“Learn, then, that the service demanded is that unselfish service that gives everything and asks for nothing in return; and if you find that in you it is a necessity of your nature, not a choice but an overmastering impulse, then you may be sure that you are one of the men of the world who are taking the first steps towards the Path. (I need hardly say that when I say men I mean women too, but I cannot keep on saying "man and woman each time..)!”

—  Annie Besant

Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man 1923, p. 29

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Annie Besant photo
Annie Besant85
British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, wr… 1847–1933

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