Thus, the sensitive minds of the young are hardened, and ambition becomes a driving, if not a destructive, force in their lives of surroundings and of finer feelings. The drive to become somebody distinguished politician, lawyer, or engineer an obstacle to remaining whole, for specialization tends to condition and confine the mind in narrow tracks. The mold into which the mind is set does not permit spiritual qualities to blossom according to the innate and unique endowments of the individual. Desire and ambition have a role in the evolutionary plan. They activate the mind, which would otherwise stagnate.
Animals are innocent, whatever they do, because they have no conscious desire to achieve or become.
They are themselves and therefore have a special charm, as do infants and small children. With increasing sophistication, desire turns from mere craving for food and basic necessities to fame, power, possessions, and ultimately what it imagines to be spiritual progress. With the increase of intellect, spirituality diminishes. This indeed is the recovery of lost innocence. It is disastrous in the present era to follow a philosophy of achievement.