Nature's wisdom in veiling the past from us can be understood by
observing the pernicious effects of remembering too long the blunders
people make in this incarnation. Take the case of a very young man who
has charge of his employer's money and who, finding himself pressed for
ready cash, makes the grave mistake of "borrowing" a hundred dollars
without his employer's knowledge and consent. The young man really
believes he is borrowing it and knows just where the money is to come
from to replace it soon, and he thinks nobody but himself will ever know
anything about it. But to his consternation the money that was due him
in a few days cannot be collected in time and an unexpected examination
of his books leads to his arrest for embezzlement. He is convicted,
sent to prison for a year, and returns a marked man. Thoughtless
society closes its doors against him. He seeks employment in vain.
Nobody wants an ex-convict. He explains that he had no criminal intent
and that he really was guilty of only an indiscretion and that he paid
back the money later. But the world is too busy to listen. It sees only
the court record, and that was against him. The public forgets, or never
knows, the extenuating circumstances. But it never forgets two
things--the verdict of guilty and the prison. The young man would almost
give his life for a chance to wipe it all out, but it is impossible. It
stands against him for life. But nature is wise. She does not permit our
vicious traits to extend their injury too far. If we could remember from
incarnation to incarnation that man's misfortune might afflict him for
thousands of years. But by the wise plan of closing all accounts at the
end of each incarnation the mischief of remembering the blunders of
others comes to an end. In the next incarnation all start with clear
records again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account