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Lesson IX: More About Dharma.411
“wrong” or “bad” in itself, and is only “wrong” or “bad” inasmuch as fails to
come up to the highest conception of “right” on the part of the actor or
observer. This may seem like dangerous doctrine, but let us consider it a
moment.
You will notice by studying history and the story of the evolution of Man,
that man’s highest ideals in his savage state were but little removed above
those of the lower animals. It was not thought wrong to kill, steal, or lie;
in fact, some races esteemed a man if he did these things, providing he
confined his operations to those outside of his immediate family or tribe,
in fact the principal objection to his killing his fellow tribesman seems to
have arisen from a recognition of the fact that this course weakened the
fighting and resisting power of the tribe, and the idea gradually obtained
force that killing was “wrong” if the murdered man was a member of the
tribe, but right and even commendable if he be of an outside tribe. (This
seems very barbarous to us now, but the traces of it are seen even to this
day when so-called “civilized people” still consider it right to kill men of
another nation or people, and to “capture” their goods, providing “war”
has been declared. The savage carried the matter to its logical conclusion,
and did not wait for a declaration of war, that is the principal difference,)
We find primitive man committing all the things we now call crimes, without
being blamed for them, and, providing the crime were committed upon a
person sufficiently removed from the tribesman, according to the customs
and ethics of the time, the greater the crime the greater the “good” or “right”
was it considered.
As the race evolved many of these “right” things began to be considered
“wrong” and “bad,” according to the “revelations” made by the priests and
prophets; according to the awakening “conscience” in the people arising
from an unconsciousness recognition of their relationship to one another;
and according to the working of the idea of “utility” and “public policy” in
the developing intellect of the race. And as the race evolved and unfolded,
the ideals enlarged and grew higher. Things that were considered perfectly