By Arjit Sethi
“Whether men understand it or not, they are impelled by that power behind to become unselfish. That is the foundation of morality. It is the quintessence of all ethics, preached in any language, or any religion, or by any prophet in the world. “Be thou unselfish”, “Not ‘I’, but ‘Thou'” – that is the background of ethical codes.”
-Swami Vivekanand
With rising cases of crime in our vicinity and the indifferent attitude we all possess, I bring to light the extreme need of the hour, our Ethics.
According to Vedanta one of the world’s most ancient religious philosophies based on the Vedas, the sacred Hindu scriptures of India, it is crucially important that our thoughts and actions be governed by ethical values and habits. Vedanta, is in agreement with Socrates in holding the view that the practice of virtue should be preceded by a rational understanding of the implications and the nature of virtue. It says that Viveka (understanding) should precede Vairagya (dispassion) and the practice of Shatsampat (six ethical virtues – tranquility, training, withdrawal, forbearance, faith and focus), are cultivated to stabilize the mind and emotions.
Mahatma Gandhi, Father of India, promoted non-violence, justice and harmony between people of all faiths. Satyagraha, Gandhi’s approach to conflict, was to “hold firmly to Truth.” He stressed that people follow ethical principles and listed following seven Social Sins:
(i) Politics without Principles.
(ii) Wealth without work.
(iii) Commerce without Morality.
(iv) Knowledge without Character.
(v) Pleasure without Conscience.
(vi) Science without humanity.
(vii) Worship without sacrifice.
Simply stated, ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves-as friends, parents, children, citizens, teachers, professionals, and so on. It is helpful to identify what ethics is NOT:
Ethics is not the same as feelings. Feelings provide important information for our ethical choices. Some people have highly developed habits that make them feel bad when they do something wrong, but many people feel good even though they are doing something wrong.And often our feelings will tell us it is uncomfortable to do the right thing if it is hard.
Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone. Most religions do advocate high ethical standards but sometimes do not address al the types of problems we face.
Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical standards, but Law can deviate from what is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt, as some totalitarian regimes have made it. Law can be made to be a function of power alone and designed to serve the interests of narrow groups. Law may have a difficult time designing or enforcing standards in some important areas, and may be slow to addressc new problems.
Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms. Some cultures are quite ethical, but others become corrupt or blind to certain ethical concerns (as the United States was to slavery before the Civil War or to using atomic weapons on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki). “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is not a satisfactory ethical standard.
Ethics is not science. Social and natural science can provide important data to help us make better ethical choices. But science alone does not tell us what we ought to do. Science may provide an explanation for what humans are like. But ethics provides reasons for how humans ought to act. And just because something is scientifically or technologically possible, it may not be ethical to do it.
The root word for Ethics is the Greek “ethos,” meaning “character”, while the root word for Moral is Latin “mos,” meaning” custom.”Character and custom, however, provide two very different standards for defining what is right and what is wrong. Character is a personal attribute, while custom is defined by a group over time. People have character. Societies have custom. To violate either can be said to be wrong, within its appropriate frame of reference.
Arjit Sethi did his schooling from DPS R.K.Puram. Currently, he is a student member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He represented his school and received the Gobartimes Award from Mrs. Sheila Dixit. He also secured the School Rank 1 in the International Mathematics Olympiad. He belongs to New Delhi and has a great fondness for the street food as most of the Delhiites, and is addicted to soccer. The best thing he likes about himself is his punctuality. He is extremely attracted to the Indian Bureaucracy and has a great desire to be its part one day.
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