Vijaydharmasuri

Author(s): A J Sunavala
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

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INTRODUCTORY for them, who used their reason and their capacities for the elevation and regeneration of mankind in general and their own people in particular, is not theirs the character which ought to be built and developed by every man in himself ? is not theirs the example which ought to enliven his spirit and illuminate his soul ? is not theirs the life and career which ought to animate his ambitions and aspirations, rouse his energies and emotions ?
MEN WE WANT AND WORSHIP These are the lives we admire and esteem; these are the lives we revere and worship. These are the men we love and require; not men who are selfish triflers, interested calculators who think only of personal gain and personal loss. We want men whose first question is what good can I do?' and not what good can I gain?' We want men who are selfdenying and self-sacrificing,-men worthy to be called men and hence worthy of our respect. We want men who will be constantly watching for an opportunity to serve their fellow-men, and are ready to trample under their feet their selfishness, their own personal interests, when they come in conflict with the general good. We want men who will regard every contact with another man as an opportunity of being useful to him in some way or other, and are prepared to put aside all puerile questions of race, caste and creed, as they put away a soiled cloth, or a worn-out garment, for the enlightenment and happiness of mankind.