Gandhi's 7 Social Sins

FREEDOM IS NOT WORTH HAVING IF IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FREEDOM TO MAKE MISTAKES.- Gandhi

I was recently reading Gandhi’s seven social sins and I thought it was so timely I wanted to share it. They are…

Politics with out Principle

Wealth with out Work

Pleasure with out Conscience

Knowledge with out Character

Commerce with out Morality

Science with out Humanity

Religion with out Sacrifice

Politics with out Principle. You cannot turn on the television these days without seeing one political party bashing another. It has gotten to the point that every time I see it on TV it reminds me of siblings who are going at it and wont stop. It can make you literally want to scream in frustration for them to both shut up. A Principle is by definition, a fundamental truth that serves as a foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. Our country was based on this. Natural Law, certain rights, values and morals are inherent in all human beings.

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Go back and read the Declaration of Independence. It speaks so loud but we are not hearing it.

Wealth with out Work. True wealth, which is not monetary but during these troubling times in our economy you could take that as an example. You may have riches but do you really feel WEALTHY?Maybe not, unless you put the time, effort and sweat equity into doing something worthwhile that you truly believe in. If you don’t put authentic effort into raising your children they will still grow up but will they be everything they could be? If you don’t put the time and effort into making your marriage work will you still be married in 20 years? Maybe, but will it be the relationship that you want it to be? Everything worthwhile takes work. That is true wealth.

Pleasure with out conscience. What’s in it for me? Doing something that will please ones self with out caring about the consequence of how it will effect those around you. I don’t even think I need to elaborate on this one.

Knowledge with out character. If you know better you must do better.

Commerce with out morality. What happened to the “Gentleman’s Agreement” of the handshake? If you have to ever justify or explain to yourself or anyone else why you did something, or handled something a certain way then you may want to rethink the way you handle your transactions. Just think to yourself, would my grandfather or grandmother be proud of me for doing that? It simplifies everything very quickly.

Science with out humanity. I think no other example that shows the dangers of this social sin more than the techno age we are all living in and trying to navigate our children through. The Internet is still a baby and already it is a tool very few people can live with out. Facebook, bbm, twitter all remarkable tools if used properly.  As Einstein said, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. And he didn’t even KNOW about Facebook!! When we forget that real human beings are on the other end of what is put out there it becomes a dangerous tool.

Religion with out sacrifice. Do you attend religous services but don’t exactly live your life according to what is being spoken there? How many people do we know who sit in the front row week after week and justify the way they live their lives by saying, “But I go to church every week and I sit in the front row. I AM a good person! Everyone can see that.” It happens everyday. Should these people be condemned? Lord no! He who is without sin may cast the first stone. No one is perfect and every minute of everyday is a chance for you to start over and be the amazing person you were meant to be. That being said, it isnt always easy to do. No one is perfect but we can keep trying!

We are all human and we all make mistakes. These are my interpretations of what these seven social sins mean. I am no expert on morality, I make mistakes probably more than the next person. But I will never, never, never give up trying. I invite anyone who reads this to leave his or her own opinion or elaborate on what was already said. The beauty of this life is that we do have the ability to learn from our mistakes and we can start over every minute of everyday. It is one of the miracles of life I believe.