This very day, the day that I am writing this thought, is the Fourth of July, 2015. It is approximately 239 years from the time we officially declared our independence from British rule in the United States. As I was collecting my thoughts, jets flew over our town from a nearby Air Force base. That has been traditional here as we are close to Hill Field, a U.S. Air Force base. In this country, we chose war, not the nonviolent approach to gain our independence. I remember, as a 14 year old boy in 1948, hearing the news that (Mahatma) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had been shot and killed in India. The reaction of the adults around me was such that I knew he must have been a very important person. Even though I did not know very much about him, I later learned more about him in history courses from the university as well as seeing the show Mahatma: The Journey of a Common Man years later. He was a man who became famous for what he did, not for how he looked, as he was very plain in appearance; some would even say homely. As a youth, I had heard of his fasting for long periods of time. I would sometimes wonder how anyone could do that, especially knowing that he was doing it voluntarily. At that time, not eating between lunch and supper was a long fast for me. Yes, he was doing it for a cause, but he was still doing it voluntarily. I am not aware of anyone ever using “nonviolent civil disobedience” as a revolutionary technique before, and yet it worked, as it was eventually the catalyst that gained independence for India from British rule. That does not mean that people did not die because many did die during their nonviolent protests. He organized the peasants, farmers, and urban laborers to protest against excessive land tax and discrimination. He assumed leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921. Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women’s rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchabil- ity, but above all for achieving Swaraj or self-rule. Gandhi was most famous for his political agenda to free India. Many people are grateful for his philosophy in respect to life and how to live it. His honorific name was Mahatma, which, in Sanskrit, means “high souled” and/or “venerable.” He was accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of his wisdom and character. Some people have compared him to Christ in the many ways he went about peacefully helping people. The ten commandments and the beatitudes (representing the Holy Scriptures) are the two most famous and significant guidelines for living. They are displayed publicly and venerated by most people in most countries and communities around the world (except for Muslim communities). Mahatma Gandhi developed another set of rules that are very impressive, rules that also make a great deal of sense and, if followed, could benefit societies worldwide. They are called the “Seven Deadly Sins.” They are pretty much self-explanatory because as they are read, most people will immediately feel their significance and truth, just as we feel when reading the Biblical truths. Some will say that they are too general, but not so. We can read them, but only those that prick your conscience are those that will automatically be expanded upon in your own minds.
That is the beauty of most all great literature.
The Seven deadly Sins —by Mahatma Gandhi
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Science without humanity
Knowledge without character
Politics without principle
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice.
The only one that seemed to grab me or affect me, almost immediately, was the very last: worship without sacrifice. Expanding on that thought, “worship without sacrifice,” I think, what have I really sacrificed for the knowledge and testimony that I have been given of Christ of His Church and its great and significant mission? I keep thinking of what Isaiah said in the 49th chapter: “And (He) said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Isaiah 49:3) I know what that means, and I know how it is going to come about. So far, the sacrifices necessary to make it come about are feeble. May I and all others who have been so blessed to read and to contemplate Mahatma Gandhi’s “Seven Deadly Sins” make them a part of our lives as well as the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes.