Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 2.djvu/133

 it is a severe ideal, it is an exacting ideal, for it is an ever-expanding ideal, that stands before us. What is considered to be satisfactory today will prove unsatisfactory tomorrow. You ought not to rest satisfied that today you have not frequently entertained an impure thought. For, there is ever a species of impurity that does not catch our attention ; because it is so nice, so subtle, so insidious that we are not able to detect it easily. Also, the absence of impure thoughts does not necessarily mean the presence of pure thoughts; just as the absence of thorns and weeds does not necessarily mean a wholesome and fertile crop; or as the absence of ill-health need not always denote a state of sound health. 'I have not entertained an evil thought;' 'I have not cast a lustful look;' 'I have not turned my ear to an indecent phrase' — this argues only purity on the negative side. But there is a positive side to it which you must take up. Thoughts and inclinations have a profound effect opon character.