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in it, and in the midst of evil sees' that there is something good in it somewhere-he has known the secret of work."
But what is it that follows from this ? It is this conclusion--that, howsoever we may try,
there cannot be any action which is perfectly pure, · or any which is perfectly impure, taking purity
and impurity in the sense of injury and non-injury. We cannot breathe or live without injuring others, and every bit of the food we eat is taken away from another's mouth : our very lives are crowding out other lives. So says the Bhagvad-Gita. It may be men, or animals, or small microbes, but some one or other of these we have to crowd out. That being the case, it naturally follows that a thoroughly harmless perfection can never be attained in relation to any work. We may work through all eternity, but there will be no way out of this intricate maze; you may work on, and on, and on; there will be no end to this inevitable association of good and evil in the results of work.
