Master: “A man living in society, especially as a citizen and a house-holder, should make a show of resisting evil for the sake of self-defence. At the same time care should be taken to avoid paying back evil for evil. …
“Raise the hood and hiss”, but don’t “bite”. There is no harm in “hissing” at bad men, your enemies. Keep them off by showing that you are ready to give tit for tat — that you know how to resist evil. Only one must take care not to pour one’s venom into the blood of one’s enemy. Resist not evil by doing evil in return. All that you may do is to make a show of resistance with a view to self-defence”.
A Disciple: "Sir, why are there bad men in God’s world? Why is there Evil in this world?”
Master: “In God’s Creation diversity is the universal rule. There must be evil as well as good. Again, there are various kinds of objects — animals, plants, minerals. Amongst animals again, there are some, which are gentle and inoffensive, and others, which, like the tiger, are ferocious and live upon other animals. Some trees bring forth good fruits, sweet as nectar, while others bring forth poisonous fruits, which cause death. Likewise there are good men and bad men, holy men and those, who are sinful. Some, again, are just and devout and others are attached to the world”.
Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna
(“The Condensed Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna”: M.’s own English Version, “Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar”, Ch. III, pp. 40-3)
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