Study in Karma

Author(s): Annie Besant
Publisher: Theosophist Office Adyar

Page 71

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A STUDY IN KARMA
if he holds himself back, saying: “I must not enjoy it now, because I have a duty to perform,” he is moved by Will. When the energy of the Self is controlled and guided by right reason, it is Will; when it rushes out unbridled,' drawn hither and thither by attractive objects, it is Desire..
Desire arises in us spontaneously ; we like one thing, we dislike another, and our likes and dislikes are involun. tary; are not under the control of the Will nor of the reason. We may make up reasons for them when we wish to justify them, but they are elemental, non-rational, precedent of thought. None the less may they be brought under control, and changedthough not directly. · Consider physical taste; an olive, preserved in brine, is offered to a child, and is generally rejected with disgust. But it is a fashionable thing to like olives, and young people persevere