April 8

Page Two

Mohandas Gandhi, 20th-century apostle of nonviolence, died 36 years ago. What events shaped his philosophy? Have his teachings had any deep effect in India, or in the world in general? It seems we are no nearer to a nonviolent world. But will there ever be a just and fair system for all, regardless of origin? These and other questions are considered in our opening series from India

Gandhi​—Why Many Looked to Him 3

Gandhi​—What Shaped the Man? 4

Nonviolence in a Violent World 7

Will Nonviolence Ever Be a World Reality? 9

Gandhi​—Why Many Looked to Him

We live in a time of deepening crisis in the developing world. While the affluent societies of the West are suffering from social malaise, the whole world lies in the shadow of nuclear terror. Does Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence hold the answer to this strife-torn world? This article, written by an Indian journalist, examines Gandhi and his ideals of nonviolence.

GANDHI. What does that name mean to you? If you are a lover of peace and yearn to see a nonviolent world, you may know that Gandhi has been called the father of nonviolence.

If you are one of over 730 million Indians, you will remember him as Bapu, or father, a tender image of a frail man with a spinning wheel who brought independence to India. If you are a Hindu, you consider him a spiritual leader and call him Mahatma, or “great soul.” But regardless of your origin or beliefs, you probably recognize Gandhi as a leader with unusual charisma.

He was a small man with a gaunt face and large eyes. A nose, too large for his face, propped up his round spectacles. His sunken cheeks were spanned by a toothless smile. Most pictures show him either sitting cross-legged with his spinning wheel or dressed in his loincloth and cotton shawl while greeting visitors.

Not long after World War I, Gandhi said: “I object to violence because, when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.”

The world today is in even worse shape than when Gandhi was alive. Look at what is happening in South and Central America, Africa, the Middle East and even in Indian towns and villages. Violence as a means of solving problems has become a deeply ingrained habit. When pushed, most people push back. When pushed again, they fight back. The wealthier nations are not immune to this either. Nationalistic hatred, racial violence, crime, threat from nuclear warfare and environmental abuse are the norm. “Unless the world adopts non-violence, it will spell certain suicide for mankind,” Gandhi observed. Hatred can only be overcome by love, and nonviolence has to be practiced not only by nations and groups but by each individual, he expressed.

What, for example, motivates a man to hate his neighbour and do him violence just because his skin is of a different colour? Gandhi observed: “No man of God can consider another man as inferior to himself. He must consider every man his blood brother.” Sixty-three years after Gandhi said that, the world is still struggling with the basic concept of equality.

At a time when great leaders and thinkers are scarce, some look back to Gandhi for answers. But who was this man? What were his ideals? How were they shaped? In these precarious times, are Gandhi’s ways the answer?

Gandhi​—What Shaped the Man?

TO UNDERSTAND Gandhi we must relive two events that shaped his early thinking. Let us go back to the year 1869 in the state of Gujarat in northwest India. Hot, dry winds followed by ravaging floods exhaust this region. There Gandhi was born into a comfortable family who, like the majority of Gujarati, take pride in the fact that they have many Brahmans (priestly caste) within their state. Traditionally, Hindu society is divided into four major castes, or classes, with clear distinctions separating them. (See box on page 5.)

At the age of 18, Gandhi sets out on his first train ride to Bombay on his way to England to study law. He leaves behind his childhood wife Kasturbai and a son. Before boarding the SS Clyde, Gandhi is called before his caste elders and told in no uncertain terms that if he proceeds to England he will be formally expelled from his caste. Why? “One is obliged to eat and drink with Europeans,” they argue. “I do not think it is at all against our religion to go to England,” he replies. His caste elders consider it taboo that he be mingling with the white man who is polluted because he eats meat and drinks liquor. Gandhi protests that it is a case of caste discrimination reversed. Despite his pleas they are unmoved, and Gandhi leaves India an outcast from his Vaisya (farmers and traders) caste.

Life for Gandhi in England is difficult. He is not only a foreigner but a “colonial” Indian at that, and he could move about only among the fringes of British society. Gandhi is puzzled, since those who discriminate against him call themselves Christians. He has already formed an opinion about Christianity: “I developed a sort of dislike for it,” he wrote. “And for a reason. In those days Christian missionaries [in India] used to stand in a corner near the high school . . . pouring abuse on Hindus and their gods. I could not endure this.” Likewise in England, Gandhi finds it difficult to endure discrimination foisted upon him by “Christians.” What is his verdict? ‘I love Christ, but I despise Christians because they do not live as Christ lived.’

Leaving England with a law degree, Gandhi attempts a practice in South Africa. There he finds racial prejudice from the onset. In spite of his first-class ticket, he is removed from the compartment of a train and told that he must travel in a van reserved for coloured people. Gandhi’s protests fall on deaf ears. He is forcibly removed from the train and left to spend the night in the waiting room.

A Vital Decision

That night he made the decision never to yield to force and never to use force to win a cause. Reflecting on the incident, he wrote: “The hardship to which I was subjected was superficial​—only a symptom of the deep disease of colour prejudice. I should try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the process.”

Let us go back for a moment and examine these two formulating incidents in Gandhi’s life. In the first instance, before leaving for England, Gandhi is rejected by his own people because of his desire to associate with the white man. In the second case, it is the white man that throws him off the train because of Gandhi’s skin colour. It was not just his own injury or humiliation that infuriated Gandhi; it was the deep cancer of man’s inhumanity to man because of differences in skin colour.

He later wrote: “So long as we have this contempt on the part of white races for the coloured man, so long shall we have trouble.” Interestingly enough, Gandhi’s verdict applied just as much to the Indian who for thousands of years had perpetuated a caste system based on differences of skin colour. In this segregation it was now Indian against Indian, Brahman against Untouchable.

Self-Respect for the Untouchables

On his return to India, Gandhi found hateful divisions and scars fostered by caste segregation. How can we condemn the British, he noted, when we are guilty toward our own Untouchable brethren? “I regard untouchability as the greatest blot of Hinduism,” he said. In giving sanction to untouchability, Hinduism had sinned, according to Gandhi.

Gandhi took up the torch for the Untouchables. He lived with them. He ate with them. He cleaned their toilets. He attempted to restore their self-respect. He gave them a dignified name​—no longer were they Untouchables, but Harijans, or people of the god Vishnu. “It is necessary for us Hindus to repent of the wrong we have done, . . . we must return to them the inheritance of which we have robbed them,” he wrote.

What was the inheritance of the Harijan, according to Gandhi? Human dignity, the basic inheritance of all people. The Harijan simply wants to be treated as a human rather than an animal, he argued. Who robbed him? According to Gandhi, his fellow Hindus. “The most cruel crimes of which history has record have been committed under cover of religion,” he said. He shamed all of India by refusing to enter the great temples whose gates had been closed for centuries to low-caste Hindu worshipers. “There is no God here,” he told the crowds who gathered. “If God were here, everyone would have access.” Once an obviously well-off missionary came to Gandhi to get his advice on how to help the outcaste people in the Indian villages. Gandhi’s answer was a challenge to Christianity: “We must step down from our pedestals and live with them​—not as outsiders, but as one of them in every way, sharing their burdens and sorrows.”

“In the dictionary of nonviolent action, there is no such thing as an ‘external enemy,’” Gandhi said. With the world’s future itself at stake, as one modern writer commented, all differences would be “internal,” and if our aim is to save humanity we must respect the humanity of every person. Segregation based on caste negates respect, therefore people suffer. Their suffering is not silent anymore. It is reflected in statistics of crime and violence. Therefore the questions come up: Have Gandhi’s ideals worked? What about nonviolence in India? How practical are Gandhi’s ideas for the world in general?

[Box on page 5]

Caste and Colour

The Hindu’s theological writings, Mahā-Bhārata, say:

1. “The colour of the Brahmans was white [highest caste, made up of the priests and scholars];

2. “that of the Ksatriyas red [second caste, of warriors and nobles];

3. “that of the Vaiśyas yellow [third caste, of farmers and traders],

4. “and that of the Śūdras black [fourth caste, of manual labourers].”

