The Vice President of
India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that in the Gandhian
approach, conscience is motivated by considerations of humanity and sacrifice
to develop a moral character that holds aloft in its work the banner of a
principled approach. The reverse would be selfishness inducing an unprincipled,
opportunistic, approach to work. The latter would produce neither justice nor
humaneness. Addressing after releasing the book entitled “Seven Social Sins:
the Contemporary Relevance” by Prof. J S Rajput,
former Director NCERT here today, he said that on this thesis, the choice would
be clear if the human being is a moral creature having a sense of right and
wrong in his individual and group conduct.
Shri Ansari
said that the title of Professor Rajput’s book refers
to the seven social sins Mahatma Gandhi cited in ‘Young India’ on October 22,
1925:
Politics without
principles
Wealth without work
Pleasure without
conscience
Knowledge without
character
Commerce without
morality
Science without
humanity
Worship without
sacrifice
He opined that Gandhi
ji went on to say the people should know these social
sins not merely through the intellect but through the heart so as to avoid
them. He considered these traits to be spiritually perilous for humanity. It is
to be noted that each of these is a statement of principle that can be
comprehended, interpreted and implemented individually and collectively.
He hoped that the
book will compel readers to think about the questions raised and, in the
process, compel us to think about the Gandhian legacy
beyond the ritual to which it seems to have been reduced.
Following is the text
of Vice President’s address :
“I am happy to be
asked to release a book on a subject of abiding relevance. Professor Rajput is an eminent educationist.
The title of
Professor Rajput’s book refers to the seven social
sins Mahatma Gandhi cited in ‘Young India’ on October 22, 1925:
Politics without
principles
Wealth without work
Pleasure without
conscience
Knowledge without
character
Commerce without
morality
Science without
humanity
Worship without
sacrifice
Gandhiji went on to say the
people should know these social sins not merely through the intellect but
through the heart so as to avoid them. He considered these traits to be
spiritually perilous for humanity. It is to be noted that each of these is a
statement of principle that can be comprehended, interpreted and implemented
individually and collectively.
On my part, I would
like to discern a pattern in the last words of each dictum: principle, work,
conscience, character, morality, humanity and sacrifice. A similar pattern,
summing up different forms of human activity, is discernable when the first words
of the statements are put together.
In the Gandhian approach, therefore, conscience is motivated by
considerations of humanity and sacrifice to develop a moral character that
holds aloft in its work the banner of a principled approach. The reverse would
be selfishness inducing an unprincipled, opportunistic, approach to work. The
latter would produce neither justice nor humaneness. On this thesis, the choice
would be clear if the human being is a moral creature having a sense of right
and wrong in his individual and group conduct.
Gandhiji’s message of avoiding
these seven social sins provides a philosophical and moral framework for
addressing most issues agitating contemporary societies. Professor Rajput and the other contributors to the volume bring out
the continued relevance and importance of Gandhian
thought. Some questions do come to mind. Can the principles of public morality
be different from those of private morality? Do these norms govern the conduct
of the State in relation to its citizens and its conduct in inter-state
relations?
It is my hope that
this book will compel readers to think about the questions raised and, in the
process, compel us to think about the Gandhian legacy
beyond the ritual to which it seems to have been reduced.
I thank Professor Rajput for inviting me to release this book.
*****
Sanjay
Kumar/VPI/20.11.2012