‘Yes. It is called the Bhagavad Gita in old Sanskrit. The Gita has a beautiful line that encapsulates what I want to convey: Ati sarvatra varjayet. Excess should be avoided; excess of anything is bad. Some of us are attracted to Good. But the universe tries to maintain balance. So what is good for some may end up being bad for others. Agriculture is good for us humans as it gives us an assured supply of food, but it is bad for the animals that lose their forest and grazing land. Oxygen is good for us as it keeps us alive, but for anaerobic creatures that lived billions of years ago, it was toxic and it destroyed them. Therefore, if the universe is trying to maintain balance, we must aid this by ensuring that Good is not enjoyed excessively. Or else the universe will re-balance itself by creating Evil to counteract Good. That is the purpose of Evil: it balances the Good.’

‘Why can’t there be a Good that does not create Evil? Why can’t we establish a way of life that does not imbalance the universe?’

‘That is impossible. Our being alive itself creates imbalances. In order to live, we breathe. When we breathe, we take in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Aren’t we creating an imbalance by doing so? Isn’t carbon dioxide evil for some? The only way we can stop creating evil is if we stop doing good as well; if we stop living completely. But if we have been born, then it is our duty to live. Let us look at it from the perspective of the universe. The only time the universe was in perfect balance was at the moment of its creation. And the moment before that was when it had just been destroyed; for that was when it was in perfect imbalance. Creation and destruction are the two ends of the same moment. And everything between creation and the next destruction is the journey of life. The universe’s dharma is to be created, live out its life till its inevitable destruction and then be created once again. We are a downscaled version of the universe.’

‘These are just theories, Panditji.’

‘Yes they are. But they explain a lot of things that otherwise seem abstruse.’

‘Even if I were to agree with you, how would it work at our level? We are minuscule compared to the universe.’