Below these and apart from the structure of society were the impure ones, the Untouchables.

Regarding this caste system, The Hindu reported:

“The Mandal Commission has warned against any assumption that the caste system was on the way out . . . If religion was ever used as an opium of the masses, it was done in India. A small priest class by a subtle process of conditioning the thinking of the vast majority of the people, hypnotised them for ages into accepting a role of servility with humility. . . . As caste conditioned and controlled every aspect of an individual’s life, says the Commission, it led to a situation where lower castes were backward, not only socially, but also educationally, economically and politically. But the higher castes advanced in all directions.”​—May 4, 1982.

[Box on page 6]

If You Are an Untouchable

● You either sweep the streets, clean latrines or handle dead carcasses

● You cannot enter into the home of one of a higher caste. Brahmans will not allow you to enter a Hindu temple

● Your children cannot marry out of your caste

● In the cities you are the dispossessed​—living in squatter settlements, desiring the basics of food, shelter and water

Untouchability has been outlawed in India since 1950. Yet a recent survey of about a thousand villages throughout India revealed that, if you were an Untouchable, 61 percent of other people would not let you use their well; 82 percent would not allow you to enter the temple; you would be refused lodging by 56 percent; 52 percent of the washermen would refuse you their services; and 45 percent of the barbers would refuse you a shave

Nonviolence in a Violent World

TO LIVE in Bombay is to live in a constant crowd. During the day the streets are crammed. At night over a hundred thousand people sleep on the pavements.

Most of India’s cities and towns are that way: crowded and exceptionally poor. Housing and clean water are scarce. Food is precious.

Visualize for a moment that you live in a room 9 feet by 12 feet (3 m by 4 m), along with five to eight others! Corners of the room are rented out or maybe people sleep in shifts. Most of your life is spent in the streets or on the pavements. Every morning you walk to the local water supply and haul back a bucket of water. The water is contaminated. You work long hours at hard labour, but the money you make will barely feed your family for that day. You cannot change things, as hard as you may try. You see people dying around you daily because of hunger and disease. You are frustrated with a sense of helplessness.

At least you are established. You have a home. But as always, there is another India: People who have no place to call their own occupy nooks and crannies near gutters and roadsides. They form colonies of the dispossessed. There are old and young, women and babies, semiclothed and dying. They are a race of people that has never had enough to eat. All they want to do is survive another day.

This is not a pleasant picture. Of course, in India, as elsewhere, there are the rich and educated. But they are a minority. The ranks of the poor have outstripped the rich in the steady increase of population. This conspicuous consumption versus simple survival sets the stage for violence.

Temper of Violence

“Coiled in the twisted wires of stagnation and change, India is now a violent, cruel, ugly society,” says Bhabani Sen Gupta in his article “Is India Civilised?” In India thousands of young married women are still burned alive annually by their in-laws and husbands for failure to bring in enough dowry. About two million women are raped. Hundreds of thousands of other crimes are committed. Fifty thousand people, mostly young men and women, commit suicide in disappointment and despair. In 1978 there were 96,488 riots. Few comprehensive crime statistics are available for the whole country beyond 1978. Yet it is evident from such fragmentary reports that crime continues unabated.

Indian sociologist S. C. Dube believes that the temper of crime and violence is bred by the wide divide between what people want and what they actually get, and by the determination of the privileged to preserve their accumulated gains from the rising demand of the deprived for a larger share.

Violence and brutalities are not just limited to the cities but explode in rural India as well. The high incidence of rural violence is the result of the “widened chasm between landlords and landless workers,” according to Indian economist B. M. Bhatia. The result is a heavy toll in lives, property and values. “The weak and the poor are no longer in a mood to submit to the might and lust of the powerful and the rich. They have begun to hit back and have started asserting their rights. To the ancient traditional violence of the rich is joined the newly aroused violence of the poor,” Gupta writes.

A Faded Dream

“I must . . . hope to the last breath that India will make non-violence her creed, preserve the dignity of man,” wrote Gandhi in 1938. Forty-six years later, India is staggering under many kinds of social violence. And according to Gupta, “neither has it been able to preserve the dignity of man.”

According to The Times of India, despite the popularity of Gandhi’s message, “unprecedented violence stalked the land and banditry, rape and robbery were becoming the order of the day.”

This assessment of India is applicable to other parts of the world. Education, denied to many Indians, is available to those in many other countries. Yet the rest of the world is also guilty of committing Gandhi’s seven social sins​—‘politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, education without character, commerce without morality, worship without sacrifice and science without humanity.’ Yes, Gandhi’s ideal of a world based on nonviolence has become a faded dream.

It is calculated that 15 years from now the population of India will be a thousand million. Of those, 600 million will be poverty stricken. There may be 30 to 50 million unemployed youths. Statistics like these present a grim future.

Gandhi’s noble message of nonviolence has failed to take real root in India where it germinated. Why? The failure does not lie in the message. Neither does the fault lie with Gandhi. His aims were certainly benevolent. Yet Gandhi was only a man. He could only teach so much to so many. People learn and then easily forget. History bears witness to that fact.

Does that mean that it is impossible for people to be nonviolent consistently? Who is capable of teaching not only Indians but all races of humankind to live in peace? What type of education would this involve? Will the world ever be nonviolent?

[Picture on page 8]

A typical street scene in an Indian city

Will Nonviolence Ever Be a World Reality?

“LIFE is just a matter of survival,” the woman said as the crowded train sped toward Bombay. She was observing the landscape marred by mile after mile of shantytowns that lay drenched in the unrelenting monsoon rains. “People have no values these days,” she continued. “No one cares about anyone but himself. Even traditional values have lost their impact.”

Her observation reflected the lives of millions who exist without any fixed system of ethical values. Rich or poor, they have rejected or discarded even inherited moral codes, finding them either ineffectual or too binding for modern life. They have replaced them with the law of self​—self-survival and self-gratification.

Without any stabilizing values many people have become anguished or angry. In a violent world self-defence has become a common strategy. And since many believe that ‘attack is the best form of defence,’ violence breeds violence, both verbal and physical.

‘Times Full of Danger’

The Creator of all humankind foresaw such a time as this​—a time when people would reject God-given values and thus flounder. The outcome is stated for us in wisdom expressed nearly two thousand years ago: “But you must realise that in the last days the times will be full of danger. Men will become utterly self-centred, greedy for money, full of big words. They will be proud and abusive, without any regard for what their parents taught them. They will be utterly lacking in gratitude, reverence and normal human affections. . . . They will maintain a façade of ‘religion’ but their life denies its truth.”​—2 Timothy 3:1-5, The New Testament in Modern English, J. B. Phillips.

Can we not see the accuracy of this statement in our daily lives? Is not the world for many a very unkind place where people lack “normal human affections”? People are abused, physically and psychologically. Human dignity is abused on a massive scale. Even acts of normal human kindness are often so rare in these days of the self-centred philosophy that when someone does perform a kind, human act the individual is often considered a unique specimen!

Is there any way in which all of this could be changed? Is there any force, or power, that could uproot violence from mankind’s heart? Does there exist any powerful motivation for change?

Reeducating the Heart

It has been said that education should have as its goal the formation of character​—and, we could add, the formation of values. In order for nonviolence to be more than just a cliché, or platitude, people all over the world have to be reeducated to love God and their neighbour in a real sense. This education must reach not only the analytical mind but, more importantly, the motivating heart.

But would you accept a code of values from just anyone? Obviously not. You would insist that the person be sound in his judgements and unimpeachable in his personal record. His values would have to survive the test of time and be applicable to the broad spectrum of humanity. People of all nationalities and backgrounds would have to be incorporated. Above all, their hearts would have to be reached.

Who can give us such direction in these dangerous and troublesome times? Who can provide us with a set of values that will help us to endure, that can make us live with hope instead of despair? Who can reach our hearts to plant in them peacefulness and kindness instead of violence and hate?

