Sachchidananda 'The Life Divine' Book I,Ch.9, 10, 11, 12 - Track 1206

If the world is as it is and it is going to remain as it is for ever and ever then you cannot resolve the problem. It is only because the world is not static the world is moving and not only moving but the world is evolving. So I'm making two statements the world is moving in which the future as yet has not yet manifested and secondly what is to be manifested is to be manifested by a process of evolution.18.45 now it is in the context of evolution that the problem of suffering and evil can be resolved without compromising on the perfection, goodness and the omnipotence of God. Let us examine it you are very often seen in this world any incomplete work a statue in the making statue in the making may be quite ugly but unless the statue passes to the stage of ugliness it can never become as beautiful ultimately as you ultimately see it. And it is only when you eliminate the ugliness of that incomplete stage that usually arrive at that completeness this is an example of an evolutionary process. In evolution you have stages and is in certain stages are to be eliminated in order to allow them to grow into perfection. All evil arises out of error, I'm introducing now a new element in the exposition. All evil is the result of error, is the basic point. If there was no such thing as error what we call evil will not arise behind every well there is at a deeper level and error committed. If I beat somebody I am making an error regarding that person if I knew that person thoroughly well truly well than what I call evil will not arise. Now error arises out of what? Where is the root of error? The root of error is ignorance. If there is no ignorance there can be no error, if there is all light then there can't be any error.21.29 but if ignorance is at the basis of error what is on the basis of ignorance is the basis of ignorance, you will find ultimately will find Satchitananda at the back you dig anywhere ignorance if you go behind and behind and behind you will find Satchitananda behind it. In other words there can be no ignorance if there was no Satchitananda that's the basic point. You take away Satchitananda  from the picture then you have to explain the origin of ignorance from where ignorance arises. It can't be ultimate there can be an argument that it is the ultimate it's like that why because by nature ignorance is half light and half ignorance so you explain how this picture arose. Light and ignorance how they came together actually speaking at the base of ignorance is complete inconscience it is only darkness the darkness itself is nothing but veiling now what is it that is veiled if you open the veil you find the light. So behind inconscience is a veiling a total veiling and when you unveil it you will find there is Satchitananda there. now the question is can this veiling be regarded as evil is inconscience evil is ignorance evil you will find that none of them is actually evil if you really found them to be evil then there would have been a tremendous problem because it would be insoluble if Satchitananda in its luminosity is perfect Ananda perfectly full of goodness but even if he is veiled neither he becomes corrupted nor the veil itself is corrupt veil is one of the capacities of the divine you remember once I told you that omnipotence consists of both in the capacity put forth as also the capacity to restrain only one who is omnipotent can restrain the movement of force, capacity only a good charioteer who is capable can allow the horses to run and also can restrain when necessary so the capacity to restrain is not inconsistent with omnipotence therefore the act of veiling is not inconsistent with the omnipotence of the divine the omnipotent can decide to manifest himself fully without any veiling or he can manifest with a veiling that is his omnipotence. And veiling by itself is not evil, just as I give you the example that the capable charioteer is able to restrain the horses it's not a evil thing it's the capacity so veiling of any kind whether full or partial is not inconsistent with Satchitananda is not inconsistent with omnipotence it is out of this veiling when this veil becomes more and more restricted that arises ignorance complete veiling is inconscience a partial veiling is called ignorance of whether the veil is complete whether the veil is incomplete both are the powers and neither of them is evil and both powers are the expression of the divine so evil does not exist either in the inconscience nor does it exist in ignorance. The evil arises only when ignorance tries slowly to unveil itself it's a temporary phenomenon and where ignorance tries to unveil itself slowly it is then that the error is committed to supposing you do not know on that below this is a golden piece you do not know now you do and don't need a golden piece if you are not looking for it then there is no problem it is only if you have a hypothesis that there is a golden piece that you begin to look for it if you're capable of putting this table just at one stroke openly not slowly but just at one stroke you'll find the golden piece but if you do slowly lifting of the table then at many points you wont find it and at every stage you will say I've made an error I have not been able to open that spot where the golden pieces lying actually an attempt to discover light but slowly if you discover light with all your vehemence and completeness light will manifest at once and there is no error and this happens. As Shri Ramakrishna said I must have the darshan of Kali now it was vehemence and he wanted to tear the veil at one stroke he did it is possible in which case error does not get committed but if you try to open it slowly gradually then error is committed.