The man who does not believe in
God has only to substitute the word "Nature" for "God" and to leave out
the idea of design, and the argument remains the same: man's relation to
his environment provokes exertion, and thus evolution. A man on the Path
of Forthgoing will, at first, seize everything he desires, careless of
others, and will gradually learn, from the attacks of the despoiled,
some respect for the rights of others; the lesson will be learnt more
quickly by the teaching of more advanced men--[R.][s.]his, Founders
of Religions, Sages, and the like--who tell him that if he kills,
robs, tramples on others, he will suffer. He does all these things;
he suffers; he learns--his post-mortem lives helping him much in the
learning. Later on, he lives a more controlled and regulated life, and
he may blamelessly enjoy the objects of desire, provided he injure none
in the taking. Hin[d.][=u]ism lays down, as the proper pursuits for the
household life, the gaining of wealth, the performance of the duties of
the position held, the gratification of desire. The desires will become
subtler and more refined as intelligence fashions them and as emotions
replace passions; but throughout the treading of the Path of Forthgoing,
the "desire for fruit" is the necessary and blameless motive for
exertion.
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