The selfish devotee lives to no purpose. The man who does not go through his appointed work in life—has lived in vain.

Follow the wheel of life; follow the wheel of duty to race and kin, to friend and foe, and close thy mind to pleasures as to pain. Exhaust the law of Karmic retribution. Gain Siddhis for thy future birth....

Thou hast to saturate thyself with pure Alaya, become as one with Nature's Soul-Thought. At one with it thou art invincible; in separation thou becomest the playground of Samvritti, origin of all the world's delusions.

—The Voice of the Silence

The dream of Man down the ages is that of one humanity living in peace in one world, a world where men and women recognize the bond that unites them all into one great family where all live together in concord and amity.

This dream is deeply rooted in the spiritual memory of humanity and so in spite of long millennia of strife and warfare it can never die. It lives eternally and is part of our divine heritage, inherent in our spiritual consciousness, and it reflects itself in our highest aspirations. Nothing can do away with it. No dogmatic faith or materialistic science can ever uproot it. And thus it reappears again and again, now in one form, now in another. Its origin goes back to the earliest childhood of humanity on this earth, when Divine Teachers walked among mortals. In those ancient days Man felt the presence of the Divine Spirit within and therefore recognized his kinship with all men and all living beings. And this enabled him to live in perfect harmony with Mother Nature. This was indeed a Golden Age, when the whole earth enjoyed a period of fertility and when fraternal sympathy prevailed between man and the gods or divine elements.

One of the earliest records of this covenant between the Supreme Self and man is found in the Bhagavad-Gita, thus:

When in ancient times the lord of creatures had formed mankind, and at the same time appointed his worship, he spoke and said: "With this worship, pray for increase, and let it be for you Kamaduk, the cow of plenty, on which ye shall depend for the accomplishment of all your wishes. With this nourish the Gods, that the Gods may nourish you; thus mutually nourishing ye shall obtain the highest felicity. The Gods being nourished by worship with sacrifice, will grant you the enjoyment of your wishes." (III, 10-12)

Indeed yajna or sacrifice is at the basis of all manifestation, is the fundamental law of life. Sacrifice created this world, sacrifice sustains it, sacrifice regenerates it. Man, an emanation from the Divine, has also the power to create, to sustain, and to regenerate; but if that power is to be used beneficently, for the good of humanity, in harmony with the Supreme Spirit, then it must be used in and through sacrifice. All that we are, we have received from an act of sacrifice. The Law of our own being, the Moral Law within, demands that we too learn to give, to share, to sacrifice. He who violates the Law of Sacrifice, is like unto a thief and "eats the bread of sin": "Those who dress their meat but for themselves eat the bread of sin, being themselves sin encarnate" (Bhagavad-Gita, III, 13). The Universal Wheel of Life was set in motion by Sacrifice, is kept revolving by sacrificial service, and the man or woman who does not live in harmony with its divine motion has lived in vain. Krishna says:

He who, sinfully delighting in the gratification of his passions, doth not cause this wheel thus already set in motion to continue revolving, liveth in vain. (Bhagavad-Gita, III, 16)

Since the Law of Life is that of Unity and Sacrifice, there is no separateness, nor any "independence" in the absolute sense, but only solidarity and interdependence. Man and Nature depend on each other. There is between man and all other kingdoms of Nature a ceaseless give and take, a constant interchange. Man, a free agent, must deliberately regulate all his actions on this principle of reciprocity. Therein will be found contentment for the individual and true progress for humanity.

The first step is the performance of every duty in a spirit of unselfishness, as an act of service, for the good of humanity, for the maintenance of the world. Krishna says: "Even if the good of mankind only is considered by thee, the performance of thy duty will be plain" (Bhagavad-Gita, III, 20). The Sanskrit word in the original text is lokasamgraha, "world-maintenance." It stands for unity; it means oneness of all life, the solidarity and interdependence of society. This is the grand concept that has inspired all efforts to bring about peace and good will to men on earth. This is the vision splendid that has given birth to all movements to promote brotherhood.

Where shall we find the true foundation for a changed civilization that all men and women can see and stand on? It is not philosophies nor religions nor political panaceas that are needed; but Knowledge, and a wider scope of vision than the vicissitudes of one short physical life. The knowledge that is greater than all the forms of religion ever invented is the knowledge of the very nature of man himself, for himself and in himself. For we are not here as things apart; we are here because of one great sustaining Cause—infinite and omnipresent, nor separate from us, nor from any other being. It is the same in all beings above the human and in all beings below the human—the very root of our natures, the very man himself. It is the source of all powers and of all actions, whether good or evil. Then, everything that is done by beings affects all beings, and all that is has been caused by beings, each one affected according to his share in the cause. What the past has been, we are experiencing now—our lives now being but repetitions of lives that preceded them. What the future will be, we are making now.

—Robert Crosbie