There was a time when the earth was only a nebulous mass whose particles were scattered far apart through the expanding force of heat; when she had not yet attained her definiteness of form and had neither beauty nor purpose, but only heat and motion. Gradually, when her vapours were condensed into a unified rounded whole through a force that strove to bring all straggling matters under the control of a centre, she occupied her proper place among the planets of the solar system, like an emerald pendant in a necklace of diamonds. So with our soul. When the heat and motion of blind impulses and passions distract it on all sides, we can neither give nor receive anything truly. But when we find our centre in our soul by the power of self-restraint, by the force that harmonises all warring elements and unifies those that are apart, then all our isolated impressions reduce themselves to wisdom, and all our momentary impulses of heart find their completion in love; then all the petty details of our life reveal an infinite purpose, and all our thoughts and deeds unite themselves inseparably in an internal harmony. The Upanishads say with great emphasis, _Know thou the One, the Soul._ [Footnote: Tamēvaikam jānatha ātmānam.] _It is the bridge leading to the immortal being._ [Footnote: Amritasyaisha sētuh.] This is the ultimate end of man, to find the _One_ which is in him; which is his truth, which is his soul; the key with which he opens the gate of the spiritual life, the heavenly kingdom. His desires are many, and madly they run after the varied objects of the world, for therein they have their life and fulfilment. But that which is _one_ in him is ever seeking for unity--unity in knowledge, unity in love, unity in purposes of will; its highest joy is when it reaches the infinite one within its eternal unity. Hence the saying of the Upanishad, _Only those of tranquil minds, and none else, can attain abiding joy, by realising within their souls the Being who manifests one essence in a multiplicity of forms._ [Footnote: Ēkam rūpam bahudhā yah karōti * * tam ātmastham yē anupaçyanti dīhrāh, tēshām sukham çāçvatam nētarēshām.] [Transcriber's note: The above footnote contains the * mark in the original printed version. This has been retained as is.]