Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part III — Page 83
Footnote Number Eleven — Fourth Objection 83 their memory is so weak that, in a moment, everything is erased from it like a mark of water [on something] which disappears in no time. Similarly, there is an immense difference in people’s moral capabil- ities and spiritual enlightenment. Take, for instance, two sons belong- ing to the same father, who have been taught by the same teacher. One of them may turn out to be righteous and good-natured, and the other wicked and mischievous; one brave, and the other cowardly; and one with a deep sense of honour, and the other shameless. Sometimes, it so happens that the mischievous one is reformed to a certain extent as a result of being admonished; and sometimes the coward, due to some selfish motives, performs a feat of courage—leading inexperienced people to believe that they have deviated from their true nature. But I repeatedly draw attention to the fact that no soul can exceed the limits of its capacity. If one makes any progress, it is only within the sphere of his inherent natural capacities. Many naive people have fallen prey to the misconception that appropriate practice and training can help develop one’s abilities beyond one’s innate potential. Even more far-fetched and illogical is the doctrine of the Christians, who believe that merely accepting the Messiah to be God brings about a transformation in one’s nature, and that however greatly one may be overwhelmed by the animal instincts and evil desires that are ingrained in one’s nature, or however defec- tive one’s mental faculties may be, by simply professing that Hadrat ‘ I s a [ Jesus] is the only son of God Almighty, one changes his innate nature. However, it should be borne in mind that such thoughts are harboured only by those who have never closely studied natural sciences or medicine, or whose eyes are blinded by extreme prejudice and creature-worship. Otherwise, physicians researching the causes of different dispositions have found, through repeated experiments, that cowardice or bravery, stinginess or magnanimity, intelligence or dull- ness, weakness or resoluteness, kindness or fury, purity or impurity of thought, are not casual or accidental traits. Rather, the Eternal Creator has Himself made mankind distinct from one another in terms of their