Yin-Yang Cycle, Part one
Hello, friends. I’m Amin, a Companion.
(Audience: Hello, Amin!)
Well, I’m very happy to be here with you, dear friends. The session we’re holding today is actually a Worldview session. We’ve also held two or three sessions on Thursdays, and God willing, we’ll have one again this week.
The thing is, our space here is actually quite limited, and some of the Legions can’t attend on Thursdays, while others can’t attend on Saturdays. So, after coordinating with the Border Guards, it was decided that these sessions would be held on a rotating schedule every three weeks—one session on Saturday and the next one on Thursday.
So, this new arrangement for the Worldview sessions begins this week. God willing, we’ll see how many sessions we can continue this way, at least long enough to cover some of the topics we have in mind.
This is actually the first Saturday session that I’m here with you for. I’d like to ask our respected secretary to give us a brief summary of the previous session. Then we’ll see what topic I should choose to start with—something that isn’t too repetitive for those dear friends who also attended the Thursday sessions.
Hello, friends. I’m Majid, a Traveler.
(Audience: Hello, Majid!)
In the Name of God,
This session, the fourteenth session of the first round of the private Worldview Educational Workshops of Congress 60, Academy Branch, began promptly at 10:00 a.m. on January 16, 2010, with Mr. Nezam serving as master of ceremony, Mr. Amin Dezhakam as guest speaker, and me as secretary. The session’s agenda was announced by Mr. Amin Dezhakam.
Thank you.
Well, these topics need a little more explanation and development, so I’m not going to discuss them in this session. Instead, I’ll talk about another subject that I think we need to address, and then we can come back to these topics in the following sessions, because they require a bit of groundwork and preparation.
The discussion revolves around something called the Personality Triangle. When this triangle is damaged, a person has to direct a great deal of what they do and many of their activities toward maintaining their own balance. Exactly how that works, God willing, we’ll discuss next session.
But as for today’s topic, let me first mention something. The clothes we’re wearing are winter clothes, but the season we’re actually in doesn’t really feel like winter. It’s more like April or May, and it’s quite warm in here. This heat might make you a little uncomfortable. So, if you’re wearing a jacket and would like to take it off, as far as I’m concerned, there’s absolutely no problem. Feel free to take it off and sit comfortably—even if you’re just wearing an undershirt. We’ll accept that!
Now, you’ve probably seen a symbol in movies or stories that looks like a circle. One part of the circle is black and the other part is white, with a couple of dots in the middle. Those who have practiced martial arts are probably familiar with it. You see the symbol in Bruce Lee movies as well—the circular symbol divided into two sections.
If you look closely, the dark section contains a small spot of light, while the white section also contains a small spot of darkness. That is how the symbol is designed.
The entire circle represents existence, or life, or the cycle of existence. The dark part represents darkness, or the negative side of things, while the light part represents the divine and positive side.
In Eastern philosophy, this is known as the Yin-Yang cycle.
The word yin in Chinese carries meanings associated with youth, immaturity, and darkness. Yang, which is also the name of a river in China, is associated with maturity, wisdom, and old age.
And by old age, I don’t mean frailty or being worn out. I mean the kind of age that brings maturity and wisdom—something along the lines of the wise elder that we talk about.
This cycle is fairly well known in their tradition, and they have developed various ideas and practices around it. It is part of their philosophy.
But this concept is not actually foreign to us either—not when we look at it in relation to ourselves and our own way of thinking. I’d like to talk about it for a while and explain how it connects to the work we do.
The way this concept is viewed is that every being, or every entity, consists of two parts: one hidden and one visible. But within each of these two parts—the hidden and the visible—there are again two aspects. One is associated with the demonic, negative, and dark side, while the other is associated with the bright and divine side of that being.
The proportion between them is not always the same. In other words, it’s not that we can say, “Fifty percent is light and fifty percent is darkness.” This proportion is constantly changing. It can decrease or increase.
And that small spot of light within the dark part—just keep that in mind for now. It has a particular meaning that will become clear as we continue, and it is actually quite important.