History has shown that this task is beyond the capabilities of any human. So let us consider briefly what the aged and respected man Moses wrote about our Creator, Jehovah God: “For I shall declare the name of Jehovah. Do you attribute greatness to our God! The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.” Think of that​—a just and perfect God who is also faithful.​—Deuteronomy 32:3, 4.

King David of ancient times wrote: “The law of Jehovah is perfect, bringing back the soul. The reminder of Jehovah is trustworthy, making the inexperienced one wise. The orders from Jehovah are upright, causing the heart to rejoice; the commandment of Jehovah is clean, making the eyes shine.” (Psalm 19:7, 8) Yes, Jehovah’s laws and reminders can penetrate to the heart and change our thinking and thus our actions. Violent people can become peaceable and kind.

Who Are the Peaceable?

Nearly two thousand years ago mankind’s most loving teacher, Jesus Christ, said to a crowd on a mountainside: “Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth. . . . Happy are the peaceable, since they will be called ‘sons of God.’” (Matthew 5:5-9) Does such a mild-tempered, peaceable people exist on earth today? Certainly warmongering Christendom cannot be recognized as such a people.

Yet in all parts of the world today there are people of all nationalities who have changed their previous violent outlook and have adopted a new set of God-given values. They have been reeducated. Their hearts have been touched, and they have willingly responded to the invitation: “‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah . . . and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ . . . And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” According to this prophecy, a nonviolent people would be formed “in the final part of the days.” Who are they?​—Isaiah 2:2-4.

They are known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, and there are millions of them all over the world. You probably have them in your community. They are a peaceable people who go from house to house telling others about Jehovah’s righteous ways. They do not take up arms in any nation. They are not involved in politics and its violence. They are a truly peace-loving, God-fearing, nonviolent people. They advocate God’s Kingdom government by Christ as the solution for mankind’s ills. They know that God’s Kingdom will soon remove from the earth all violence and those who practice it. Their lives are a witness to the fact that nonviolence is not just an ideal but also a reality.​—Daniel 2:44; Revelation 21:3, 4.

Jehovah’s Witnesses know that the Bible states that “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34, 35) Therefore they respect the dignity of every man, woman and child, regardless of social background or skin colour. No class or caste system divides their brotherhood.

Do You Yearn for Justice?

What about you? Are you a silent victim of discrimination? Does your heart cry out over the injustices you see and feel? Do you yearn for justice and impartiality? Do you ‘sigh and groan because of the detestable things’ that are committed in the name of religion? Then be sure that God is aware of your needs.​—Ezekiel 9:4.

Under divine inspiration the poet wrote in the Bible: “The desire of the meek ones you will certainly hear, O Jehovah. You will prepare their heart. You will pay attention with your ear.” Are you willing to have Jehovah prepare your heart now for a nonviolent new system of things that is soon to come? If so, we urge you to contact the publishers of this magazine or any of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They will gladly help you to understand how God’s Kingdom will soon make nonviolence an earth-wide reality.​—Psalm 10:17.

[Box/​Picture on page 12]

Life Through the Eyes of an Untouchable

Rukhmani is 40 years old. She speaks Marathi. You will find her sitting by the crowded roadside in the corner of a Bombay bazaar selling vegetables.

“I am a Hindu by birth,” she explains. “We were Harijans [people of the god Vishnu], which is considered a lower class of people among the Hindus. As a little girl I used to wonder why I was not allowed to play with other girls of my age. My father told me that it was because our caste was lower than theirs. I felt very hurt, for even in school we Harijan children had to sit on a separate bench. Other students would neither look at us nor talk to us. We were not even allowed to enter Hindu temples or to draw water from wells belonging to upper-caste Hindus. We were Untouchables, and this brought misery to me and my family.

In order to have a better way of life Rukhmani and her family started following a Hindu reformist by the name of Dr. Ambedkar. In 1956 he urged the whole community of Harijans to convert to Buddhism. Even after her conversion Rukhmani was not happy. Why? She says: “Even though Hindus and Buddhists consider one another equals, it was really not so. We could not marry Hindus, as we were still considered lower.”

As time passed, Rukhmani abandoned her worship of Buddha and started worshiping the late Dr. Ambedkar. She was confused and saddened. “Now I had started worshiping a man. Each day I would buy a garland for his picture and pray before it.” But did this make Rukhmani happy? “No. In my heart I was not happy. There was no future for me. I sought the right direction for my life but couldn’t find any help.

“Then one day a neighbour came and offered us a booklet called Is There a God Who Cares? She explained that she belonged to a clean organization of people who worship the true God, Jehovah. I showed interest in this message and started to study the booklet along with the Bible. It changed my whole outlook. Soon I got rid of the images of Buddha and the picture of Dr. Ambedkar. I started to attend the meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Imagine my feelings when I gave my first five-minute Bible presentation before an audience! Here I was, an Untouchable, giving my presentation in the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses!”

What attracted Rukhmani to the Witnesses? “The love and unity among them,” she responds. “There is no caste distinction in this religion. This was so important to me, as for years I was a silent sufferer of that discrimination. With the Witnesses I am no longer an Untouchable​—I’m a sister! Daily I rejoice in knowing this kind God, Jehovah.”

[Picture on page 11]

Soon all violence, injustice and poverty will forever be things of the past

Do You ‘Feed Your Child a Scorpion’?

“THE movie also contains scenes of grisly sadism that are perhaps unequalled in recent popular entertainment.” One “artificial human slowly crushes the skull of his human creator.” Another character is shot in the torso. “We see her violently writhing and dying.” Then one of the principal characters “is shown putting his finger in the wound and licking her blood.”

These descriptions are taken from a New York Times article that asked whether this type of film violence is a socially destructive element. Regarding the film Blade Runner, it stated: “The vivid depiction of gore, and the plot emphasis on aggressive behavior, seems to raise to a new level a trend evident in many recent mass-audience science-fiction or fantasy movies that attract large youthful followings.” Herein lies the danger​—the younger generation is being brainwashed with gratuitous, or unnecessary, violence.

The article went on to state: “Psychologists interviewed emphasized the harmful effects of vividly depicted aggression. ‘Gratuitous bloodshed and violence is dangerous,’ said the Blade Runner’s director. ‘I think it does inspire violence. Children must be affected by it. It’s inevitable.’”

Do films that feature excessive violence and horror really affect children? According to Dr. Leonard Berkowitz, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, the adverse effects of the graphic depiction of violence on audiences are well documented. A report by the National Institute of Mental Health indicates that ‘excessive violence on television leads directly to aggression and violent behavior among children and teen-agers.’

Dr. Berkowitz affirms that violence has a threefold effect on audiences. “First, it makes audiences in general less horrified by, and more indifferent to, violence. Secondly, audiences may learn the lesson that violence is approved behavior. Third, some can become stimulated by it.”

Science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov stated: “We get inured to violence, and that’s not good for our society. A callous population is a dangerous population.” Do you as a parent want your child to become callous and dangerous?

Who Should Decide​—Moviemakers or Parents?

Another director, Nicholas Meyer, “agrees that many movies are too gory. ‘Lots of movies are gratuitously violent. They pander to audiences​—certainly, it’s a form of pornography.’” Then he was asked if he was concerned that children might be disturbed by the scorpion scene or by the sight of the bloody corpses in the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. His answer? “It’s a PG [Parental Guidance] movie. I never thought that either ‘Star Trek’ or ‘Time after Time’ should be seen by young children. . . . You can’t blame the film maker for the parents who don’t heed the rating system.”

That comment puts the responsibility where it should be​—squarely on the shoulders of the parents. Do you as a parent take an active interest in the movies that your children watch, whether on TV or at the local cinema? Official film ratings are somewhat of a guide as to the moral content of a film, even though measured by present low standards. Film critiques published in the press are another way of knowing whether a film is suitable fare for your children. Do you check these opinions and the TV program résumé before allowing your child to see a film?

Just as a loving parent pays special attention to the food his child eats, making sure that nothing bad or poisoned gets into a meal, likewise care should be taken with regard to the kind of information and images being fed into a child’s mind. Much attention is being paid these days to having a healthy body; yet relatively little care is taken about the more vital factor of a healthy mind. As a consequence, hatred, violence and prejudice easily get ingrained into a youngster’s mind.

