When the great sages of the world have given all they possessed and spread their faith through the devotion of their hearts, that infinite devotion does not vanish from humanity with their death. We see that after their passing, the light of their hearts grows ever brighter through the ages; people remember and follow their godlike character, their deeds, their ideals, their manifold virtues; and more than this—when people witness these virtues reflected in their own lives and in the lives of their children, they find peace. Many years have passed since Socrates died, yet his wisdom, his ideals, his conduct—all of it still dwells in human hearts with reverence and grows stronger with each passing day. Man departs, leaving behind the light of his heart; and that light continues to grow—this light is what we call the soul.
Behold the wondrous law of God! The virtues that a person acquires in this life not only become part of their spiritual existence after death and manifest in personal immortality, but these virtues also remain imperishable in the character of countless others and in the life of all humanity forever. These virtues do not merely increase a person's happiness in heaven; rather, they are preserved and made manifest in the character and lives of other human beings here in this very world. Through successive generations of humanity, these qualities are transmitted, elevating and blessing the entire nation and all mankind. By virtue of this divine ordinance, the great person's heart flows with joy, and through them countless others are benefited and find happiness.
The great souls of ancient times—Muhammad, Confucius, Buddha, Chaitanya, Socrates, Plato, Jesus Christ, Zoroaster, Nanak, Mahavira, and countless other luminaries—continue to aid us in endless ways to this very day. All these celebrated masters and their followers have greatly developed and enriched the spiritual power of human society and continue to do so. Whether people know them or not, they are truly the nobility of the kingdom of heaven, the very creation of God himself. The knowledge and wealth they inherited from their ancestors and acquired through infinite endeavor even before death—though during their lifetime these remained their personal possessions—after death, all these great treasures became part of the infinite treasury of all humanity's inheritance.
In the civilized world today, there is not a single poor person who has not become heir to the priceless spiritual wealth of these magnanimous souls. Not one talented individual can be found who has not, through their grace, attained a nobler and greater character. They are the treasure of all the world. Everyone benefits from them, and even those who know nothing of these great lives and noble examples have not been denied the inheritance of the knowledge and devotion these masters earned; for by their birth into this world, they transformed and reformed the hearts and deeds of the people.
Just as the sky between the sun and the earth is filled with ether, and through this ether the sun's heat reaches the earth and continues to do its work, so too around the character of each individual person exists a spiritual ether far more subtle than the natural ether. And through this spiritual ether, the thoughts and power of one person fall upon another. Just as the ether of the natural sky belongs to no individual or particular society, neither does this spiritual ether belong to any person or nation—rather, it is the possession of all humankind. We might call it the oxygen of human society.
Just as the acquisition of all spiritual power and wealth depends especially upon the education and practice inherited through our family's male lineage and upon our own individual talents and wisdom, so too it depends upon this spiritual oxygen of humankind. Man therefore grows in three ways: by learning from his family, by learning from himself, and by learning from the great souls. The great have increased humanity's treasury of knowledge, bringing novel truths within the grasp of human understanding. This knowledge and truth has spread among all the civilized nations of the earth, and continuously infiltrating various human communities ever more widely, it keeps increasing the power of mankind.
An iron rod, brought into contact with a magnet, acquires magnetism. At first, a tiny atom of the rod gains this magnetism, and gradually it spreads throughout the whole rod. For the atom to become magnetized, its electrons become excited, and this excitement spreads to all neighboring electrons, because such excitement cannot remain confined to a single place. Through the influence of the inner nature of this novel power, magnetism is transmitted from one atom of the iron rod to another, until at last all atoms are charged with it. Thus, the iron rod which was once inert as stone, upon becoming magnetized, acquires a novel power—and not only does it gain such power and retain it within itself, but placed in proper proximity to other iron rods, it is capable of transforming thousands upon thousands of them into magnets as well.
By holding truth in a pure and disinterested way according to their nature, man gains the greatest power from intellectual devotion. Just as the human eye naturally tends toward light in its ordinary state, so too does the human intellect in a healthy and unobstructed state naturally move toward truth. In nature we pursue the search for truth with great interest and perseverance. For the truths of physical science that are reckoned as matters perceptible to human senses in this beautiful world around us, great societies have been established in various places throughout the civilized world, administered by the learned. Such organizations—national academies, institutes, and government and private institutions—are established everywhere. The aim of all these establishments is not to ensure the physical comfort and convenience of their members or of all humanity; rather, these institutions labor day and night in the search for whatever truths lie hidden in nature.
Let me give you an example. Will knowing how many moons Jupiter has put money in our pockets? The geologists and scholars who labor so intensely to uncover what hidden truths lie within the earth—what is their financial worth? Some venture into the depths of African jungles at the risk of their lives to discover and discuss the skeletons of dead creatures buried in some swamp thousands of years ago. Others traverse lands far and wide collecting the rocks found on mountain peaks across the world. Still others bind themselves so wholly to underground plants, vines, fossils and the like that they remain perpetually immersed in plumbing their deepest mysteries.
Crossing seven seas and thirteen rivers, men rush across lands and continents in pursuit of knowledge in its varied forms. Many a scientist, leaving behind all the comforts of home, has spent an entire lifetime on some distant island studying its biodiversity. They regard their discoveries as they would their own children, nurture them with care, and labor ceaselessly to make new ones. Yet for this noble love of theirs, they receive nothing in return. Those whom they embrace as the sustenance of their lives cannot provide them with clothing, shelter, food, or drink.
Astronomers burn with profound curiosity to know the facts of the brilliant celestial bodies in the sky, yet those denizens of the heavens can give neither the researchers nor their families even the most basic necessities. We have seen how even fear of death could not deter Galileo from his inquiry into the nature of stars. Look at the miser. He loves his own wealth more than all the riches in the world combined. For this wealth he is willing to cast away his intellect, conscience, and moral knowledge—he can even sever all bonds with his family. The true devotee of science embraces scientific truth even more fiercely than the miser clings to his gold, and stands ready to endure every hardship for the establishment of that truth. The sacrifice demanded by such laborious work is scarcely imaginable.
Though such disinterested and sacred love of truth grants the knower eternal peace and contentment, the truth he discovers arrives at his home completely empty-handed. Truth carries nothing for the scientist; it brings no gifts or provisions for his household; it brings no precious worldly thing to the home of its discoverer. Yet intellectual and spiritual attainments, though they possess no monetary value, hold infinite worth in satisfaction. The person who lives without such spiritual and transcendent nourishment is deprived of the highest joys and solaces that human existence can offer.