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In the west we have a rigid way of looking at the world. Black and white. Night and day. Good and evil. Right and wrong. These distinctions obviously have their usefulness, but the end result can be disconcerting at best, torturous at worst. With these rigid ideas as our guide, we all find ourselves on the wrong end of the equation once in a while; and even when we don't, rarely are we all one way or the other, so we end up betwixt and between, feeling ungrounded, disconnected, unworthy perhaps to own ourselves in the fullness of the subtle distinctions we all are. Then to extrapolate to others, there are those who are on our side, and those who are not; and of course by definition, then, those who are not on our side must be wrong. Social fragmentation results. Disunity. Judgment. Separation.
In the Vedic world view it is never a question of either/or. The world is not made up of pairs of opposites. Rather, the universe, the Totality, can be seen as consisting of a triumvirate of functions of nature. All of nature can be understood via the ideas of Creation Operator function, Maintenance Operator function and Destruction Operator function. None of the three is "good" or "bad." All three are essential for life to occur. In a world where nothing ever is destroyed, there never is room for new life, i.e. creation, to occur. And if some things are not maintained, if there is not an aspect of longevity in nature, there would be only chaos.
Today I will try to see myself and those around me in terms other than good or bad. I will accept that there is room in my world for maintenance and destruction, as well as creation.
 Sunflowers, Summer Solstice, Studio City
All material copyright Jeff Kober
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