The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads) c11.43

c11.43

We must not forget that the perpetual decay and death and replacement which is the gist of human life when looked at purely from the outside is not redeemed in India by any theory, or instinctive faith in general advancement. There is in all Hindu thought no expression of hope for the race, no theory of betterment all along the line. Each individual must attend to his own uplifting that is to free him from a world whose worthlessness is condemned in unmeasured terms. Admitting that this is to no small extent mere theory; that the average Hindu worries along, sustained by life, hope, sunshine, and what not, whence the theory?