Heredity has been considered among all peoples and in all ages. If we look at the animal kingdom we see that the lion cub is never the child of the snake, nor any storks hatched from pigeon's eggs, the oak tree will not produce dates, nor will roses spring from thistles.

We see in the East that of all breeds of horses the Arab horse is the best. One slight touch will make it leap any obstacle, cover any distance, while there are other horses, donkey-like horses, upon whose back dozens of lashes are laid, and they put one step forward and stop, again twenty lashes, and one step forward. The Arabs value their horses so greatly, that they preserve the breed, never allowing it to be mixed with any other strain. These horses are very devoted to their master.

An Arab was once riding in the desert, and he was overcome by illness, so that he fell from his horse and lay on the ground, unable to move. Days and days the horse remained beside him, though it could easily have wandered away. It never left him, until at last some travellers came near and were attracted to the place, seeing the horse standing there. They took care of the man, and so his life was saved.

There are very many stories of Arab horses. Among dogs, there are some who will follow anyone. Whoever gives them a bone is their master, and if another gives them meat they leave the first and run to the other. And there are some who follow only one master, who obey only one, and even sometimes, sacrifice their life for him. It depends upon the breed, the heredity.

In the East they have considered this subject of heredity very much and have given great importance to it. We have always seen that the son of a poet will have the poetical gift, the son of a musician is expected to be a musician. Even now, if anyone comes forward to speak upon religion they will say: "Are you the son of a priest, or are you qualified yourself?" A great many of the words of abuse have more to do with the parents than with the person himself, and a great many words of praise have to do with the ancestors, not with the person. It was for this that Christ said: "My Father in Heaven", because he recognized his origin from the Divine.

The son of the miner will never do the work of a shepherd, and the son of a shepherd will never do the work of a miner. In India we have one family of poets who have been poets for ten or fifteen generations. They are in Rajputana, and are all of them great, wonderful poets. They are called Shigrakair, improvisors, and were at the court of the kings.

There is also the inheritance from the minds of those who have left this earth. When a soul on its way to the earth meets a soul coming from this world, it receives the impressions of that soul, if it is attuned to it. For instance a soul meeting the soul of Beethoven, receives the impression of Beethoven's music. Then it is born with the musical qualities of Beethoven. The believers in reincarnation say: "He is the reincarnation of Beethoven." The Sufi says if it is meant that Beethoven's mind is reincarnated in him it may be said true. But, because the spirit is from the unlimited; he says: "It need not necessarily be called reincarnation." Therefore a soul with poetical attributes may be born in the family of a statesman, where there never before was a poet.

Each soul is like a ray of the sun, or of any light. Its work is to project, to go forth as far as it can. It is creative and responsive. It creates its means, its expression, and it is impressed by whatever comes before it, in proportion to its intention.

If we go to the Tottenham Court Road, if we are interested in carpets, we shall not stop before the nut and fruit shop. We stop before the shop with nuts and fruits only if we are hungry, if we are capable of being interested in them.

The mental attributes inherit by impression upon the mental plane. Every physical atom of the parents becomes radiant, and its qualities are imparted to the child.

In the case of a father who has liked drink, the child of course is born without the tendency for strong drinks, at that moment. But as it grows and develops, the cells of its body being the same as those of the father, they may have the same craving for drink. The soul is much stronger than the body, and all inherited defeats and infirmities may be overcome, if only the person has a will strong enough for him to cure himself, or to be cured by the help of another person.

That which is more outside is given in heritage more than what is more inward. A man may not be like his father in looks or in nature, but he inherits his property. The state will give the property to the son. It is inherited because it is more outward. The attributes of the body are inherited more than those of the mind, because they are more outward.

Coming to the question whether more qualities are inherited from the paternal side or from the maternal side, I will say that the qualities inherited from the father are more deep-seated, while those inherited from the mother may be more apparent, because the father's inheritance is the substance, the mother's is the mold. A child may be very like his mother in appearance, yet the quality is the father's. For instance if the father is very generous, but a rather crude person, and the mother is finer, the child perhaps will be generous and finer.

In this way the evolution of the world goes on, by the intermixture of nations and races. Those families who keep themselves reserved, in the end become weak and very stupid, diseased also. For this reason the Prophet in Islam allowed all races and castes to intermarry, because the time had come for the human race to evolve in this way.

Sometimes a person may be very like his paternal uncle or his maternal uncle or great-uncle. This is because in the parents these qualities of the grandfather, which although they were in him, had no chance to show themselves, while they could show themselves in his brother.

Also heredity is made by vibrations, there must be harmony in the number of vibrations, as color and sound are made by the harmony of vibrations. Therefore a person may be like his grandfather more than his father. The grandfather may have been a poet, the son may not be a poet, but the grandson again is a poet, because the number of the vibrations corresponds.

Then the thought, the feeling, of the parent are inherited by the child as a quality. If the father is in the thought: "I should build an orphanage", the child will have the philanthropic disposition. If the father is thinking: "This person is my enemy, I should revenge myself upon him", the child will have a vindictive disposition. If the mother admires something very much, if she thinks: "How beautiful these flowers are," the child will have that love of beauty in its nature.

How important it is that people should know that their passing thought or feeling makes the character of the child. In the schools geography, history, astronomy, are learned. But it is most important that this should be learned also. It is not that the old people should read and know it, but the young people should learn it.

It is true that genius is transmitted through heredity, and develops at every step, but it is sometimes found that the child of a very great person happens to be most ordinary; sometimes the child of a most worthy person proves to be most unworthy. This may be explained in this manner, that every genius has its three courses, uruj, kemal, and zawal, ascent, perfection, and descent. When the genius is ascending in the ascendent it develops progressively, when it is in perfection it surpasses all the former geniuses in that family, if it is in the decline it shows gradually or suddenly the lack or loss of genius. It is so with families, nations, and races.

A child need not partake the attributes and qualities of his parents, because the soul has no father and no mother; no one can claim to be the parent of a soul. Among very worldly people without a thought of anything but pleasure, a very spiritual child may be born, or from very saintly persons a very devilish child. For those who are walking in the path of truth, there is no heredity. By realizing their divine origin they free themselves from all earthly inheritance. As Christ said: "My Father in Heaven." They realize their origin from the spirit, and by their concentration and meditation, clear all earthly influences from their soul.