with a wave-like motion throughout eternity. Time, space and causation are all within this nature. To say, therefore, that it had a beginning is utter nonsense. No question can occur as to its beginning or its end. Therefore, wherever in the Hindu scriptures the words beginning and the end are used, it means the beginning and the end of one particular cycle; no more than that. What makes this creation ? Brahman. There is no suitable word in English. He is eternal, eternally pure, eternally awake, the almighty, the all-knowing, the all-mercifull, the omnipresent, the formless, the partless. If this is so, then why is there partiality in the world ? Why is one person happy and another person unhappy ? Who makes it ? Vedanta says: We ourselves. There is a cloud shedding its rain on all fields alike. But it is the field that is well cultivated is the one that takes the best advantage of it. The fault is not on the cloud. The mercy of God is eternal and unchangable. It is we who make the difference. We reap what we have sown in several previous births. This leads to the next concept. Life is eternal. It is not that it has sprung out of nothing. That cannot be. Each one of us is the effect of the infinite past. Each one comes to work out his own past deeds. This is the law of Karma. Each one of us is the maker of our own fate. We, and none else are responsible for what we enjoy or suffer. We are the effects, and we are the causes. We are free therefore. If I an unhappy, it is of my own making, and that shows that I can be happy if I will. The human will stands beyond all circumstance. Before it -- the strong, gigantic, infinite will and freedom in man -- all the powers, even of nature, must bow down, succumb and become its servants. This is the result of the law of Karma. The next question is: What is the soul ? There are differences of opinion among the various sects, but there are certain points of aggreemnet. The souls are without beginni...