Jesus’ illustration of a loving father applies in this case: “Indeed, which father is there among you who, if his son asks for a fish, will perhaps hand him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he also asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion?” (Luke 11:11, 12) When it comes to choosing entertainment for your children, and even for yourself, do you make sure you do not end up with a “serpent” or a “scorpion”?

Remember that the apostle Paul’s wise counsel also applies to our entertainment: “Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well spoken of, whatever virtue there is and whatever praiseworthy thing there is, continue considering these things.” Or as The New English Bible concludes that verse: “Fill all your thoughts with these things.”​—Philippians 4:8.

With this definition of what is upbuilding, there should be no room for gratuitous violence and horror in Christian entertainment. The decision whether to watch such films or not should be easy for the trained conscience and the conscientious parent.​—Hebrews 5:14.

[Picture on page 14]

Is your child’s mind feeding on violence and horror?

Crossword Puzzle

Clues Across

1. Jehovah used one, symbolically speaking, when he founded the earth. [2 words] (Job 38:4, 5)

6. Worthless (1 Timothy 1:6)

7. Where Jesus fasted and was tempted by the Devil (Matthew 4:1, 2)

9. Religious title not to be applied to men (Matthew 23:9)

10. One of 12 chieftains sent to spy out Canaan (Numbers 13:2, 11)

12. A matter in which Jehovah is slow (Psalm 86:15)

15. Timothy’s grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5)

16. A town on the boundary of Asher (Joshua 19:24, 25)

17. Father of Eliphal, a mighty man in David’s forces (1 Chronicles 11:26, 35)

18. Attempt (Exodus 10:28)

20. Copper receptacle where the priest would wash (2 Chronicles 4:2, 6)

22. Objective variation of pronoun “I” (Exodus 6:7)

24. Patmos was one (Revelation 1:9)

26. These will possess the earth (Psalm 37:11)

27. Gone astray (1 Kings 8:47)

30. Land embracing the mouths of the Nile

32. Foremost Assyrian divinity

33. The woman whose hospitality to Elisha was rewarded by her having a son (2 Kings 4:8-17)

34. Bird considered unclean by the Israelites (Deuteronomy 14:12-19)

35. Where it is said over 60 times that people “will have to know that I am Jehovah” [3 words]

Clues Down

1. An intercessor (1 Timothy 2:5)

2. Semiprecious stone found on high priest’s breastpiece (Exodus 39:8-14)

3. Outside the law (1 Peter 4:3)

4. Undesirable trait (Proverbs 20:21)

5. Member of a Jewish sect that existed in Jesus’ time

7. Deserving (Revelation 4:11)

8. The Galilean city where Jesus resurrected the widow’s son (Luke 7:11-15)

11. Each Israelite received a cake of this at the celebration of the sacred ark’s reaching Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:1-3)

13. “Do not -- beyond the things that are written” (1 Corinthians 4:6)

14. To give off an unpleasant smell

15. What false gods became to Israelites (Judges 2:3)

19. “---- in the cause of truth” (Psalm 45:4)

20. The supreme council of ancient Rome

21. A priest in Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time (Nehemiah 11:10, 13)

22. Great-grandson of Cain (Genesis 4:17, 18)

23. Benjamite ‘father’ of Shuppim and Huppim (1 Chronicles 7:6, 12)

25. Abraham’s seed became as innumerable as the sands found here (Hebrews 11:12)

28. He and his brother murdered Saul’s son Ish-bosheth (2 Samuel 4:5-8)

29. Adam’s original home (Genesis 2:15)

31. State of being neglected or forgotten

CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS PAGE 25

Answers Across

1. MEASURING LINE

6. IDLE

7. WILDERNESS

9. FATHER

10. GADDI

12. ANGER

15. LOIS

16. HALI

17. UR

18. TRY

20. SEA

22. ME

24. ISLE

26. MEEK

27. ERRED

30. DELTA

32. ASSHUR

33. SHUNAMMITE

34. SWAN

35. BOOK OF EZEKIEL

Answers Down

1. MEDIATOR

2. AMETHYST

3. ILLEGAL

4. GREED

5. ESSENE

7. WORTHY

8. NAIN

11. DATE

13. GO

14. REEK

15. LURE

19. RIDE

20. SENATE

21. AMASHSAI

22. MEHUJAEL

23. IR

25. SEASIDE

28. RECHAB

29. EDEN

31. LIMBO

Educated, Employed, Useful​—And Blind!

By Awake! correspondent in Japan

ON ANY workday morning you can see Susumu briskly walking along the narrow lanes that cut through peach and grape orchards in this pleasant Japanese country town. His destination is the train station. And though his wife could drive him, he prefers, as he says, “to walk for the exercise.” As we observe him he looks much like any other commuter intent on getting to work on time. But there is a difference​—he is almost totally blind! He has had to overcome many challenges in order to arrive at the point where he can not only handle a job competently but also get to work unassisted.

For some years a large city hospital has employed Susumu as a masseur and acupuncture therapist in its physical rehabilitation center. He is respected by both the medical staff and the patients for his skill and expertise. Yet, his case isn’t rare or unusual. For centuries the blind of Japan have almost exclusively administered the ancient healing arts of the East: acupuncture, Oriental massage and moxibustion.a In fact, until recently these occupations were nationally protected to guarantee a livelihood for the blind. How did this come to be? What kind of training do such ones receive? Susumu’s story and a little background on the blind in Japan should give you some interesting and satisfying answers.

An Old Tradition

Traditionally, Japan and its people have had deep regard for and a caring attitude toward the handicapped. The most ancient of records on this subject tell of the efforts individuals and communities made to provide the sightless with the comforts and necessities of life.

For example, as far back as the seventh century, serious attempts were made at providing vocations for the blind. Some blind people were successfully trained as musicians. From then on, the lot of the blind progressively improved. And by the 15th century the “Golden Age” of the blind had arrived. At that time a tightly knit community for their mutual protection and vocational training existed in Kyoto. It was here that acupuncture, massage and moxibustion were introduced into their training program and began to eclipse music as the most popular profession among the sightless. But regardless of the profession the aspirant chose, the rigorous training at the Kyoto compound assured a financially secure life for many. There were, of course, drawbacks to this arrangement. It could not deal with the needs of all the handicapped in a fair and equal way. Nevertheless, a segment of the blind were given a dignified standing in the community for hundreds of years.

The late 1800’s saw Japan in a time of social and political reform. Programs for the poor and the physically handicapped were instituted on a national scale. However, in many ways this turned out to be a period of confusion and hardship for the blind community, as all former concessions and privileges were revoked. In time, however, the void was filled as government schools for the blind were established. And now all the new schools were free.

More recently, Japan has kept pace with other countries in seeing that its blind population has up-to-date equipment and facilities. In 1965 the first Lighthouse for the Blind Rehabilitation Center was established by the Helen Keller foundation in Osaka. This international nonprofit organization has done much to advance the practical training of the blind and the near blind. Especially so in the cases of those who, like Susumu, lose their sight later in life. Let’s now consider his experience.

“I Just Sat Home All the Time”

Thus Susumu describes his despair at finding himself not only sightless but unable to work or care for himself. He was only 23 years old. Self-pity set in until one afternoon when he heard a radio announcement about training programs for the blind. This aroused his interest and began to shake him out of his depression.

Soon he was enrolled in classes that taught three things vital to his independently caring for himself: (1) Mobility orientation, which included using a cane, a guide dog or the sight-through-sonar program, (2) involvement in activities of daily life, such as food preparation and homelife orientation and (3) communication, mainly aimed at teaching Braille reading and the use of the Brailler, a typewriterlike machine.