When we say “every being,” we mean every kind of entity: an individual human being, a city, a country, a society, a school, a family—any group or entity you can think of. Every one of them contains these two parts within itself.
These two parts are constantly pulling against each other. They are continually in conflict with one another. At one point, the negative side may grow stronger and gain the upper hand; at another point, the positive, light-filled side may prevail.
Now, how long it takes for one side to gain the upper hand depends on the particular entity, as well as the strength of the darkness and the strength of the light within it.
But this tension and struggle between these two forces creates certain feelings in a person and gives rise to various impulses and forces within them. The same thing happens within a society or a family. An energy emerges from the interaction between these two sides, and that energy becomes a driving force behind movement and, in fact, behind change.
And this is independent of the person’s relationship with their environment. In other words, even if there were no external environment at all, those two parts would still be interacting with and reacting to each other internally.
Now, what does the Yin-Yang perspective say?
It says that when this negative force, or Yin, begins to grow and become stronger, little by little, the light—the divine part—starts to weaken and become smaller.
Little by little, it gets smaller and smaller. Until it reaches what? Until it becomes a very, very small point.
But it does not disappear. Under normal circumstances, it does not disappear.
Darkness may eventually cover everything, but a small part of the light remains. It is still there. This is that little spot of light—or that little spot of white—that I mentioned earlier. I said that it does not disappear.
Or, even if it is about to disappear, a new light immediately begins to emerge from within that darkness. It starts to grow, and it keeps growing and gradually becomes stronger and stronger.
At first, it doesn’t become bigger right away. First, it strengthens itself. Once it has become strong enough, it starts to grow. It grows and grows, and little by little, it begins to push the darkness back.
It keeps pushing the darkness back until, once again, the darkness becomes reduced to a very small point.
At that point, the darkness has become very small, but it doesn’t disappear. And even if it were about to disappear, that tiny bit of darkness I mentioned, which exists within the light, begins to strengthen itself and grow again.
This is the Yin-Yang cycle.
You could say that this is exactly like the Persian proverb: “The two sides of the load together always make a full load.” There is always some light and some darkness—one percent of it is light, and one percent of it is darkness.
But some very important things happen in this process.
Suppose one of these two sides were to completely overpower the other. For example, suppose the light were to completely push the darkness back and take over the entire structure, reaching one hundred percent. What would happen to that entity?
That structure would cease to exist, and another structure would emerge.
In other words, if this were to happen completely—if one side were to reach one hundred percent—the existing structure would be destroyed. It would disappear, and a new structure would come into being.
If it were the light that completely took over, the previous structure would be completely destroyed, and a new structure, with a new nature, would emerge from within it—something entirely different from the previous structure.
If, on the other hand, the dark side were to take over and completely cover everything, the structure would again be destroyed. But what would emerge? A structure at a lower level.
Now, let’s see whether this idea actually holds true—whether there are real examples of it, or whether it’s simply something we’re saying without any real basis.
One example that came to my mind is history. For instance, we could look at the emergence of Islam.
But let me make one point here. That small spark of light I mentioned—the one that begins to grow within the darkness—must, in terms of its nature and power, be superior to that darkness. In other words, it has to be stronger than the darkness in order to be able to emerge and push it back.
Now, let’s look at the story of the emergence of Islam within this Yin-Yang cycle.
When Prophet Muhammad was born in Arabia, what was the situation there?
There was a land that, if we compare it with the other lands and civilizations of that time, we can see that, culturally—or by whatever standard you want to use—it was really at a very, very low level. In every sense, the Arabian Peninsula was a truly harsh and backward place.
The climate, of course, speaks for itself, as you all know. And when it comes to their customs, practices, and traditions, there were some of the worst practices that existed anywhere in the world at the time. One of them was the practice of burying baby girls alive.
They also had many other harmful customs, and their view of women was, in reality, something along the lines of how they viewed camels and horses. Women were regarded at roughly the same level as animals, and there were many other issues of this kind in the way they interacted with one another.
