October 2023 Part 1

Conscience

·         Conscience is a great ledger where our offences are booked and registered. It is a terrible witness.

·         It threatens, promises, rewards, and punishes, keeping all under its control.

·         If conscience stings once, it is a caution, if twice, it is a condemnation.

·         Cowardice asks, "Is it safe?" Greed asks, "Is there any gain in it?" Vanity asks, "Can I become great?" Lust asks, "Is there pleasure in it?" But conscience asks, "Is it right?" Why have we become deaf to its voice? Insensitive to its pricks? Callous to its criticism?

·         If you do wrong actions and sinful deeds and treat them lightly today, you will not hesitate to perform serious crimes tomorrow. Your conscience will become blunt and lose its sensitivity. The habit of doing evil deeds will pervade the whole body like the poison of a scorpion.

Quotes

·         Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. Mark Twain

·         There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts. Mahatma Gandhi

·         There's no pillow as soft as a clear conscience.

·         Conscience is the authentic voice of God to you. Rutherford B. Hayes

·         Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it. Albert Einstein

·         Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking. H. L. Mencken

Thinkers and Philosophers

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

·         If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.

Gautama Buddha

·         Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

·         Health is greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, and faithfulness is the best relationship.

·         Three things cannot be long hidden; the sun, the moon, and the truth

·         The mind is everything; what you think you become

·         To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must be disciplined and control his mind. If a man can control his mind, he can find the way to enlightenment and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him

·         Hatred does not ease by hatred, but only by love. This is the eternal rule.

 

What does the following quotation mean to you in the present context?

 “The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject anything, is not whether it has any evil in it; but whether it has more evil than good. There are few things wholly evil or wholly good. Almost everything, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded. ”Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's quote suggests that governmental decision-making is a complex process, and one needs to weigh the balance between good and evil before embracing or rejecting anything.

In the present context, this quote holds relevance in various areas of life, such as politics, business, relationships, and personal decisions. For example, Aadhaar for benefit transfer is a government program that aims to provide social welfare benefits directly to the beneficiaries' bank accounts. While this program has its advantages, such as eliminating middlemen and ensuring transparency, it also has its disadvantages, such as privacy concerns and the possibility of exclusion of eligible beneficiaries.

Similarly, the Green Revolution - while this program helped to increase food production and improve the living standards of many farmers, it also had its disadvantages, such as environmental degradation and the loss of traditional farming practices.

In conclusion, the above quote suggests that ethical decision-making is crucial in serving the public interest. Continuous evaluation of any decision needs to be done to ensure benefits outweigh disadvantages.