Posted on 27 Jan, 2011 -
Exotic fruit and the 7 blunders of the world
Anyone else out there find themselves worrying about the world a lot?
Gandhi’s ‘7 blunders of the world’ and how we can try to ensure we’re avoiding them
The perils of buying kiwis… and a tonne of old baby clothes
Dear Reader,
Now and again I feel a little anxious. And I’m not talking here about the little things - like the kids piano exams or train times… or the scary ex-convicts who knock at the door selling dusters and scrubbing brushes.
This kind of an anxiety is more of an underlying nagging one - about the troubles facing humanity and the elusive nature of solutions. The problem of inequality. Of over-population. And of our runaway consumption of fossil fuels and too much plastic… and fruit grown in polytunnels.
I find myself worrying about all the fuel my family uses to heat and light our home. I fret about the constant array of fresh fruit and vegetables we consume at the expense of rapidly diminishing water tables in the countries that supply it.
I even worry when I take a big bag of old kids clothes to the charity shop. Should I, perhaps, keep it in the attic for the day when resources become so short that we no longer have central heating or shops like Argos? Then I’ll be able to make it into a quilt to keep us warm during the winter…
The least we can do, perhaps, is avoid the world’s 7 biggest blunders
“Help!” I thought this morning. “I need of an injection of positivity or direction here. Or just a kick up the ********.”
I know, I thought, how about Gandhi. You don’t get much holier or more sort-out-the-worldy than that clever little man in his loin cloth.
So here’s what I’ve found for us and here’s what I’ve done with it.
You see, as the story goes, a few weeks before he was shot and killed while praying by a Hindu extremist (Gandhi was continually campaigning for peace and unity between the Hindu and Muslim communities which a lot of people weren’t up for), Gandhi gave a talisman to his grandson.
On it were engraved the ‘Seven Blunders’ out of which, Gandhi said, the violence that plagues the world grew.
They are:
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principles
Turn them round and you may actually find you’re getting a lot of things right already
Well, I have to say that these seven blunders didn’t do too much for my at first either. Not, in fact, until I turned them round as positives and made them into things to work towards - or give myself a small tick for.
So… for the seven GOOD behaviors in the world… and to see whether you’ve been living up to Gandhi’s expectations… try:
Work. Well, I certainly do that. And look, you’re even allowed some wealth with that as well!
Conscience. Great! So as long as I have a good conscience, it’s OK to enjoy some pleasure as well. Although I had to explore the concept of ‘conscience’ a little further to get this one moving in me.
From J. John’s book ‘26 Steps to Heaven’:
“Conscience is that inner sense that tells us whether what we are doing - or plan to do - is right or wrong...” “It can also be distorted so that it approves what is wrong and condemns what is right..”
“Conscience, like a pencil, needs to be sharpened occasionally.”
Character (before knowledge). For which I read that to go out there into the world and just BE the right person is more important than education, knowledge and achievement.
Morality with all commerce. It is fine to sell or do business. After all, people normally benefit from what they buy from you. And if nobody sold things then we wouldn’t have nice food, or music or clothing. (And as my daughter pointed out, we wouldn’t have been able to ‘adopt’ a tiger.) But it is also important that those who do business think carefully about what they can do to improve the lot of others and the world we live in instead of damaging it.
Humanity. Humanity, says my dictionary, is being kindhearted. I presume to the human race. In fact, there is a lot to be said for the idea that being kind to others is the most important thing we can do in this lifetime.
Sacrifice. As a parent or carer or even relative, friend or spouse, we all make a lot of sacrifices in life. So it’s good to have that recognised as a good thing. I’m not, however, entirely sure that this is what Gandhi would have meant by sacrifice.
I am no expert on Hinduism but from what I gather it can mean a couple of things. Firstly it can mean to make an offering to a Deity - of food stuffs in particular. Secondly, it can mean giving up your own advantages or possessions for a higher purpose. In fact, one source said that all life is a sacrifice - called jivayajna - the giving of oneself.
And indeed, you can certainly get a lot more spiritual fulfillment by concentrating on giving instead of getting…
Which brings us finally to… Politics… and Principles. Which partly, unfortunately, brings me somewhat back to the point where I started. Again I am asking myself questions about equality… fair taxation and redistribution… the plights of the third world… and my fruit bowl full of satsumas, kiwis and mangos. (Should I limit myself to apples and frozen gooseberries from my allotment? Or should I turn my freezer off and move my entire family into a one-bedroom flat in a City to save the planet?)
But then after all, what is this but conscience? And a hazy attempt at principles.
So unless you’ve sold every last scrap of your soul to the devil (haven’t we all metaphorically sold a little bit?) let’s hope we’ve at least got some direction from Gandhi’s blunders. A bit more bounce in our step. And the belief that we are at least getting some things right.
Best wishes for another week.