Here, too, Susumu found the opportunity to learn a new profession​—the real key to full rehabilitation. After considering several possibilities, he chose to go into the field of acupuncture and massage therapy. The training, he learned, includes much more than just learning technique or body manipulation. An intensive, medically sound course of instruction is given. Among other things, anatomy, physiology, hygiene, pathology, medical law and theories of Oriental physical therapy are studied. Consider, too, that acupuncture and moxibustion therapy are considered in Japan to be very exacting sciences. Experts in these fields are esteemed as ‘masters of anatomy.’ How, then, is a blind person able to learn these arts? Good training, coupled with a blind person’s seemingly heightened sense of touch, make trainees like Susumu proficient at this kind of work. Nevertheless, the full course took him and his classmates (ranging in age from 18 to 50) three years to complete. Most of the students had become blind after reaching adulthood, which meant they had not only to learn these intricate skills but also to relearn the most basic tasks of daily life.

The difficulties encountered are illustrated by the fact that at first it took some of them an hour or more to read just one page of Braille. The Japanese Braille system is quite involved. A Braille cell is made up of six dots. But the Japanese language has to be written in sounds rather than in letters. Two six-dot cells are required for over two thirds of the sounds. This is necessary in order to form the numerous vowel-consonant combinations of the Japanese language. While mastering this new style of reading could at times be discouraging, one student said, “We overcame our problems with hard work and mutual encouragement.”

This same student, by the way, makes this interesting recommendation: People who become blind should take advantage of available programs and educational facilities so as to bring themselves back to an active life as quickly as possible. This is wise advice. Blind children especially benefit from such training. It is a moving experience, indeed, to come upon third and fourth grade sightless students, pounding away on the Brailler with the ease and assurance of experienced typists. But what further training is available in Japan for those born blind or who were blinded as children?

Practical Schooling

One school for the blind, which started a little over a hundred years ago, has grown into a network of well-run and well-equipped public schools throughout Japan. In one school the ratio is one teacher for every two pupils. This naturally provides a warm and personalized atmosphere for learning. All grades are generally included on the same campus, and the curriculum is much like that of any other school​—emphasizing reading, writing and arithmetic. But early on, from the first year of junior high school, special emphasis is placed on vocational training​—especially massage treatment. It is estimated that about 75 percent of the graduates find employment in some capacity as physical therapists. And over half open small massage and acupuncture clinics, mostly in their own home.

Many young people, however, are branching out to job training in other areas, such as operating telephone switchboards and industrial machinery, computer programming and other related skills. Others go on to college with the hope of taking up careers in teaching, civil service and law. It seems, however, that the hardworking blind masseurs will still have plenty to do. As Susumu expressed it: “I have a profession and can make a living for my family and feel a part of society again. For that I’m very thankful.”

A few years ago Susumu found something else that brought him even more happiness. He says: “I realized that my effort to bring ease from pain and comfort to ailing bodies was only temporary. So you can imagine my joy when I first read the prophecy recorded in the Bible at Isaiah 35:5, 6, which says, ‘the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped . . . the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness.’ From my study of the Bible I realized that lasting healing will come only when the earth is made a Paradise again by the real master of anatomy, our Creator, Jehovah God.”

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 17]

The blind were given a dignified standing in the community

[Blurb on page 19]

Imagine my joy when I first read the prophecy recorded in the Bible book of Isaiah 35:5, 6 that says, “The eyes of the blind ones will be opened”

[Pictures on page 18]

With good training and their heightened sense of touch, the blind become proficient at acupuncture

It is a moving experience to see young sightless students working on the Brailler

Young People Ask . . .

Will I Die in a Fireball?

IN 1945 thousands of young people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, died by atomic bomb blasts. The horror of such devastation​—unforgotten in the decades that followed—​is back. And this time it disturbs the thoughts of many young people. Still, you can sympathize with the sixth-grade California girl who concluded: “If a nuclear war broke out, everything I have lived for would be washed away like sand on a coastline. All my dreams about college, a career and life would be gone.”

Could It Happen? Will It?

Nuclear war. Its prospect seems real enough lately to hang in the consciousness of young people. As far back as 1978 it showed up in a sampling of 434 American students. Seventy percent believed that the United States could not survive a nuclear attack. A 1982 “fear survey” by Read (a magazine for schoolchildren) got thousands of responses. Boys rated “a nuclear war” their greatest fear; girls rated it second, next only to “my parents’ dying.” The teenager was thus not joking when he protested to his friend’s mother, the wife of the governor of Colorado, “Why should I bother to get good grades? The world’s going to blow up anyway.”

It is, for sure, no fun at all to weigh the chances of the world’s blowing up. For example, on November 20, 1983, the film The Day After was shown in the United States. Graphically portraying mass deaths and vaporizations, the movie seemed to reinforce the horror of nuclear war in the minds of many. Since the world is so endangered, you might find yourself wondering if all adult goals and ideals are unrealistic. Two Harvard psychiatrists fear that many adolescents may conclude just that. “In such a world,” Drs. William Beardslee and John Mack reported in 1982, “planning seems pointless, and ordinary values and ideals appear naive.”

Some values must be off target for the world to have come this close to disaster. But, conceding the experts’ failure in international politics, does this mean you have no future? Or has Mother’s advice to do your homework, eat properly and brush your teeth become pointless? Not at all.

Only Two Alternatives?

Often you hear the nuclear threat presented as having only two alternatives: Either man solves the problem of disarmament or he destroys the earth. And yet, it is hard to believe that man will soon disarm, somehow overcoming his greed and aggressiveness.

The Bible, however, shows what the two alternatives omit. No, human leaders do not have all the answers. “It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23) But to admit human incompetence is not to doom our earth to radioactive ruin. Why not?

Because the earth will remain forever with human inhabitants upon it. It will survive the onslaughts of human abuse and even attain a balanced ecology.a Central to this prospect is God’s promise to “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”​—Revelation 11:18.

Actually, the Bible even foresaw that man would reach today’s crisis. It advises its readers to take note when they see “anguish of nations, not knowing the way out . . . while men become faint out of fear.”​—Luke 21:25, 26.

Evidently, then, instead of fearing the nuclear threat, we can learn from it. Learn what? That we need God and his Kingdom: “As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near. . . . When you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.”​—Luke 21:28, 31.

Does it make sense that man would suddenly need help beyond his own ability? The ‘dean of American behavioral psychologists,’ B. F. Skinner, senses man’s helplessness. In a scholarly essay in Science (July 31, 1981), he wrote: “Our species now appears to be threatened. Must we wait for [evolutionary] selection to solve the problems of overpopulation, exhaustion of resources, pollution of the environment and a nuclear holocaust?” He later explained to The New York Times, “I’m very pessimistic. We’re not going to solve our problems, really.”

Facing Reality

Of course it is alarming to see adult society, seemingly on a collision course, headed for a nuclear holocaust. ‘How can they go on with life as usual,’ you may ask, ‘as though there is no danger?’ Yale psychiatrist Robert J. Lifton calls it “psychic shut-down,” or “psychic numbing,” when adults block out all thought of destruction. Drs. Beardslee and Mack, however, claim that youths seldom learn to dismiss the matter that completely. This leaves them facing reality but does nothing for their peace of mind.

Must you numb your mind, denying unpleasant facts, to go about daily life? Not according to Jesus Christ. Comparing our times to Noah’s, he advised us to ‘take note’ of world conditions. “For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.”​—Matthew 24:38, 39.

In 1945 young Tsutomu Miura put this advice to the test.

‘It Happened to My Family’

Tsutomu was 11 years old when the fireball destroyed Hiroshima. His father was in that city at the time, but he survived as if by a miracle. How happy Tsutomu was to hear the news that his father was still alive! But many youths in Japan were understandably horrified by this event. Psychiatrist Lifton later found even among Hiroshima survivors “a pervasive tendency toward sluggish despair​—a more or less permanent form of psychic numbing.” A 1982 report by the American Psychiatric Association adds, “There is a devastating, profound, life-long psychological impact of being the target of an atomic bomb.”

With disaster striking so close to home, it would have been easy for Tsutomu to succumb to feelings of fear.

But Tsutomu, with the help of his parents, did not retreat in numb despair. He ‘took note’ of what happened. When he grew up he became, like his parents, a full-time minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

What meaning does Tsutomu attach to what happened in 1945? “Those ‘electric bombs,’ as we first knew them, closed World War II. But they only worsened a critical era that began with World War I. I tell sincere young people, ‘Keep your mind open and look into authentic Bible prophecy. Then you will appreciate from this present awful time that true lasting peace by God’s Kingdom is near.’”

