Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 44
44 to the conduct of each and to permit no one to go beyond those limits. This is the reason why human acts are described as moral, and similar acts proceeding from animals are not so described. An animal is often moved by pity, but nobody calls it moral, for all its acts are prompted by instinct. He pointed out that a reli- gion that condemns any of the natural instincts of man and at- tempts to suppress them as evil, does not further morality, but helps to destroy morals and to undermine society. That religion alone can establish true morality which points out the proper time and occasion for the exercise of each natural feeling. The second principle which he laid down concerning the moral teachings of a religion is that, in addition to indicating the proper occasions for the exercise of each moral quality, a religion must give an explanation of the different stages of good or bad morals that are likely to result from the proper or improper exercise of each natural instinct, for, if it omits to do this, most people would be bewildered and would either abandon at an early stage the attempt to improve the morals, or would follow along paths which could never lead them to the goal. They would be like a student who, desiring to acquire a knowledge of the English language, starts committing the Oxford Dictionary to memory. They would make sacrifices of time and effort but would not arrive at any useful result. It is, therefore, the duty of a religion to illustrate the different stages of moral qualities, so that men in all stages of development may be able to take advantage of its teachings. The third principle that he laid down was that a religion must explain the grounds on which its moral injunctions are based, for, without a knowledge of these, a man would not experience that feeling of cheerfulness which is required to sustain the effort necessary for the attainment of a high moral standard. Fourthly, he laid down that a religion must point out the source of good and evil inclinations, and should teach men how to block