What is that spirit? The Upanishad says, _The being who is in his essence the light and life of all, who is world-conscious, is Brahma._ [Footnote: Yaçchāyamasminnākāçē tējōmayō'mritamayah purushah sarvānubhūh.] To feel all, to be conscious of everything, is his spirit. We are immersed in his consciousness body and soul. It is through his consciousness that the sun attracts the earth; it is through his consciousness that the light-waves are being transmitted from planet to planet. Not only in space, but _this light and life, this all-feeling being is in our souls._ [Footnote: Yaçchāyamasminnātmani tējōmayō'mritamayah purushah sarvānubhūh.] He is all-conscious in space, or the world of extension; and he is all-conscious in soul, or the world of intension. Thus to attain our world-consciousness, we have to unite our feeling with this all-pervasive infinite feeling. In fact, the only true human progress is coincident with this widening of the range of feeling. All our poetry, philosophy, science, art and religion are serving to extend the scope of our consciousness towards higher and larger spheres. Man does not acquire rights through occupation of larger space, nor through external conduct, but his rights extend only so far as he is real, and his reality is measured by the scope of his consciousness. We have, however, to pay a price for this attainment of the freedom of consciousness. What is the price? It is to give one's self away. Our soul can realise itself truly only by denying itself. The Upanishad says, _Thou shalt gain by giving away_ [Footnote: Tyaktēna bhuñjīthāh], _Thou shalt not covet._ [Footnote: Mā gridhah] In Gita we are advised to work disinterestedly, abandoning all lust for the result. Many outsiders conclude from this teaching that the conception of the world as something unreal lies at the root of the so-called disinterestedness preached in India. But the reverse is true. The man who aims at his own aggrandisement underrates everything else. Compared to his ego the rest of the world is unreal. Thus in order to be fully conscious of the reality of all, one has to be free himself from the bonds of personal desires. This discipline we have to go through to prepare ourselves for our social duties--for sharing the burdens of our fellow-beings. Every endeavour to attain a larger life requires of man "to gain by giving away, and not to be greedy." And thus to expand gradually the consciousness of one's unity with all is the striving of humanity.