Of all the things that various religions offer, and they offer everything under the sun, I find only the list of vices of real interests. These lists are really useful because they sum up the key characteristics of the human species in just a few words. This came to my mind only recently, when I was going for who knows what time through all the vows associated with Patanjali’s yoga (“On Nonviolence,” June 6, 2015). Take the opposites, and the list of vices is formidable to behold: violence, lying, stealing, cheating, and avarice. There are many such lists for any religion, but here is one for the Muslim faith: ire, envy, slander, obscenity, intoxication, and pleasure-seeking. And here are the standard Christian vices: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. A Buddhist list is interesting, as well: shamelessness, jealousy, stinginess, remorse, drowsiness, distraction, torpor, anger, and concealment of wrongdoing. For good measure, here is a list that comes from Sikhism: lust, anger, greed, emotional attachment, and egotism. I can imagine that many a pedant would have much to say about all of these lists, but they strike me as perfectly plausible descriptions of human beings across the planet just as they are. As for virtues, they are mere opposites of the vices (“SALIGIA,” March 26, 2013). And virtuous humans are few and far between, as witnessed by the number of saints in any religion. At any rate, the above lists show that religions collectively offer many a pointer toward a definition of a human being, and in just a few words that every one among them can understand without any difficulty. Bingo!