Evil and the Philosophy of Retribution

Desire and anger lie at the root of evil. Drawing upon this Upanishadic insight, Indian epics, mythological and religious text represent the asuras (demons) as embodying these vices. Presenting key arguments of Sri Aurobindo, Lokamanya Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, this book follows the engaging debate as to whether retributive actions of accomplished spiritual practitioners are immmune from the injunctions against violence. -- provided by the publisher