The Indian curses karma. The Muslim curses kismet. The Christian curses sin.
All curse their own curse; truly, all curses are unfreedom.
All curse their unfreedom — the only blessed curse. All rebel against the ash, which little by little wraps them into itself, certain of its victory. Truly, players do not love him whose victory is assured in a game with one weaker than himself.
The Indian does not curse unfreedom but slavery to one worse than himself. Nor does the Muslim curse unfreedom but slavery to one worse than himself. Nor does the Christian curse unfreedom but slavery to one worse than himself. Not one of them rebels against a master as master, but against a master lower than himself.
The world seeks a master. Trying out masters, it falls beneath the heels of servants, and, feeding on ash, it shows its dignity only by rebellion.
I took counsel with myself and asked myself: can you cast karma off your back — a mountain exceedingly high, old as the world and heavy as the world — can you cast it off your back?
Can not a drop of water find a way out from beneath the mountain into the light? Can not the fire in the heart of the mountain carve itself a path and break out at the summit, where the sun awaits it?
Again I took counsel with myself and asked myself: can you become kismet to kismet? Can the camel-driver save both himself and his camel from the simoom, by turning back in time from a road without oases?
Can not a son enter into his father's estate with his father's full authority?
Can not the executor of the law become the lawgiver?
Again I took counsel with myself and asked myself: can you go out from the field of sin, in which one seed yields a hundred harvests?
Can not he who finds a better field leave the worse?
Can not he who recognizes in his fellow-traveler an evildoer turn and flee from him?
But the fear in me answers: yet what if there is no other field? Yet what if there is no other fellow-traveler?
My braver self answers: When I speak of Brahma, do I not speak of another field? When I speak of Allah, do I not speak of another fellow-traveler? When I speak of Christ, do I not speak of salvation?
O Heavenly Master, receive my soul as Thy handmaid. Behold, my only freedom is to serve One better than myself.