Surveys, however superficial
they are, have a pregnant aside, which delivers only days after the initial hype.
The recent survey by 'BBC Focus' to identify the most sinful nation on the
earth is no exception.
Cardinal Sins or the Seven
Deadly Sins, since time immemorial were considered objectionable attributes to
sinful behaviour and unhappiness. These sins were also believed to be the real
cause of separation from God.
Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321)
the Italian poet, in his 'Divine Comedy' referred to them as 'offences of love for earthly goods'. He proposed three categories -
Perverted Love (Pride, Envy and Wrath), Insufficient Love (Sloth), and
Excessive Love (Greed, Gluttony and Lust).
Hindu scriptures, the
fountainhead of universal wisdom exhort that man can attain enlightenment only
when he sheds sixteen bad qualities, namely the six internal enemies (ari-shad-varga), eight forms
of pride (ashta-mada) and
the twin qualities of restlessness and inertia (rajas-tamo-guna).
If you feel relieved, the survey
which covered 35 countries, left India out of its purview, you sure are not
alone!
- March 2010
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