According to the transmigration of the soul, a man can become a dog in the next life. So you take care of this life, and if in the next life he becomes a dog, then what?

Expressions researched:
"according to the transmigration of the soul, a man can become a dog in the next life. So you take care of this life, and if in the next life he becomes a dog, then what"

1976 Correspondence

If you don't take care of the child and simply become concerned with the young man, is it possible to act properly in the matter of humanitarianism? And according to the transmigration of the soul, a man can become a dog in the next life. So you take care of this life, and if in the next life he becomes a dog, then what?

Letter to Sri K. K. Joshi -- Honolulu 9 May, 1976:

With reference to your statement that you are concerned with this life alone, I could not follow what you mean by this. In this life also, you take care of educating your children. So if the child is not educated for the next stage of life, then how do you account for the child's youth-hood age. Life is a continuation. The baby grows to become a child, the child grows to become a boy, the boy grows to become a young man, the young man becomes a middle-aged man, and the middle-aged man becomes an old man. So with which stage of life are you concerned? I shall be glad to know in which stage of life you are interested. If you don't take care of the child and simply become concerned with the young man, is it possible to act properly in the matter of humanitarianism? And according to the transmigration of the soul, a man can become a dog in the next life. So you take care of this life, and if in the next life he becomes a dog, then what?