Will these terrible weapons destroy our globe? Tsutomu enjoys showing from the Bible, in scriptures such as Ecclesiastes 1:4, Psalm 46:8, 9 and Daniel 2:44, that this threat will never be realized.

Does Tsutomu feel he will never personally die in a nuclear fireball? No, he does not speculate on this. But in his words: “The best way to live is with everlasting life in view. Then plan for the future and set real goals. I find that the Bible’s hope of a resurrection gives you confidence​—the perfect answer to the fear of early death and so-called natural death.”

Clearly, then, nuclear developments are a sign that we need godly wisdom, not selfishness. Like Tsutomu, you can counteract fear with knowledge and love. Today, when “me first” attitudes keep nations toe to toe in the nuclear arms race, Biblical values look better than ever.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 22]

THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR WAR

“Nuclear war is the most important crisis that has ever faced humanity and the hardest to examine steadily and seriously. Contemplating it disturbs serenity and complacency in a way that most of us would prefer to avoid . . . It also forces us to become more sensitive to the increasing extent to which our young children and adolescents perceive the threat of nuclear extermination as part of their lives and how these young people who see themselves as having an endangered future retreat into the present.”​—Lester Grinspoon, M.D., in American Journal of Psychiatry, October 1982.

Do You Spend More Than You Earn?

Awake! correspondent in Canada

“Cut your coat according to your cloth.”​—An old English saying

“WITHOUT a budget, life is a tragedy,” states Mike.

“Without the benefit of financial planning, every person and every corporation can soon find that they are in a state of chaos,” Claude explains.

‘But I don’t like the idea of being restricted by a budget,’ you may say. ‘I don’t even like the word “budget!”’ Well, call it financial planning, as Claude does. Or, call it money management, as others do. No matter what you call it, if you are like most people, you must “cut your coat according to your cloth,” that is, spend only what you have. You need a budget.

Personal bankruptcies are on the increase. Rising prices, inflation, high interest rates and other factors all put a strain on your having enough money to cover all your costs. Of course, in less developed countries a weekly or monthly budget might seem like a dream. For millions of people the challenge is to survive one day at a time.

Whatever your situation may be, to feed, clothe, house, heat, provide medical care, transportation, education and entertainment, the funds available have to be controlled somehow for proper distribution. That argues in favor of the value of a budget.

‘But why do I need a budget now when I got along without one before?’ you may ask. Simply put: It is because the purchasing power of your local currency is steadily decreasing. And why is this?

The world’s financial situation bodes nothing good for us as common citizens. Financial tremors are threatening the economy of nations in Africa, Central and South America and East Europe, due to hundreds of billions of dollars of debt.

This world debt has a stalling effect on the economic growth of not only the borrowing nations but also the countries that lent the money. Since virtually the whole world’s money supply is deeply mired in debt, the purchasing power of our local currency is shrinking. No matter where we live, the cry is being heard: ‘We have to get used to living on our incomes, not our fantasies.’ A personal budget can help you to do this.

Mike and Claude, Canadian investment counselors, have shown themselves to be good money managers over the years. They are strong proponents of knowing for sure where one’s money is going.

How to Budget Your Money

‘Will a budget give me more money?’ you want to know. “No, but it will help you to discover where money has been slipping through your fingers, and that will help you to control and make the best use of what you do have to spend,” answers Claude.

‘But, if I had just a little more income I could get along fine and wouldn’t need a budget,’ some claim. That is only wishful thinking. “The world’s largest corporations, with multimillion-dollar incomes, have to budget,” remarks Mike. Besides, a Gallup poll has shown that no matter what the income, people in all the various income groups feel the same​—they need just a bit more to make ends meet! Why? Because most people spend more than they have.

Look at it this way: Would you undertake a long auto trip without planning? Would you start to make a garment without knowing whether you had enough of the needed material to finish it? To achieve successfully what is begun, there has to be some forethought and planning. As Jesus Christ long ago said: “If any of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t he first sit down and work out the cost of it, to see if he can afford to finish it?”​—Luke 14:28, The New Testament in Modern English, J. B. Phillips.

Sit Down and Calculate

Sitting down and working out a budget does not have to be an unpleasant experience. Look at it positively, as Mike does: “A plan for spending.” Claude speaks of it as “cash-flow projection.” A budget is your map for distributing income. With it you find out (1) where your hard-earned funds now go, (2) where they do not need to go and (3) where some, perhaps, ought to be going. You will find that such sensible money management does not really stifle the joy of living. To the contrary, as Mike puts it: “Happiness and contentment can come to a family free from financial worries.” So do not consider yourself a miser​—view yourself as a manager of family funds!

After sitting down, where do you start? First, work out your average monthly income. (Most have found that the monthly basis is the easiest to work with.) To do this, you have to add up all the incomes of all wage earners in your family: salaries, interest, tax rebates and other sources of cash to you. Subtract any deductions made for income tax and other purposes. If any of the income is earned weekly, multiply by four and a third. That gives you an approximate monthly figure. Now add them up. That is what you can spend each month​—no more!

Next, add up all your recurring bills: rent or mortgage payments, lighting and heating, telephone, and so forth. Since most of these bills come in each month, you can see why there is value in calculating your income on a monthly basis. Remember to include such items as food, beverages, newspapers and other things for which you probably pay cash each week. Now, have you added up everything? What about average expenditure for clothing? trips and vacations? entertainment? home repairs and upkeep? dry cleaning? These are items often overlooked.

There are some bills that come due once a year, such as taxes, automobile license plates and insurance. Divide these by 12 to get a monthly figure. At this point, what total expenses do you have for a month?

The Value to You

Now you are at the point where you can compare the figure for your monthly income with the one for your expenses. What do you see? If you have enough to cover your bills, that is fine. But do not abandon your budget at this point! For one thing, there would be wisdom not only in setting aside needed funds for monthly costs but also in saving for the unforeseen expenses that will come along during the year. Things will wear out or break down. You must wisely allow for such.

‘OK. But what if I find that my income doesn’t cover my expenses?’ you ask. Remember, the purpose of the tower builder in calculating the cost was ‘to see if he could afford it.’ Thus, a budget has the value of helping you to see what you can afford. Learn to be content with the necessary things. The Bible helps us to reason this way by stating: “What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us.” (1 Timothy 6:7, 8, Today’s English Version) True, things like food and clothing cannot be cut out, but quite likely costs can be reduced on entertainment, sports or unnecessary luxuries.

But take a look at other expenses. What are you spending on alcoholic beverages? As the Canadian Book of Money points out, “an evening cocktail hour may be costing you $500 a year.” Others watch their paychecks go up in smoke. One person, smoking two packs a day, can spend $400 or more a year on cigarettes. Some have adopted the practice of eating at a restaurant once a week, but that can cost some families a sizable chunk out of a week’s salary. That same meat or seafood delicacy could be purchased for much less and enjoyed at home​—with additional savings on gasoline, tips and parking. Could you use another $2,500 or more a year? That is what might be saved in these areas alone. Obviously, there are other ways of cutting back on expenditures. Some are noted in the accompanying chart.

Now, what do you do with the gathered figures? There are various methods of money management that are useful. The one you use will depend on your circumstances and what you find practical.

Some Practical Methods

Cash-envelope method: In this simple system you mark envelopes for each area into which your earnings must go: “Rent,” “Food,” “Gasoline,” “Heating,” and so forth. Using cash, you place in the appropriate envelope the amount needed to cover the expense. Thus, if some earnings are weekly, but payment is monthly, or even yearly, you enclose the cash needed up till that week so as to have the required amount when bill-paying time arrives. Thus, in July you are setting aside some funds for heating bills next winter. That surely takes a lot of anxiety out of paying bills. And remember this: Resist the temptation to “borrow” from an envelope!

