Chapter II: Patience and Gratefulness
can not be changed, or a man can not be made short or long, or a black man cannot be changed to a white man, so also nature cannot be changed. Another reason cited is that inspite of our efforts, sexual passion, anger etc. cannot be uprooted and to make efforts to control them is useless. The answer to these objections is as follows. If nature is unchangeable, then sermons, education and learning would have been useless. The Prophet said: Make your conduct good. This advice would have been meaningless. When the nature of lower animals can be changed by training, human nature can all the more be changed by training, education and habits. All things of the world are made of two elements. Man has got no power over one element, but he has got control over another element. The sun, moon, stars and the external and internal forms of animals cannot be changed.
God created another element which may develop into perfection according to certain rules and regulations. For instance a paddy seed, if kept under certain conditions, can develop into paddy plants, but it cannot produce a mango tree or a date tree. Similar is the case with passion, anger, pride etc. If they are kept under rules and regulations and control, they cannot take to the highest degree of progress, but they cannot be uprooted at will. To keep' them under control is the cause of salvation.
MEN ARE OF FOUR CLASSES ACCORDING TO NATURE:
(1) One class of men are in attentive. They don't distinguish between truth and falsehood and they remain with nature with which they are born. By training, their conduct can be good.
52 Good Conduct Vol-IIl
(2) The second class of men can know the evil actions of others but are not habituated to good actions and are prone to evils.
They are to give up the habits of evil actions and seeds of good actions are to be sown in their souls. (3) The third kind of men believe bad conducts to be good. (4) The fourth kind of men are bred upon evils. The first kind of men are illiterate to the extreme, the second kind are illiterate and misguided, the third kind are illiterate, misguided and sinners and the fourth kind are illiterate, misguided, sinners and dishonest.