have this Divine nature in them, people that have lived lives of pure evil can turn their lives around and live like they were angels. People are able to experience these turning points in life, and this is what makes life so wonderful.

Happy Science also has many different types of people. The “Helen Association” supports people with disabilities, and the “You Are Angel” movement supports children with disabilities. Some religions discriminate against people with disabilities, thinking, “People born with disabilities must be cursed, or they are being punished for their doings in a last incarnation.”

I think otherwise. People living with a disability are given that as a chance to polish their souls, and though it is true that it is difficult for the parents, the disabilities are there so people can polish their inner Divine natures.

The Importance of Self-Reflection when Fighting with Evil Spirits

There are times when evil people appear before you, sometimes they come out and disrupt you, and it seems like there are some evil spirits that like to do these things willingly. Again these things, however, prompt us to reflect upon ourselves, to reexamine our philosophies and cultural levels, and show us how weak our religious worldviews are.

It is true that evil spirits bring suffering upon living people, and some people even hear voices when evil spirits possess them. For instance, some people in psychiatric hospitals hear voices saying, “Die, die!” Even if they are not psychics; they hear voices saying, “Die now,” “Jump off the building,” and “Hang yourself.” These are voices of demons. Yes, they truly exist.

They are the result of the lowest form of the human mind: one that, having failed to grasp happiness, tries (and fails) to attain peace of mind through making others unhappy. We all know this feeling.

We have all said to ourselves, “My company doesn’t make any profit, so I at least want our neighboring company to go bankrupt”, or “I feel so relieved when my rival company goes under.” We have to stop and reflect upon ourselves to see whether we harbor any of these thoughts.

It is important to see if we harbor any feelings of wanting to curse others or wishing for the unhappiness of others. By this, I mean thoughts such as wanting others to fail or wanting a couple just married to split up. These thoughts are quite extreme, but they prompt in us the need for self-reflection.

We all have the power of exorcism, but demons will come to those especially in leadership positions that have followers. Companies that are managed by people who think things like, “We should make our rival companies go bankrupt and take their portions of the industry,” will become hell-influenced companies. People there will begin to lose the meaning of ‘justice’.

Even while working for the customers’ happiness, there will be times when other companies will have to reorganize themselves. We, however, shouldn’t wish that to happen. We shouldn’t think of gaining results at the expense of others.

Understanding Justice Through Evil

The truth is we only realize what justice and salvation are through looking at evil.

I teach people to nurture others; I teach people to love, nurture, and forgive others, but demons tell people to ‘kill others’. “Kill people, and kill yourself”, they say. There is a clear difference.

Different ideologies are not evil in themselves, but when two different ideologies conflict, the correct one must prevail. In this way, justice is established, and exorcism is performed at the same time.

Evil is left to exist in order for us to bring plenitude to our souls. It can be compared to mold that makes cheese more fragrant. The mold helps the cheese’s aging process, increasing the fragrance and thus its sophistication. We may not be able to take the mold away entirely, but we can turn something originally harmful into something useful.

Similarly, demons do appear, but we can create saviors and enlightened people through learning exorcism. Through exorcism, we can learn what justice truly means from the existence of evil.

Of course, this does not mean we can leave them alone. It just means that the reason why these things still exist is so that mankind can gather experience in a complex culture.

Another reason for the existence of evil is that God is showing us a ‘bad example’ to learn from. We have to realize that in our souls we each carry something that is connected to these beings, and somehow overcome them.

There have been many religious leaders, politicians, and military leaders that have fallen into hell. There were many kings who were possessed by demons and ended up in hell. Everyone pays their price, but these people were also responsible for bringing suffering to their followers and leading them astray. This is another reason for the existence of hell.

“The Temptation of Christ” from the St. George Church in Antwerp, Belgium.
Buildings in Syria, after bombings. In the Middle East, conflicts between Christianity and Islam, and between Islamic sects, show no sign of end. It becomes harder to find what true justice means.

O Humankind, Seek “The Sun”

That is why we need the sun. We should stop worrying too much about the storm, wind, and rain, and acknowledge that the bright sun will rise and expel them.

People easily become lost, so thinking that good and evil are fighting each other will leave us open to attack from evil spirits. As I have been teaching, it is true that the fourth dimensional realm has a heavenly side and a dark hellish side; but we have to remember that beyond the fifth dimension, there is no evil: it is the world of the higher spirits that are closer to God.

The world of the dead exists only in the fourth dimension, in a section where there is no clear distinction between heaven and hell. So this is really the only place where heaven and hell are fighting. Any world above this is a world untouchable by demons. If we see the world like this, we can maintain our unwavering faith.

Over the course of the 30 years since I started Happy Science, there have been disciples who badmouthed us, and revolted against us. Most of these people, however, were egoists. They were people who praised things that were advantageous to them, so when the situation turned around and became disadvantageous, they would oppose and disturb us. These things happened quite a lot, but it was only because their thinking was on a very small scale.

This sort of ‘meism’ (egotism) makes people very small. It is fine to look after oneself well, but the Right Path in religion lies primarily in extending our thoughts and considerations to others.

Everyone has committed bad acts; but everyone also has the capacity not only to self-reflect, but to do good deeds. The accumulation of good deeds shapes our mercy, which leads to merciful acts. This sort of practice is very important.

This topic was philosophically difficult, but through it, we may be able to understand the reason for the existence of evil, not on a personal level, but as part of the colossal mechanism of the great universe. Please have a think about what you can do now to better yourself in your current situation.