Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 43
43 for man has been invested with many natural feelings which prompt him to do good to others and which people mistake for good morals. For instance, a man is naturally pained by the misfortunes of others and is inclined towards courtesy and truth, for man has been created social and these feelings are the ne- cessary equipments of a member of society. Even a child who is brought up in strict seclusion and is deprived of every kind of instruction is bound to exhibit these feelings in his conduct, which shows that these feelings are distinct from morals and are merely natural Instincts. For instance, affection and aversion are both equally natural feelings, and neither of them can therefore, be described as good or bad; for if one of them is good and the other bad, we would have to confess that God had made evil inherent in our nature, which would amount to blasphemy. Be- sides, this doctrine is refuted by our experience, for a feeling of aversion towards certain things, for instance, towards oppression or evil doing, is highly creditable. But if every feeling of aver- sion were to be regarded as evil, then repugnance towards evil-doing itself would be a sin, which is absurd. The Promised Messiah, therefore explained that, for a religion merely to exhort its followers to be kind, or forgiving, or affectionate, or benefi- cent, or not to be extravagant, is merely to enumerate our natural feelings and does not amount to moral instruction of any kind. Only that religion can claim to have given moral instruction which lays down rules calculated to control the exercise of nat- ural feelings and gives directions for their proper exercise. In other words, the exercise of some natural feelings and the sup- pression of others does not amount to morals; it is the conscious and intentional exercise of all natural feelings on their proper occasions and a restriction of such feelings on every undesirable occasion which is moral. This may be illustrated by saying that the human mind is a country peopled by natural feelings. Now, the function of moral instruction is not to hang some of them and let the others loose to do what they please, for this is not gov- ernment but anarchy; on the contrary, its function is to set limits