INTRODUCTION TO BOOK FOUR
THE WAY
The
Universe is perpetually engaged in a dance, and everything dances to its own
music. This accord in the movements of dance and music is harmony, and ranks as
the secret of life. Thus the cosmic dance provides man with a model to follow.
In human terms, harmony means social accord which requires a society capable of
reducing all those tensions which create disharmony. It is only the harmonious
society that can sufficiently develop one's individuality leading to the birth
of a soul, the guarantee of eternity.
The fact that such a society does
not exist automatically, reveals the truth about effort and exposes the
triviality of faith. If such a society existed naturally, man would be just a
mechanical toy. The creation of such a society is not the task of nature but
that of man who has been endowed with free will. In fact, free will is the
fountain of life, and should also be the means of making it everlasting; after
all, it is free will that makes a man, a man. Since eternity is within the grasp
of man, he has a brilliant future but it depends upon the creation of a
harmonious society.
What are the factors which make a
society harmonious? It is a matter of opinion. However, in addition to devoting
chapters on "harmony" and "free will" for expressing their
significance, I have chosen the following subjects, which I believe, play a
major role in building the society congenial to man's social and spiritual
development, eventually leading to eternity:
1. Ethics (vice and virtue)
2. Psychology (individuality)
3. Sociology (society)
4. Law (and morality)
5. Politics (state)
6. Taxation
7. Economics
8. Mysticism
These subjects have received the
attention of scholars and philosophers since time immemorial; opinions differ on
each subject; some seem to be even contradictory. To my mind, they are the links
which forge the chain of life, and its strength and magnitude depend upon their
linkage. However, though each of the succeeding chapters discusses a fundamental
principle, I have left its application to the suggested harmonious society,
open-ended. It is only gods and gurus who lay down the law. Not being one of
them, I believe that the reader is quite capable of coming to his/her own
conclusions.
| 
Summary
to Book III
