Values and Ethics from Religion

and society
By
B P Sandeep
 Sources
• B P Mathur, “Values and Ethics for Public
Services”
• Arora, Ramesh K (2008), “Ethical Concerns in
Public Administration”, in Ethics in
Governance, Jaipur: AAlekh Publishers
• Religion imbibes values and ethics in Human beings
• Right from the time civilization started in the world,
man has debated about the right way of living, how to
live in society? And how to behave with other human
beings?
• Almost all the religions in the world preach similar
values- harmony between all the religions, truth,
justice
• Religion should have acted as a binding force of
humanity, but unfortunately, it has divided people
• Moses five commandments are- 1. Thou shall not kill 2.
Not bear false witness 3. not steal
4. not commit adultery 5. not covet anything that is thy
neighbours
• The duty of man according to Manu, the lawgiver
for Hinduism is Ahimsa, Satyam, Asteyam,
Shaucham, Indriya- nigrahah, Ekam Samiskam
Dharmam, Chatur-varne abravit Manuh.
• Harmlessness, truth, honesty, cleanliness,
restrain of the senses from all erring ways,- this is
the duty of man in brief.
• Mohammad commands : 1) Slay none, God has
forbidden it, except Justice require it, 2) Avoid
false words, 3) Woman and man who steals shall
loose their hand, 4) Intoxicant’s are Satan’s own
device, 5) They who avoid unlawfulness in sex,
they only win success.
B P Mathur
• Buddha’s five virtues are: 1) Do not kill, 2) Be
truthful, do not slander nor lie, 3) Take form non
by greed or force or fraud, what is his own, 4)
Have a clear mind, clean body, shun drinks, and
drugs, 5) Touch not thy neighbour’s wife, neither
commit the sins of flesh.
• The five ethical commandments of Confucius are
: 1) jen, service of or doing good to others, 2) yi,
truthfulness, 3) li, propriety, proper conduct,
correct behaviour, 4) chih, knowledge, wisdom, 5)
hsian, trustworthiness.
• B P Mathur
• Bhagwan Das observed that, “To uproot religion people
must exterminate pain and disease, so long as human
beings experience and fear these, they will not cease to
crave the consolation of religion”
• Ideals from secular and democratic thinking:
• They talk about secular values, liberal ideas of human
dignity and his inalienable rights as a citizen
• Governments should secure the legitimacy of the
governed. Even in Indian Constitution- Justice, Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity values are present. To achieve
these good governance is required
B P Mathur
 Universal values combining religion
and democracy
• Truth
• Honesty
• Dedication to work
• Non violence
• Compassion
• Courage
• Perserverance
• Self discipline
• Loyalty
• faith
• Influence of society:
• Ethics in society or in a social subsystem evolves over a long period
of time. It is influenced by a variety of factors.
• Factors influencing ethics in the public administrative systems
• Historical evidences- Kautilya’s Arthashatra mentions variety of
corrupt practices in which administrators of those times were
involved
• During Mughal empire- bakashish was accepted as a means of
selling and buying favours
• Even during East India Company and British Rule, there were
corrupt practices
• In colonial history all over the developing countries, the chasm
between the people and government continues to be wider- even
the ruling elite do not have emotional affinity with the citizens
• These adversarial relationship has a negative impact on the
administrative ethics
Arora (2008)
 The Socio Cultural Context
• Values permeating a social order determine the nature
of the governance system- today wealth is important
for the Indian society
• In the process of accumulating wealth the means-ends
question has been side-lined and ends (wealth) are
given preference over means
• Neither the family values nor the educational
institutions have imbibed values in the youth
• Religious documents such as Thiru Valluvar’s Kural,
emphasized that “earning wealth brought fame,
respect and an opportunity to help and serve others,
but it should be earned through right means only
 The Legal-Judicial Context
• It determines the efficacy of the ethical concerns in governance
system
• Nebulous laws, with confusing definition of corruption and its
explanations will promote immorality
• This will not promote fear of law or fear of God among those who
violate the laws of the land
• Fast track courts and speedy trials will increase faith in the system-
Anti national activities are the result of these activities
• People who are denied justice are the one who are joining anti
national forces such as Naxalism and Terrorism and have been
alienated from the society
• Lok Ayuktas and Lok Pals are not effective and enough power is not
given to them
 The Political Context
• Political leadership should promote values and should be ideal as
they can influence majority of the people- Abdul Kalam
• They should maintain absolute integrity
• Election process is the biggest propeller of corruption, where even
public gets corrupted
• The politicians can have influence on the civil servants
• Mass media, if effective and fearless can play an important role in
preventing corruption
• The Economic system: level of economic development will register
positive correlation with the level of ethics in the governance
system
• The greater the economic inequality, people tend to follow immoral
behaviours to acquire wealth
• With increasing liberalism, the norms of integrity has reduced
 Values for Public Servants
1. Devotion to work- in government offices the work culture is poor-
no punctuality, no cleanliness
2. A sense of Mission and Focus- no clear focus and sense in what
one is doing, in government departments there is no clear
objective defined for any department
3. Integrity and Honesty- impartial and do not act for personal gain.
Avoid conflict of interest situation
4. Fearlessness and Courage- should not follow wrong orders.
Nuremberg trials and during emergency in India
5. Spirit of Service and Sacrifice- people complain that they get less
salary when compared to many other organisations. Think of
soldiers who die, no amount of monetary incentive can
compensate for the sacrifice and hardship they undergo
India today is not a giving and sharing society,
but a grabbing society, not a sacrificing
society but a consumer society