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Man's relation to the Universe There is no secrecy about this philosophy; the Hindu thought despises secrecy. We have a popular saying that one who keeps knowledge secret when he might give it out, will he born next time as an alligator. [Being questioned at the close of the lecture as to whether this really meant that the human being would be degraded into the form of an alligator, Mr. Gandhi replied that it was used as a proverb, or like our saying of one who has done a foolish thing, that he has made an ass of himself.]
Man is a compound being with many factors. As there are causes which obscure the sense consciousness, so there are causes which obscure the spiritual consciousness. It is the mind which causes bondage and which causes liberation. Beside the factors of causation, there are other pains and pleasures, or the lack of them, the personality, etc. and each factor has causes back of it. The individuality is always the same; the personality is always changing.
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