The evils of drinking and gambling.
Men have always known how to produce alcoholic drinks from the fruits and vegetables of the earth. The old prophets in the bible and the holy prophet “Muhammad” all condemned the sin of drunkenness in Islam, gambling too is listed as a sin, but not mentioned in bible, so most probably the Jews were not addicted to that vice. In early India, we have little references to either and it is hard to say how old the toddy habit is.
Wine, beer or other fermented drinks all contain alcohol. This substance first excites the body then gradually confuses the thinking powers. A drunkard will gravely proceed to do something which seems to him quite sensible though in his temperate moments, he would see that it is nonsense. Continued drinking dulls his thinking and mental processes.
Intelligence test have shown that even a small amount of alcohol affects jovial with his so called friends, but in the hour of need, he loses the reasoning powers unfavorably. The drunkard is noisy and finds that they are not friends. They are only drinking with companions. His nerves and stomach are in course of time impaired, he requires ever more and more of his favorite drink to satisfy him and becomes an old man before his time. His wife and children grown up in want, unless he is a rich man, for the money which should buy them food and clothing is remaining spent in the toddy shop or hotel.
The gambler is often a drinker too, and he is a man who wants a little cheap excitement. He does not really thirst for the money of his companions, but he wants the seeming thrill of the game. At the race-course, you will see man with a good salary rushing about in excitement to make a bet of five or ten rupees. It is just their idea of getting a little adventure out of a dull life. But someone has to lose, and mostly it is the experienced that like the drunkard, the gambler requires increasing doses. Either he thinks he will make his fortune by continuing to win, or he has lost and is trying to win his money back again. In either case, the final result is usually loss. It is not only loss of money but also of time and of self-respect. No employer will ever engage one reputed to be a drunkard or a gambler.
By Rehana khan(111/10)
