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THE MEMOIRS OF A CAT
are satisfied with the necessaries of existence. Not being attached, we do not require the virtue of detachment to be preached to us. Virtue is somcthing which is preached, but seldom practiscd. An ideal is set up in imagination, only to cast a glitter of virtuosity on the practical realities of life. You do not preach temperance to those who have never tasted intoxicating drinks or fumes. It is preached to those who are so much addicted to these as to be unable to do without them. Similarly, the emphasis placed upon the virtue of unattachment only proves the prevalence of the lust for wordly goods. Being uncncumbered with the enslaving habit of accumulating worldly goods, my parents naturally were without the wherewithal to pay for the services of the agents of God, and have the horoscope of their offspring cast. That was a blessing in disguise. Because, I do not labour under the prejudice that every small event of my life is predetermined by the whims of the gods. I have the feeling that I am the master of my life.
Another earthly reason why my parents were indifferent to my future, and did not care to possess the key to my life, is that among animals love is not commercialised; it is not corrupted with the sense of ownership. With mankind, children are a kind of material asset. The investment value of the parental care and love for children greatly disappears with the break-up of