Their ignorance, their brutality, and all of these conditions showed that this was truly a very troubled place. And into this very difficult environment, this very unfavorable setting, Prophet Muhammad gradually began his activities and began to grow.
Then others came along, and this movement began.
The movement began, and little by little, Islam started to emerge and take shape. Then came all the events that you are familiar with and have also seen in the film.
And then, little by little, the wars and the various stages that unfolded over a period of about twenty years took place, and Islam gradually became established throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
There is an interesting statement attributed to Abu Sufyan as well. He says something like this: “It started from a spot.” That is exactly the word he uses. He says, “But that spot was in my eye.” In other words, I couldn’t see it.
It started from a single point, but that point was in my own eye, and I couldn’t see it.
The conquest of Mecca was, in fact, a major historical stage in which Islam emerged and was ultimately accepted throughout the region. The growth that took place in Arabia during those years, and then over the following ten or fifteen years, was truly unimaginable in terms of culture and thought.
You simply cannot imagine how deeply the emergence of Islam, its teachings, and its ideas affected the way those people thought and understood the world.
This is exactly the growth of Yang within Yin—the growth of light within darkness—and its eventual emergence into a higher state.
Well, of course, there are many people who may have very strong nationalist views. I used to be one of them myself, and there were times when I would raise certain objections or be influenced by those kinds of views.
But I just want to make one brief point here. It may not have a direct connection to our discussion, but it concerns the character of Prophet Muhammad. Some people may have their own particular views about him, but I simply want you to consider a person who, over a period of twenty years, was subjected to all kinds of suffering by the people around him.
His property was taken from him. He was insulted, harassed, and persecuted. And then there was the ordeal of the Shi‘b Abi Talib, which you know about—the place where they were confined was one of the harshest places in the entire Arabian Peninsula.
They were subjected to a boycott and forced to live in a place where the heat was so intense that it could melt stone. Imagine living under such horrific conditions, with so little food and so little water, while someone is subjecting you and your family and close companions to all of this.
He was driven out of his home. There were attempts to kill him. Various wars were waged against him.
Then he eventually came to power. When Prophet Muhammad entered Mecca and conquered it, all those who had been his enemies were now in his hands.
In other words, if he had wanted to, he could have done whatever he wished to them. With a simple command, he could have had them tortured or punished in any way he wanted. But he did absolutely nothing.
He didn’t even say, “Hit this person once with a stick,” or, “Give that person a single lash.”
Who—what kind of person—can have that much within themselves? How can someone have that kind of strength within themselves after being subjected to twenty years of persecution, suffering, and torture, and then, when they finally have those very people who did all of it completely under their control, choose not to punish them at all?
Who can do that?!
All the circumstances that could potentially turn a person into someone psychologically disturbed and violent happened to the Prophet. He was orphaned as a child, and there were all these other circumstances.
I’m looking at this completely objectively. I’m simply looking at a part of history and saying that all of these conditions could push a person toward becoming vengeful and violent.
Well, let’s move on. Of course, the story continues. After the Prophet and all the events that took place, where does it eventually lead? It leads to the emergence of Muawiya.
During the time of Muawiya, which lasted for several years, and then during the time of Yazid, another cycle began again.
In other words, after the light had gained the upper hand throughout the Arabian Peninsula, the force of darkness once again began to grow. It emerged in the form of Muawiya, and they began gradually changing the teachings, replacing certain ideas with others, fabricating hadiths, and doing things of that sort.
And the circumstances were also right for it. What made the circumstances favorable?
The Muslims had gained access to enormous resources and enormous wealth. This created an environment in which they were able to carry out those changes.
Things eventually reached the point where, only sixty years after the Prophet, the events of Ashura took place.
So, you can see the cycle: a cycle emerged and grew; the Yang, the light, gained the upper hand. Then, once again, the cycle of darkness began to grow and started pushing the light back.
Usually, the best, strongest, or perhaps most beautiful flowers, the best trees, and the finest fruits are found in the harshest places and in places where there is the least amount of water.
Where do you find the sweetest pomegranates? Neyriz.
