What is this life? What is this world? "What is the source of this existence? Who set the sun and stars in their orbit? Who arranged the waxing and waning moon?" (Ushtavad Gatha: 3) For what purpose this turning sky turns and these shining stars shine? Who are we? What is the meaning of life? These were the questions coming into the minds of seekers when they first looked up to the vastness of the night sky.
As far as the earth is from heaven, as far as the east is from the west, so great are the wisdom and mysteries of our path. So it is narrated to us by an ancient myth that in the beginning was the two: the Good and the Evil. The Good was the True God and the God of light, the progenitor of virtues and beauty. And Evil was evil, the false god, the dark king, and the source of ugliness and discord. They were separated; time was endless, and the heartbeat of existence had not started yet...
Then a corridor stretched between them. Evil became aware of Good and beheld its creation: a magnificent world of light, luminous angels, and heavenly beings. Evil made an attack to destroy all this, for it was taken by envy, and destroying Divine beauty and glory would give him a lustful pleasure. (And this is the same pleasure man feels when entertaining thoughts and motives for plunder and illicit immoralities.)
But Evil's attack was driven back by the valor of guardian angels. Then Evil made its own creation, a dark world with distorted and discordant demons. And it continued its attacks. The good God proposed a battle for a set time, after which the loser would be cast into the abyss for eternity. This way, the battle would not continue forever but end forever. So they agreed, and thereupon time became finite and the light limited. The luminous world of the Divine came in contact with the dark world of Evil, and behold, this world was born: a world mixed with good and evil, of beauty and ugliness, of virtue and vice.
This myth described the nature of this world and how Godly and demonic qualities are mixed and manifest in everything and everywhere, in marvelous and oftentimes monstrous ways. So you see a beautiful forest and magnificent trees; this is a Godly quality and manifestation of the Divine. But under the same tree, a tiger is tearing a deer, and there is bloodshed and a vile scene; this is a demonic attribute and a manifestation of Evil.
Or you see rain pour and the sun shine to bring forth crops, and their tender stalks are gradually heightening, but then the same sun and rain produce a storm and destroy them all. Or you see a woman who has external beauty and charm but inside has demonic jealousy that brings about the fall of her life and her husband. Or you see one part of nature work to bring forth nutritious fruits and another part simultaneously work to bring forth poisonous fruits...
All our observations show that in everything and every corner and stage of this world, there is a mix of Good and Evil, and an ongoing battle between them. For this world itself is the result of the Good and Evil battle, and indeed it is the battlefield itself, with both forces present and performing.
The center of this battle is human, and it is where the majority of the fight is fought and arrows thrown. Nothing pleases Evil more than haunting and dragging the human soul to itself. For the human soul is indeed Divine and has the Divine light and effulgence, and this light is what Evil and its demons are jealous of and afraid of. They want to destroy it, to stifle it.
As the myth narrates in symbolic and secret words, in the beginning of the Divine creation, it was this light that displeased Evil and raised him to attack. And it was this hatred and jealousy for that light which made him say: "I will turn all your creatures away from you, and your worship."
Thus, Evil's prime goal is to capture Divine beings, drag them down into the abyss, and strip them of that Divine light. And in this stripping, there is immense pleasure for Evil and his demons. This is what is called "extinguishing of existence," an antonym to "creation." It is the annihilation of Light and its transmutation into Darkness. It's a mystic and most horrific phenomenon, but it is real and likely.
How can Evil capture and strip humans of the light? Is it done by force, like a soldier dragging a captive? By no means! A Divine being cannot be forced, but it has to "choose" by its own free will. It has to choose to be captured, to be evil, and become a demon. So then Evil operates by means of deception, to deceive humans to act evil on their own choice. Evil plants and induces all types of thoughts in the human mind: thoughts of greed, thoughts of jealousy, thoughts of hatred, and then a glimpse of false glory and bliss if one follows these evil acts.
Many are Evil's suggestions, as many as stars in the sky and as dark as the night sky. Its voice never ends, nor it can be forced to be silent. Evil is depicted as a man with a tripod fork. The fork is to harrow human souls like a farmer. Each tooth of the fork is a deception and a way of perverting people, and there are many teeth and many forks that demons are holding. The forks of demons are spread in the world, and everyone has hairs tied to one fork; thus the creatures are struggling.
And the myth ends here, but its meaning and implication continue forever. And behind the crust of this story is hidden a profound truth that the nature of this world is battle, the battle between good and evil.
And such battle is present in every moment of human life, even in everyday trivial situations. For example, as I step out of my room and notice my roommates are still sleeping, two paths appear in front of me: one path is to be quiet, and another path is to not care and talk loud on my phone. Now it is for me to fight within myself and choose the right path. These choices change man's existential rank: choosing good raises it, and choosing evil lowers it. At the end of life, depending on his choices and battles, man either becomes an angel and goes to the Divine bright house or becomes a demon and falls into the abyss and Evil's dark house. At higher levels, the battle appears as a more direct fight with tyrants and oppressors of the day. In fact, there is no end to the battle, and its forms and degrees.
Humans are created for these battles, to actively participate in them and not to turn away and seek refuge in isolation and solitary life. Man's mind and psyche are adapted and created for such battles and find peace only in them. Sitting idle, watching movies, playing games, going to spas, and other escapist activities won't give lasting peace. Peace is obtained when you participate in the battles of life, when you stand against an injustice or a tyrant; peace is obtained when man gives up the idea of peace, and instead fights.
All religions of the world are created in battlefields, even though their message was peace. For it is when a man puts his life at stake for a great purpose that the integrity of the soul is achieved.