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CHANGE OF HEART-A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT
the farther the shadow got from him. In this race for getting hold of his own shadow, he was soon exhausted. He worked hard, but to no purpose. No matter how fast he ran, the shadow seemed to run faster. He was overwhelmed by fatigue and despair.
In this unenviable plight he saw a saint with whom he was acquainted coming towards him. The saint said, "Himmat! What is it you are doing? You look so perplexed!" Himmat said, "Sir, I've never failed to accomplish any task hitherto proposed to me. But today I seem destined to fail. I am therefore greatly upset. Kindly guide me! I have undertaken to overtake my own shadow, but I have not succeeded so far. What am I to do?" The saint said, "It's very simple. You just turn about!" The moment Himmat Singh turned his face, the direction changed. With the change of direction, he found himself at the head of the shadow that had eluded him before. His shadow lay behind him.
With a change in direction, the shadow can be overtaken. Man runs after shadows and pelf. Both elude him; they get farther and farther away-man finds himself caught in an illusion which never dissolves. However, when the direction changes, the shadow is overtaken; the riches too. Everything then becomes amenable.
Man is the only living creature who is capable of altering his direction, of purifying his fundamental nature, of effecting a complete change of heart by transforming his consciousness. In this context it can be safely averred that man's greatest achievement is his capacity for effecting a change of heart, a transformation of consciousness and a purification of his primal drives.
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Moral values in society have evolved on the basis of heartchange. In no other society of living creatures except man exist anything like moral values. Nor are they necessary to other animals because their intelligence is not fully developed. Without the development of intelligence, moral values cannot exist. Immoral values also originate from intelligence. In the animal kingdom there is no intellectual developement; it also accounts for the absence of immorality there; other animals never violate decorum, never step outside their ambit. They always move about within prescribed limits. There is never, any infringement. There exists neither morality nor immorality. Man alone, through his developed intellect, has produced values which are not beneficial to society; on the contrary which are positively detrimental. A change of direction takes place and man establishes moral values. The usc of penal force and power is prevalent not only among men, but also in the animal kingdom. Not only man but even the smallest living creature uses force. And this use of force is confined not only to living creatures, it is also prevalent in the vegetable kingdom. The ants of course employ penal force, so do the bees. A careful enquiry makes it clear
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