Disdaining the sexual mores of the pre-industrial era, modern man has plungedheadlong into a life of uninhibited pleasure, so much so that the last few decadeshave been characterized by what is called a sexual revolution. The discovery ofcontraception relieved man of the responsibilities that come in the wake of sexand sensuality has become an accepted social trend. All manners of sexualbehavior are practiced with uninhabited openness.

Homosexuality, lesbianism,premarital and extra-marital sex have become widespread phenomena. Incest andrape, too, raise their ugly heads with unprecedented frequency. Sexual abuse ofchildren within the family circle is so common that in Britain a telephone servicecalled Childline has been set up which specializes in counseling abused children.

It is reported that this voluntary organization receives over 1000 calls a day!The ill effects of this permissiveness have gradually emerged. The divorcerate has become alarmingly high as couples are incapable of maintaining steady,lasting, emotionally sound relationships. Children have suffered most in brokenhomes and large numbers of adolescents have become drug addicts anddelinquents.

Juvenile delinquency is now a serious social problem. Publicinstitutions have been organized to care for unwanted children, and to rehabilitate drug addicts and delinquents. Babies are sometimes battered to death duringfamily crises and measures have been adopted to deal with family violence.Abortion has become so frequent that it is currently a widely debated moral andsociolegal medical issue.Sexually transmitted diseases have increased by leaps and bounds to assumealmost epidemic proportions.

The whole world was shaken with a rude shock bythe advent of the dreaded disease AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome,for which medical scientists all over the globe are struggling, without success sofar, to find an effective cure. It is also a well-known secret that one of the causesfor cancer of the cervix in women is exposure to several sexual partners.

Already burdened with various other socio-economic problems due toindustrialization and urbanization, man now has to face the additional burden offamily and health problems. Interpersonal relations have become superficial andbrittle, and large numbers of people find themselves alienated, frustrated andmentally ill, without a sense of direction and purpose.

The alienated individualhas no friend to turn to for solace, and as he is already estranged from religion,psychiatry has stepped in to give some measure of relief.It must not be forgotten that man emerged from savagery to civilizationthrough family life. The love of the mother for her offspring played a significantrole in this march, and the family was the vital social unit in giving the newarrival the comfort and security which he sorely needed.

Modern man in his greedfor sensual pleasures has sacrificed the sanctity of this vital institution, and hefound himself drowning in the very pleasures which he so much wanted to enjoy,reminding one of the traditional simile of the ant fallen in the pot of honey. It isreally to safeguard man against such catastrophic disasters that the third precepthas been so designed to form part and parcel of the code of discipline obligatoryfor laymen