“There is the first condition, the sine quanon. For the selfish no such advance is possible; for the unselfish such advance is certain. And in whatever life the man begins to think more of the common good than of his own individual gain, whether it be in the service of the town, of the community, of the nation, of the wider joinings of nations together, right up to the service of humanity itself, every one of those is a step towards the Path, and is preparing the man to set his feet thereon.”

—  Annie Besant

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man (1923)

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Annie Besant photo
Annie Besant 85
British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, wr… 1847–1933

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