We return to the same debate: were these people immoral because they did not believe in the Divine? Or is it that they are immoral simply because they choose to be so, a flaw of their own nature? One returns to this same question in light of any scandal. And this scandal has been on a mass scale!
A long time ago, Plato made Socrates pose this classic question in his Euthyphro dilemma, in a slightly different way. Socrates simply asks: Why is a thing pious or impious? Is it because the Divine endorses it or rejects it, or is it because the thing is pious or impious in itself and the Divine has nothing to do with it? One wonders.
The Epstein files has simply scratched the surfaces of the neat outer facade of human beings and bared the rots that is held in its underbelly. Pursuit of material success and moral growth are often at variance with each other. It has shown us something what the mystic always knows. To expect ignorant human beings who have achieved outer success with inner rectitude is as absurd today as in the days of Socrates. Of course, there are wealthy and famous human beings who are also ethical, but these rare creatures did not chase material success. They got what they got as a gift of destiny or the Grace. But the names in the Epstein Files of men, including some spiritual writers and healers, are of all those who chased money and material success. If you chase money and want your name in the hall of fame, then the road cuts through the pavements of hell. But if you turn your back to these things, they may chase you, but that is a different thing. After all, it is not a mere euphemism that Sri Aurobindo and every other mystic has said that three are the doors to Hell, money, power and sex. In the Epstein Files, all three are at display.
As to the Divine, He is beyond the pious and the impious, a distinction needed for many but not binding on God. He has no choice but to carry everyone and everything together since all is He, and hence He cannot disown the immoral. He has His tricks up his sleeve, and perhaps the Epstein files are one of the ways He is showing us the dark rot hidden behind beautiful covers. Hope mankind learns and grows.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
