I need help with a meaning to this quote it is by Mahatma Ghandi and it is" There are seven things that ...

Question

will destroy us; Wealth without work; Pleasure without conscience; Knowledge without character; Religion without sacrafice;Politics without principle; Science without humanity; Business without ethics." - Mahatma Ghandi

Answer 1

well, there are many interpretations to that.

Take my examples:

The following will destroy us:

1. Wealth [w/o work] = the big Q here is: how did you get your wealth? by stealing ,right? It is wrong. Stealing one another is wrong, thus leading to both of their destruction.

2. Pleasure [w/o conscience] = What do you do if you take so much pleasure, you intend to lower down a person's dignity. For example,

(a.) a man raped a girl. -He looked for PLEASURE, but he doesn't respect the human dignity of the girl. He has no conscience.

(b.) too much food intake [gluttony] -You eat so much that you don't care. You soon realize that you are too fat and you easily get sick, but still you don't care..that you really harmed yourself

(c.)GRAFT and CORRUPTION in the government. - this is not an uncommon problem today. We know that most gov't officials steal people's money. They get money out of the people's pocket for their own PLEASURE.. without thinking the effect of their actions to their country.

3.Knowledge [w/o character] - just imagine a mad genius scientist who is going to destroy the world. Please refer to NUMBER 6 [science w/o humanity]

4. Religion [w/o sacrifice] - How would you convince other people to practice your religion, if you, yourself couldn't practice it? for example:

(a.) [i am a Catholic, so sorry for some people if I used what I learned in my class]

An excerpt from the life of St. Dominic -

the pope sent papal legates to battle Cathars [heretics]. But these Cathars were simple people, talking to poor people, unlike the papal legates who wore their riches to impress people. The papal legates don't have impact to the people, that angered Dominic. He told them.."if you really wanna defeat them, show that you are one with them [the poor]. Keep it SIMPLE! [ the priest's vow of simplicity]."

5.Politics [w/o principle] - same as letter C in number 2. But let me give you another example:

(a.) Unjust Judgment of the Gov't - it will greatly affect the economy, or the country itself..like when it declared Martial Law, the country people will really suffer.

(b.)Unjust Laws - some laws are LEGAL, but still IMMORAL. You know what they are. Like [sorry to others] abortion.

6.Science [w/o humanity] - ask yourself, why do scientists research starting from the beginning? It's because we need technology. We need it to help us in our every day lives. What is the use of a science that is not helpful to society, for example.

(a.)Toxic and Biochemical Plants: they just harm the environment. More c02 emissions, land and water destruction.

(b.)SOME Nuclear Plants: reason same as example 6.a

7. Business [w/o ethics] - Business is a deal, while ethics is the code of that deal. If it is a clean business, it must have clean ethics (a.k.a. rules or guidelines). Example:

(a.) What if you're into adult business [again, sorry for some people] ?

They're making money, but still, that business leads some young, fresh-minded children[ or teens ] exposed to things they shouldn't see yet. Effect of this? pregnancy=more population[over ... the OVERpopulation actually]

(b.)Illegal drug biz - same as example 7.a and is indeed harmful to everyone in the community. Small amount will deal a huge damage to community like increased crime rate.

-Mahatma Ghandi [I really liked him. I am so sorry that he passed away. May hir soul rest in peace with God. He is an honorable person.]

Answer 2

I think what Ghandi is talking about here is not necessarily physical destruction, although that is a possibility. He's referring more to destruction of your soul or inner self. You can become corrupted and spoiled, like food over-seasoned with salt, too much is awful tasting and harmful, just enough can make an otherwise bland meal tasty.

It reflects the necessity of balance. Too much of a good thing will spoil us; "Wealth without work"...pretty simple, if you get a lot of stuff you didn't earn, chances are you won't be as grateful for it as someone who's had to work their whole life for things they have. People who easily come to wealth are often more demanding and may have a built-in sense of entitlement, making life unpleasant for the people subject to their demands, ultimately destroying themselves. Some call it karma, others just call it revenge, but either way, what goes around comes around.

"Pleasure without conscience" is essentially taking all you can from life without regard to what your pleasure is costing others.  Drug dealers would be a good example, or perhaps guys like Saddam Hussein. Maybe even your boss, who knows?

"Knowledge without character": if someone has acquired a lot of knowledge, there is the temptation to use it for personal gain rather than for the good of everyone; character is what makes someone fair and selfless enough to share knowledge to improve the lives of others.

"Religion without sacrifice": if someone is part of a faith-based religion, but have never had their faith tested under fire, it's pretty much meaningless and will tend to make them arrogant and self-serving in their beliefs. Not sacrificing will also have the effect of killing off a religion by causing people to rebel against it if they see the religious as being condescending, or if pressure to join is too great.

"Politics without principle": should be obvious, but people who have power without a good set of morals to guide them aren't going to help anyone but themselves, not even themselves in the long run.

"Science without humanity": sometimes reality and logic are brutal things, science is meant to be the act of uncovering that reality and applying that knowledge, which goes back to knowledge without character. Some people are not emotionally or psychologically equipped to handle the truth, so it's up to the scholar to soften the blow when necessary or teach people how to deal with technology in a responsible manner. It is possible to become logical to the point where you have no sensitivity to the weaknesses of others, so you don't care how your discoveries affect them.

"Business without ethics": another obvious one. What goes around comes around, people in business who operate without ethics most likely operate without them in other parts of their lives too. Someone who cheats in business probably will not have as many objections to cheating in their personal relationships as someone who is honest in their dealings.

Answer 3

...and South African lawyers (like him) without trousers.

Very wise.  Very true.

Answer 4

Wat's d problem in understandin it.? Wealth widout doin any work will destroy us. Pleasure widout knowin wat's d rite thing & wat's d wrong thing will destroy us. Preachin a religion widout even wantin 2 sacrifice for it will destroy us. Politics widout

even havin a principle can destroy us. Science widout d feelin of humanity can destroy us.