east west concepts of evil

India has a trinity of gods, with a fourth quite outside that trinity, a structure similar to our own Trinity and devil. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva occupy the noble trinitarian positions, while Krishna is left to carry the earthy side of things. In this scheme Krishna corresponds to our Christian devil. But (vast difference!) Lord Krishna is a happy adolescent with sixteen thousand wives. He spends his time sporting with the Gopis, who are the milk maidens of heaven.

Like India today, ancient Greece had close contact with the dark elements of life and with the gods and goddesses that represented these forces, but it had no concept of evil comparable to our own. It is nearly impossible for a Western man to imagine a society that has no concept of evil. It is also a remarkable experience to be in such an environment. … There is no place for evil in this cosmology