BLUNDERS OF THE WORLD. Who is responsible for the Peshawar incident, an act of cold blooded murder of over a hundred children? As the Taliban claims responsibility, the mindless incident stems from a mixture of religious fanaticism, deeply rooted hatred, an attempt to sow terror, or some might say sheer lunacy. I will not even attempt to speculate answering how or why this happened. Nothing can ever justify such criminal brutality. It reminds me however of Gandhis Seven Social Sins, pretty powerful principles I happened to refer to in one of our essay questions for our Strategic Management final exams this term, at the De La Salle University, College of Business. Am checking about 120 such essays right now. And as you can see, I am totally distracted by recent world events. Gandhis list - totally consistent with Christian principles - if not practices - if I might add - explain quite a few real world blunders. Let me try paraphrasing them in laymans terms. 1. Wealth without work. Practice earning every point at games (DO NOT CHEAT). Earn every peso or dollar you are paid at work or in your business. Otherwise, you will end up as one of the big cheats of tomorrow, or worse, as a miserable, spoiled old fogie. 2. Pleasure without conscience. Never derive happiness from the short or long term destruction of others. 3. Knowledge without character. What you know is meaningless, if you arent brave enough to share it with those who need it. It is meaningless if you use what you know to use, abuse, and manipulate others for your selfish ends. 4. Commerce without morality. Great businesses bless people, and do not thrive at their expense. If it is not win-win, if it steps on one or another stakeholders rights, then it is not sustainable. 5. Science without Humanity. What use is technology if it makes you a pain in the neck to people around you? Use technology to solve real problems, to serve the long term interests of humanity. 6. Worship without Sacrifice. Your religion - your dogma - is absolutely worthless without love; and love is as love does. 7. Politics without Principle. With great power comes great responsibility, that is, to wield it towards forging the common good, now and for eternity. Looking at events of world history, we see the devastating effects of these social sins. No wonder, in some literature, they are also called the Seven Blunders of the World. We see them in our daily actions and decisions, in our encounters with people: colleagues, employees, customers, suppliers, lawyers, doctors. Unless we learn to avoid these blunders, daily, we are bound to repeat world history. What Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma) also suggests is that unless we be the change we wish to see, then the change we will see be towards more of such lunacy.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 01:04:43 +0000
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