The Gita according to Gandhi 238

The Gita according to Gandhi -Mahadev Desai

DISCOURCE 3 He who justifies himself saying, ‘I cannot do this, it is not in my nature,' misreads the shloka. True we do not know our nature, but habit is not nature. Progress, not decline, ascent, not descent, is the nature of the soul, and therefore every threatened decline or descent ought to be resisted. The next verse makes this abundantly clear. 34. Each sense has its settled likes and dislikes towards its objects; man should not come under the sway of these, for they are his besetters. Hearing, for instance, is the object of the ears which may be inclined to hear something and disinclined to hear something else. Man may not allow himself to be swayed by these likes and dislikes, but must decide for himself what is conducive to his growth, his ultimate end being to reach the state beyond happiness and misery.