________________ Letter 717 Anand, Friday, 3rd Aso sud, 1952 To the soul seeker Mohanlal, Durban. I have received a letter written by you. I am replying to you in brief. I realise that by living in Natal (South Africa), several good qualities have flowered within you; mainly thanks to your keen desire to nurture them. Admittedly Natal seems to be a better place than Rajkot for you to develop such qualities as straightforwardness, etc., for the factors that would force you into behaving against these virtues are far and few in Natal. Yet those who are feeble in resolve, when living independently in foreign countries like England, could easily get swayed into vices such as eating forbidden substances, like meat etc. No doubt the solitude that you enjoy in Natal living in the absence of family and friends has helped you in nurturing numerous qualities; however, it remains true that satsang with enlightened souls in a holy land would facilitate your inner development in a much better manner. Knowing your character, I am certain that the negative influences in a place like Natal would never affect you; yet I remain of the firm opinion that the lack of satsang is certainly an obstacle to your spiritual progress. I had written to you about "protecting the noble conduct and thought" with the following meanings: by "noble conduct" I meant virtues such as compassion, honesty, forgiveness, etc. and by "noble thoughts" I meant thoughts about the soul's existence, its eternality, its ignorance about its true nature, the reasons behind the ignorance,
