Altruism, compassion, empathy, love, conscience, the sense of justice – all of these things, the things that hold society together, the things that allow our species to think so highly of itself, can now confidently be said to have a firm genetic basis. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, although these things are in some ways blessings for humanity as a whole, they didn’t evolve for the “good of the species” and aren’t reliably employed to that end. Quite the contrary: it is now clearer than ever (and precisely why) the moral sentiments are used with brutal flexibility, switched on and off in keeping with self interest; and how naturally oblivious we often are to this switching. In the new view, human beings are a species splendid in their array of moral equipment, tragic in their prosperity to misuse it, and pathetic in their constitutional ignorance of the misuse.
There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening; we shall hear the right word. Certainly there is a right for you that need no choice on your part. Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which flows into your life. Then, without effort, you are impelled to truth and to perfect contentment.
Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
For everything has its own way, thou shall repent if indulged.
-- Ruhshad Nariman Daruwalla