Pomegranates from Neyriz, in Yazd—the water they are given is not even drinkable. I mean, the water is so bitter and unpleasant that you simply cannot drink it. And yet it produces some of the sweetest pomegranates.
The most delicious fresh dates? The dates from Khuzestan and Bam, and places like that.
In Khuzestan, the date palms—or the dates that are considered among the finest—are sometimes irrigated with sulfurous water, water that smells terrible, and yet it produces some of the sweetest dates.
This is the Yin-Yang principle: the stronger the darkness, the stronger the Yin, the greater the potential and power that the Yang—the light—can develop within it.
In other words, the power of the light that is going to emerge is equal to, or even greater than, the power of the darkness that has surrounded it from within.
This is, in fact, the integration of opposites.
Now, we can apply this Yin-Yang principle to a society and use it to analyze a society as well.
For example, let me give you another model of Yin and Yang: the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The Middle Ages lasted for roughly a thousand years. During those thousand years, countless people were killed, burned, executed, imprisoned, and subjected to all kinds of brutal treatment.
But what was the result?
The result was the emergence of the Renaissance.
After a thousand years of pressure, darkness, and hardship, such an enormous leap took place in science and the arts in Europe that we are still benefiting from it today.
So many of the foundations of mathematics, physics, art, and other fields emerged during the Renaissance.
You could say that the Renaissance was the Yang that was born and emerged from within the darkness of the Middle Ages.
Now, we see the same thing happening within an individual human being.
If a person wants to understand the light, experience the light, and enter into the light, they inevitably have to experience darkness as well.
If they want the Yang within them to grow, they have to go through that darkness.
Of course, this is not something deliberate. I’m not saying that someone should intentionally put themselves in trouble or create suffering for themselves. That’s not what I mean. Doing that deliberately would simply be ignorance.
Rather, this is part of the program, part of the process, and it is something that becomes part of a person’s path and happens along the way. The timing and the extent of it depend on the nature of that being’s own desire.
The deeper and more complete the light is meant to become, the greater the duration and intensity of the darkness will be. That is how this process works.
So, for example, when we look at societies that are now living under very favorable conditions—whatever aspect you look at—if you go back and examine their history, you will see that they have gone through their own Yin.
It may have taken a hundred years, two hundred years, five hundred years—it depends. But the important question is whether we want to break out of that cycle.
Because, as I said, the darkness grows and the light becomes smaller. Then the darkness grows again and the light becomes smaller; then the light grows and the darkness becomes smaller.
But when does this struggle finally come to an end?
It ends when the light completely takes over—and then a leap occurs.
Now, look at this in terms of someone who uses drugs.
A person develops an addiction and starts using drugs. They continue for a while, and after a few years, they realize that all kinds of damage and problems are taking place. So they start fighting against it. They reduce their drug use, stop using altogether, go through abrupt withdrawal, or try some other approach.
At that point, they manage to push the darkness back a little. They push it away.
But then the darkness comes back, gains the upper hand again, and pushes them back.
These struggles continue over and over. For example, someone may have stopped using drugs three times during the course of their addiction. At different points, they may have reduced their use, stopped for a while, or experienced less damage from the drugs.
But if you pay close attention, you’ll notice something: after every attack or every struggle against addiction, when the darkness comes back—when the drug use returns—it comes back much stronger.
In other words, when it returns, it doesn’t return in the same form as before. It comes back with different drugs or at a higher dose.
For example, if the person initially started with one gram, then reduced it, stopped, and so on, when they return six months later, one gram is no longer enough. They say, “I need three grams.”
Then three grams alone is no longer enough. They say, “I need alcohol too. I need pills as well.”
They overcome that stage again, move on, and then they reach the point where they say, “I won’t settle for anything less than crack. I won’t accept anything less than crystal meth!”
So, every time it comes back, it becomes stronger. Because when it comes back, in order for a person to grow and overcome it, they have to be stronger than they were the previous time. And this continues until what point? Until the issue is completely resolved.
And when is the issue completely resolved? When a complete and definitive way of dealing with it, a complete solution, is found. That is when the cycle is completed.