Checking method: Essentially, this is the same as the envelope method, except that you deposit your family income in a bank so that the bank becomes your “envelopes,” and writing the checks when the bills are due is the same as taking the money out of the envelopes. The added benefits of the checking system: (a) You may gain interest on your money while it is in the bank, which also may help toward offsetting inflation losses on money value, (b) it is safer than keeping large amounts of cash at home and (c) there is less temptation to “borrow” for other than designated uses.

Why not make budgeting a family matter? When you sit down to calculate the cost, it would be educational for the children to learn more about money value and see how much goes to their upbringing. That will help make them conscious of turning off lights, looking after their clothing, not wasting food​—rather common needs in most households these days.

Above all, do not be discouraged if your first budget does not work well or soon gets out of date. Budgets, like schedules of any kind, need updating and adjusting as circumstances change. Make the needed adjustments. Things will improve with experience. You may benefit from considering the chart on the following page.

As summarized in the book Money Management: “Making ends meet does not involve earning more or spending less; it is simply a matter of matching income and expenditure in advance so that life can be more pleasant.” Yes, it is a matter of ‘cutting the coat according to the cloth’ available.

[Box on page 27]

CHECK THESE COST-CUTTING AREAS

It may be that some of the following suggestions do not apply where you live. We are sure, though, that many do. We suggest that readers examine how they can cut costs by using whatever applies to them in the chart and by applying similar principles in areas that may not be covered here.

HOME

Bathroom:

□ Do you take showers instead of tub baths?

□ Do you limit the time in the shower?

Furniture: Instead of new furniture—

□ Do you check out the cost of reupholstering and refinishing?

SHOPPING/​FOOD

Clothing and shoes:

□ Do you wait for clearance sales?

□ Can you do repairs, alterations, replacement of linings, zippers?

□ Do you check out garage, yard and secondhand sales for needed household items or toys?

□ What about local auctions that offer items for home?

Groceries and sundries:

□ Do you buy fresh foods in season and do home canning and freezing?

□ Could you plan more one-dish meals, utilizing bargains?

□ Do you buy in quantity at discount prices?

□ Do you compare prices from store to store?

□ Is it more economical to make your own bread, pastries?

□ Could you grow your own food (in own backyard, ‘rent-a-garden,’ allotments or other locations)?

□ Do you curb the tendency to overeat or buy luxury food items?

TRANSPORTATION

□ Is public transit less expensive than gas, repairs, licenses and insurance costs for a car?

□ Is your present vehicle, kept in good running order, less expensive than a new car?

□ Do you plan errands, visiting sick, picking up children, and so forth, to combine for fewer trips?

□ Do you buy oil, antifreeze and windshield-washer fluid in money-saving quantities, adding needed amounts yourself?

□ Do you keep tire pressure at best level for better mileage?

□ Do you avoid motor idling, frequent starts and stops and excessive city use?

□ Do you walk where possible or ride a bicycle for neighborhood errands?

□ Do you limit the length of wintertime car warm-ups?

□ Do you use banking services that regularly pay bills from your account, thus saving unnecessary trips or postage?

UTILITIES

Air conditioner:

□ Really needed in your climate?

□ Are ceiling fans more economical?

□ Only used when really needed?

□ Does it cause waste by making temperature colder in summer than in winter?

Dishwasher/​Clothes washer:

□ Handling only recommended capacity?

□ Clothes hung out to dry instead of using dryer?

□ Do you measure the amount of detergent?

Heating system:

□ Keeping temperature low?

□ Turning thermostats down at night?

□ In winter, closing drapes on shady side of house; opening drapes on sunny side? (Reversing this in summer?)

Lights:

□ Are they turned off when not necessary?

□ Smaller wattage bulbs possible? Or are fewer bulbs needed?

Stove or oven:

□ Are menus planned to cook several meals at the same time, thus getting maximum use from oven or burners?

□ Are leftovers stored safely for use again as a meal or a portion of another meal?

Telephones:

□ Used only for essential calls and time limited on calls?

□ Are necessary long-distance calls made during discount hours?

Television:

□ Turned off when no one is viewing?

□ Restricted to selected viewing?

Appliances:

□ Radios, fans not left on needlessly?

□ Could you do most of your home repairs?

□ Water heater at lowest safe temperature? Is it turned off manually or by time clock?

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

□ Do you carefully question the need for new purchases or “bargains” you do not need?

[Picture on page 23]

“Cut your coat according to your cloth.” That is, the size and style of the coat are determined by the amount of cloth available. Thus keep within the limits of your means

From Our Readers

Comic Books

I have just read your articles on comic books in your Portuguese edition. (English, June 22, 1983) I found them marvelous. I am a writing teacher and last month I gave the class an assignment that involved reading comic books. The most excitable and rowdy children devoured those with violence, whereas the quieter ones chose those of light humor. For more than half an hour the 41 children read in absolute silence, completely absorbed in their reading, something impossible to attain with other subjects. I began to wonder about the extent to which this kind of reading might be useful or harmful to them. Your articles confirmed my anxiety. I am deeply grateful for the counsel given, especially to parents.

A. M. R., Brazil

Nile River

We very much appreciated your article “Africa’s River of Superlatives” and learned many things from it. (August 8, 1983) However, why is it stated that the Nile is the world’s longest river? We consulted several dictionaries and they all show the Amazon to be the longest, extending over 7,025 kilometers (4,365 mi)?

B. B., France

While authorities vary somewhat as to the actual length of the two rivers, they generally give the length of the Nile as a little more than 4,100 miles (6,600 km), whereas the length of the Amazon is given as over 3,900 miles (6,280 km) or less than 4,000 miles (6,440 km). The Amazon is the world’s largest river, based on the quantity of water that flows down it. The figure of 4,365 miles (7,025 km) that you have found is likely based on considering the Apurímac River, a tributary of the Amazon, as the true headstream of the Amazon. A similar situation would occur if one considered the Missouri River to be the true headstream of the Mississippi River. This would increase the length of the Mississippi River from 2,350 miles (3,780 km) to 3,858 miles (6,210 km).​—ED.

Romance Novels

Thank you so much for the timely article “Young People Ask . . . Are Romance Novels Harmless Reading?” (November 8, 1983) A couple of months prior to reading this, I began to realize I was becoming addicted to these novels. What started out as occasional reading turned into my reading as many as three a week. I found my study habits were slipping, I wasn’t praying as often, and home duties were getting neglected. I developed a yearning for some of the nicer things in a material sense that the world could offer and a discontentment with what I did have. Your article helped me to see where I could have ended up had I continued.

E. R., Kentucky

I have just recently read your article “Young People Ask . . . Does It Matter What I Read?” (December 22, 1983) It has helped me a lot. I have been reading my sister’s romance novels, and I think they have been affecting me. Now I’m reading the Bible more. I really thank you for writing this and many other articles. I am 11 years old. Thank you.

J. L., Colorado

Watching the World

Repeat Performance?

● “World events today mirror those of 70 years ago, on the eve of World War I,” proclaims an article in the Toronto Star of Canada. “Can today’s leaders take the steps to head off another cataclysm?” Citing the conditions then existing that led up to the first world war, the article continues: “All the ingredients of the pre-1914 situation are with us today. Indeed, the dimensions are more threatening than 70 years ago. International politics is polarized on a global scale; modern weapons could kill not just millions of young men, but wipe out entire nations; and there are explosive points all over the world.”

Speaking of the intractable position the superpowers take in every East-West confrontation, the article states: “If this continues, one dispute or another​—as in 1914—​is eventually bound to explode into a major conflict. Except that this time the lamps will go out not only in Europe [referring to British Foreign Secretary Grey’s comment at the start of World War I]; there will be a nuclear darkness over all the earth.”

Fear Increases

● “Fearing a sharp rise of terrorism in 1984, the U.S. and other nations were hastily improvising an array of additional security precautions,” reports U.S.News & World Report, “not only in the Mideast but at home as well.” Barricades have been installed outside public buildings, such as the White House and the U.S. mission at the United Nations where security has been tightened, and dogs are being used to sniff cars and trucks for bombs as visitors are screened by metal detectors. Even antiaircraft missiles are on hand at the White House in case of air assault. Dignitaries have been urged to limit their public exposure, and extra protection has been assigned to key figures. It is feared that events such as the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the World’s Fair in New Orleans and the U.S. political conventions this year will become targets for terrorists wanting to call attention to their causes. Says U.S. Senator Daniel Moynihan: “The prospect of 1984 being the year they bring the war to our shores is real.”

