Ethics Transparency International published the Corruption Perceptions Index 2002, ranking 102 countries. For Venezuela, this CPI utilized ten different polls, reflecting the perceptions of country analysts and business people, both resident and non-resident. Venezuela was ranked 84, with a score of only 2.5 out of a clean score of 10. Corruption spreads like a disease through every sector of society. Sometimes underpaid government employees often work maddeningly slowly unless bribe money is given for them to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and get the job done quickly. At the other extreme, greedy business people and unscrupulous investors illegally pay millions to corrupt officials to gain favours or win lucrative government contracts. They put their selfish gain before the welfare of citizens and the economic development of their countries. The Corruption Fighters' Tool Kit, is a compendium of practical civil society anti-corruption experiences described in concrete terms and accessible language. It presents innovative anti-corruption tools developed and implemented around the world. Available online from www.transparency.org. The financial leaders of the rich countries who meet yearly in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, were described by the world's leading business journal, The London Financial Times, as "the masters of the universe". The term is rather accurate because the group is not popularly elected. They represent tremendous financial power, which for the most part does not benefit the common people. The decisions they make control your economy and your lives. Lack of Ethics In 1995 the American Psychiatric Association published a study on criminal psychology. The research report concluded that the most common factor among habitual offenders was the tendency to lie. This character defect they share with some of the richest and most powerful people on the planet! Political leaders lie to their citizens, corporation directors cheat on their accounts and tax statements, advertisers falsely exaggerate the benefits of their products, and the world's most sophisticated military forces of the United States have demonstrated the maxim that: "In war, truth is the first casualty". Traditional rules-based morality, expressed in terms of absolutes, is inadequate to the task of solving most moral questions in the relative world. If a de-ranged gunman is shooting innocent people, the Biblical commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" may not be relevant to the immediate need to stop him at any cost, in order to save other lives. Throughout history, most moral treatises have reflected the interests of the rich and powerful. Each ruling class has exploited other classes through force and cunning, creating rules and justifications for those rules to suit their interest. Human history is a chronicle of exclusion and power. What is morality ? It is a code of conduct that leads human beings to their highest fulfilment. By this basis a moral treatise does not serve the interests of a ruling class. On this basis, ethical principles are the starting point on the journey of human life. Morals are the principles leading to one's spiritual welfare. When moral values are based on Neohumanism, they include honesty, courage, mercy, humility, self-restraint and compassion as the underlying basis. These qualities are considered virtues in every society and religious and spiritual traditions because they give meaning and enhance the beauty of life, transforming people and society. Proper moral values challenge us to protect the weak, avoid harming others, overcome selfishness and denounce the lies of those who abuse their power. Prout recognizes the existential value of every being; this value supersedes the social value or utilitarian value of a being. Hence every life has spiritual potential and should be preserved and encouraged as far as possible. Question: would it be acceptable to you if society adopted values with an underlying universal flow? What are these and their basis? They are the cardinal human values and they are found in what can be called neo-humanism, which is, in another set of words: - universal humanism; or - spiritual humanism. Neo-humanism takes the spirit of humanism further and extends it to everything, animate and inanimate, in the universe. Cardinal human values reflect the spirit of continuing effort towards welfare of the entire humanity and promotion of universal well-being. They ensure humanity does not degenerate to animality. They elevate humanism to universalism. They represent a synthetic approach (compared to analytical). In essence it means feel, think and act with universal spirit for the good and happiness of all. Morality is the foundation upon which a society must be built. Throughout history, a gradual trend has emerged to establish a more permanent set of moral values based on the intrinsic value of human life. The struggles against slavery, tyranny, injustice and poverty reflect this. Ultimately, all cardinal human values arise from the evolution of consciousness and the spiritual urge to discover oneself. The intrinsic values then take a form also of practical moral principles. Human cardinal values are an overarching intuitive feel for a moral framework based on "practical wisdom". From these cardinal human values one forms the do's and don'ts of social and personal life. While choosing the correct way to act in different situations, the intention behind each deed is of great importance - benevolent universal outlook. One important contribution to the ethical debate is Prout's emphasis on balancing individual and collective interests. Ethics and the sense of justice are the basis of idealism and inspiration in spiritual life, and they are indispensable for the creation of a better society. While morality is the beginning of both the individual and collective movement, in itself it is not worthy of being the goal of life. Spiritual outlook must, however, have morality as it base. Ethics are tools for liberation and not for suppression. To restore dynamic equipoise in our society and in our personal lives, we need a clear code of moral conduct. We need to broaden our sense of right and wrong to include "right living" in the world. P R Sarkar (the propounder of Prout) adopted ten ancient ethical principles of yoga as a guide to human conduct and morality. The first five are called Yama, which means, "controlled contact with others" - they show us how to live in peace with others. The second five principles are called Niyama, which means "controlled conduct for self purification" - guidelines for how to be at peace with oneself. Sarkar re-interpreted these principles, discarding old dogmatic interpretations. Universal in nature, they can be an effective guide to wisely choose one's actions in any time, in any place, and with any group of people. The five principles of Yama, or social values, are: - Not to intentionally harm others with one's actions, words or thoughts. - To use one's words and one's mind for the welfare of others; benevolent truthfulness. - Not to take what rightfully belongs to others, and not to deprive others of what is their due. - Not to indulge in comforts and amenities which are superfluous to the preservation of life. - To respect and treat everyone and everything as an expression of the Supreme Consciousness. The five principles of Niyama, or social values, are: - Cleanliness of body and mind. - Contentment. - Undergo hardships to serve and attain self-actualized higher awareness, eg go out of one's way to help others. - Study of philosophy and uplifting spiritual discourse. - Internal contemplation of spiritual idea.