Or, you could say that a person has to gain a complete understanding of the nature of that darkness within themselves.
If that understanding of the darkness is complete—well, I don’t mean completely complete. We can’t say, “My understanding is complete.” Our understanding may be complete in relation to one particular subject, while there may be another area that we know nothing about. But when our understanding of that particular issue becomes complete, then yes, the cycle is complete.
There is also a sign of this.
The sign is that when the darkness gains the upper hand and pushes the light within that being back, it creates turmoil. It creates disorder and imbalance.
But besides all of that, other feelings also emerge: a feeling of aversion, and a feeling of hatred toward that darkness that has gained the upper hand.
Very often, when a person wants to make a change within themselves and push that dark side back, they use that feeling of aversion, that feeling of hatred. They enter into a fight, a battle with it, and for a while, things may actually go quite well.
But you cannot fight darkness with hatred.
The rule is that if a person fights the force of darkness with the very feelings of darkness, they transfer their own power and energy to that darkness.
For example, if I use anger, hatred, resentment, or jealousy because I want to become a scholar; if I want to put someone down out of jealousy or resentment, or if I want to prove my intellectual superiority and start learning in order to do that, or earn a degree, I may actually get the degree. I may even make it quite far.
But I will end up being an ignorant graduate—a foolish scholar, an unintelligent scientist—someone who earns the degree but loses their insight and their understanding. They lose that inner ability to see and understand.
Maybe I can accomplish many things with that degree, but I will no longer have the vision and insight of someone who truly possesses knowledge, because I have used something that comes from the very nature of ignorance.
You cannot use sewage water to clean up pollution.
If there is garbage all over my house, I cannot clean it with sewage water. Why? Because it is made of the same thing. It may push the dirt around and move it somewhere else, but it does not create cleanliness.
What I’m trying to say is this: if a person uses hatred to overcome something hateful, there is one certain conclusion we can draw from that.
And what is that conclusion?
It is that I have to become more hateful than the thing I’m trying to overcome in order to defeat it through hatred.
If I beat up some tough guy, beat him to a pulp, head-butt him and break his nose, for example, and send him to the hospital, well, I have to be tougher and more violent than he is to be able to do that in the first place. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be capable of doing it!
Where did this happen? It happened in Russia.
When the October Revolution took place in Russia, the people rose up against the tyranny of the Tsar. They attacked, killed, crushed, and destroyed. They captured the Tsar’s family as well, lined them up against a wall, and killed the women and children too—all in the name of justice, humanity, and so on.
Then the Communists came.
And what did they do? They became even more brutal toward all of them.
How?
The very same people who, under the Tsar, would beat someone with a stick just for swearing, or who would have someone taken away in the middle of the night simply for having a political conversation with a friend.
They would come at night, pull someone out from under the blankets, and take them away to some unknown place. After that, it was as if that person had never even been born. They would make them disappear so completely that nobody would ever know what had happened to them.
There were spies in every household. There was a spy in every apartment building. People were so afraid that they didn’t even dare talk to their own brothers and sisters, because they knew there could be someone behind the wall listening to every word.
Such tyranny and such suffocating repression came into existence that people couldn’t even make a sound.
Why?
Because they had pushed that tyranny aside through killing, through hatred, through violence.
But the force that is capable of pushing tyranny aside through hatred has to be even more hateful itself. Otherwise, it cannot do it. Through that path, it simply cannot accomplish it.
Now, this cycle can be completed when, at the point where darkness gains the upper hand, a person does not respond to it with hatred or negative feelings.
If they do not try to solve the problem through those feelings, if they do not use those feelings as a way to fix the problem or treat their addiction, and if they do not react to those feelings, then they are moving in the right direction.
A lot of people hate addiction and want to overcome it through hatred. They can never truly recover as long as that feeling remains—until that feeling disappears and they no longer have feelings of hatred, resentment, or aversion toward addiction. Once they no longer have those feelings, they can be treated.
Well, I’ve talked for quite a while, and there’s no longer enough time for your Legion.
Thank you all very much for listening to me.
Translated by: Companion Marjan
9/26/2026
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