Less Growth, More People

● Although the world’s population is now 4.7 billion and growing, its rate of growth is declining, according to the annual report of UNFPA (UN Fund for Population Activities). It is expected to drop to no more than 2 percent a year for the period from 1980 to 1985​—from a yearly average of 2.4 percent for 1965 to 1970. According to the report, China and India, whose combined populations make up 40 percent of the world’s total, have accepted the idea of having smaller families​—a notion that has also spread to a number of developing countries. In fact, China’s annual rate of growth is already down to 1.5 percent. As reported in World Health magazine, the decline is attributed to three main factors: Higher income, lessening the need for children as old-age security; better health services, decreasing the need for more births to perpetuate the family; and more working women, with less time to raise children. The UNFPA predicts the world population to stabilize at 10.2 billion by the 21st century.

Bikini Cleanup

● The island of Bikini, part of the Marshall Islands in Micronesia and largest of the 23 islands in the Bikini Atoll, can be made safe for human habitation, scientists say. The islands were cleared of their 167 inhabitants in 1946 so that 23 nuclear tests could be conducted there. The tests left the soil contaminated with cesium-137, a radioactive element that becomes concentrated in any food grown. Now numbering 1,100, most of the Bikinian people live on the island of Kili​—425 miles (684 km) to the south and having only one sixth of the Bikini Atoll’s land area. According to The New York Times, the committee of scientists says it would require replacing the contaminated soil with fresh soil to a depth of 18 inches (46 cm) at a cost of about $100 million (U.S.) for the island of Bikini alone. Other solutions are also being studied. Enewetak, another atoll that was used for nuclear testing, was cleaned up by the United States in the late 1970’s at about the same cost.

China’s Name Problem

● Li is a common surname in the city of Shen-yang, China, 400 miles (644 km) northeast of Peking. “Shuzhen” (fair and precious) is a favored name for women there. As a result, over 4,800 women are named Li Shuzhen. This and similar same-name difficulties have prompted frustrated authorities in northeast China to write a guide for naming babies. As reported in the newspaper Guangming Daily, ten men are named Li Wei in one work unit alone, because of the popularity of “Wei,” meaning “great.” To avoid confusion, they are referred to as “Li Wei No. 2,” “Long-haired Li Wei,” “Big Eyes Li Wei,” and so forth.

Try Yogurt

● Does drinking milk give you intestinal discomfort? If so, try switching to yogurt for a source of protein, researchers say. While babies produce the enzyme lactase that enables them to digest milk sugar, most adults produce little of it and therefore cannot properly digest milk. Yogurt, on the other hand, already contains the enzyme, allowing the food to digest itself in the body. “It substantiates a feeling people have that somehow yogurt is good for you,” says Dr. Joseph C. Kolars, director of the study.

Birds and Planes

● About 1,500 collisions between birds and planes are reported each year in the United States alone, causing millions of dollars in damage to airplane engines. Sometimes it results in crashes and fatalities to people as well. Why so many mishaps with birds? Because birds that roost near airport runways go deaf, says Professor Allen Counter of Harvard University, and consequently they cannot hear the plane or warning cries from birds who do spot the aircraft. Studying sea gulls from Boston’s Logan International Airport, he concluded that the noise they are subjected to​—90 to 100 decibels every 40 seconds—​also “scrambles their brains” by “overwhelming their auditory systems” so that the “brain response is obliterated.”

Food Loss

● China wastes almost half of its food, claims Eugene Whelan, head of the World Food Council. If it wasn’t for the nearly 50 percent loss of corn, soybeans and other grains due to outmoded storage facilities, China could export large quantities of food to nations in need, he says. As reported in The New York Times, Mr. Whelan visited China in his official capacity as head of the council. “Communes are paid so much to produce these crops, but then there is no storage for them,” he said. “Their storage facilities are like those we used 100 years ago, and as far as cold storage is concerned it is practically nonexistent.” Meanwhile, 22 African nations are experiencing serious food shortages.

Resisting Rape

● “The more strategies you use, the higher the probability of rape avoidance,” concludes sociologist Pauline Bart from studies of women who foiled rapes. “Few women avoided rape with only one strategy.” As reported in The Edmonton Journal of Canada, her studies showed that it is best to use several tactics, such as screaming, fleeing or even physical force. “By fighting back, a woman significantly increases her chance of avoiding rape,” Bart said. “Not resisting is no guarantee of humane treatment.” In addition, “Raped women who used physical strategies,” she said, “were less likely to be depressed than raped women who did not physically resist their assailants.”

Largest Royal Palace

● He rules over one of the smallest countries in the world, but Sultan Muda Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei is no small spender when it comes to his royal residence. “His new 1,788-room palace on a partly manmade 100-foot [30-m] hill overlooking [the] capital is believed to be the largest royal residence in the world,” reports The New York Times. In a land of only 2,226 square miles (5,765 sq km) on the northern coast of Borneo, his four interconnected three-story buildings occupy about 50 acres (20 ha) in the center of a landscaped garden of 300 acres (121 ha). The Vatican, the former record-holder, has 1,400 rooms compressed into 13 acres (5 ha). The sultan’s palace boasts four thrones (allowing for a visit of a foreign royal couple), a public banquet hall that can accommodate 4,000 people, a heliport, underground parking for 800 automobiles, a huge personal recreation center, including a practice field for polo and the very latest in technology for surveillance and air-conditioning. The cost? About $300 million (U.S.), reports the Times.

Higher Calling?

● Toronto’s theology schools are experiencing an increase in enrollment, reports The Globe and Mail. “School officials say the lack of job opportunities, the emergence of the Christian feminist movement and the Anglican Church’s decision in 1975 to ordain women are making the church an attractive career choice for a broad range of students.” Also bringing results was the Catholic Church’s use of billboards to stimulate interest in the priesthood. Over a hundred men with serious intent of becoming priests are reported to have replied. “Some people think it’s terrible to say we’re getting people because they can’t get jobs anywhere else,” one clergyman said, “but the ministry just happens to be one of the helping professions where there are job opportunities.” However, care has had to be exercised in order to screen out candidates who knew nothing about the denomination or had contrasting theological viewpoints.

“Safest City”

● Tokyo is the “safest city in the world,” according to the city’s Metropolitan Police Department​—that is, in comparison with other major cities. As reported in the Mainichi Daily News, its 132 murder cases were only one seventeenth the number of those in Los Angeles. Tokyo crimes, including murder and robbery, totaled about 221,300 for the first 11 months of last year​—an average of 663 a day. A cause for alarm, according to the paper, is the increase of youthful offenders. “More than half of the criminal offenses committed in Japan today are by people aged less than 20,” it reports, and “those at 14 were the most prone to commit crimes.” For the first time, girls accounted for over 20 percent of the crimes committed by those in the 14- to 19-year-old age bracket. Under Japanese law, youths under 14 are immune from criminal responsibility.

Many Now Living Will Never Die

This is no wild assertion. There are sound reasons to believe it.

The Watchtower and Awake! magazines regularly point to these Bible-based reasons. Send only $7 and you will receive both magazines (four copies a month) for one year, postpaid.

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Millions Are Going​—Will You Be There?

In 1983, 6,767,707 people were present for this important occasion. Jesus Christ himself instituted a memorial of his death on the night before he died. It was a simple ceremony. During it, Jesus told his disciples: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”​—Luke 22:19.

Jehovah’s Witnesses invite you to join them in observing this important event at the Kingdom Hall nearest to your home. Check with the Witnesses locally for the exact time.

[Box on page 32]

You Are Cordially Invited to the MEMORIAL of JESUS CHRIST’S DEATH

Sunday April 15 After sunset

At all Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Seats free No collection