It is rampant. It is contagious. Whenever, a few from the educated class gather together, the topic centers around the epidemic of corruption. If the gathering is of elite senior citizens, the conversation picks up politicians and people at high places. The tragedy is everybody takes a posture of “holier than thou”.
In the morning time, when we assemble after a brisk walk, it is soothing if the topic is nature based or spritual. Therefore, while some are very vocative, a few tend to remain silent. Naturally, nobody likes an odd man or misfit smiling over.
Today, I was dragged into conversation in spite of my non-willingness.
Everybody has a tendency to draw a halo around him when the matter is about dishonesty and corruption. We even do not comprehend the expanse of dishonesty and corruption.
I surprised everybody by telling that each of us is dishonest and corrupt. The scale and the principals of such aberrations might be different from one person to the other.
I find one gentlemen accepting that he saves a lot of time and harassment by offering traffic police some money. I myself told them that I had negotiated sleeper births with the train conductor many a times though I refrained from confessing several other procedures bulging in my memory bag.
The professor was smiling as if he had been into a noble profession having no scope for immorality. I reminded him that a few days back, he told us that he used to suggest his superior for nominating him to various places of tourist interest for attending seminars. One elderly who managed a jute mill at Kolkata never thought the inhuman manner in which the jute workers were treated just to earn more profit. Then, there was a metallurgist/scientist from ISRO who never thought that he succeeded in perfecting a composition for better performance in the area of powder metallurgy managing time from his duty hours. He later sold the technique in open market. One industrialist openly confessed that he had to keep statutory and regulatory authorities at bay and that there is but only one way for smoother sailing.
Persons who are in high places either in business or in politics had to climb numerous obstacles to reach the pinnacle. In the beginning, some had sold groceries on wheel carts, some other had functioned from railway platforms and yet some other had only lamp posts to avail light. There are those born with a golden spoon but they do not know the difference between a stale bread piece and a chocolate cake. Do we know what it is to live like beggars and eat like pigs ? If a beggar cannot resist his greed, if we succumb with all the proclaimed wisdom, how could we expect such decency from persons occupying a seat of power and money? A steam engine and a bullock cart are generation apart in terms of respective power and fuel. Besides, there is a cut throat competition at the upstairs and less room for ssurvival at the top.
The atmosphere became gloomy. There was restlessness as if I had abused them. Therefore, I asked the professor to ponder about the way we bribe our gods. We bribe our boss, teachers, parents, guardians, elders, servants, our spouse and most of all our children. We do not leave our pet animals. We bribe machines by lubricating and that is from where we hear about greasing one’s hand or lubricating the process for smooth sailing.
In the morning time, when we assemble after a brisk walk, it is soothing if the topic is nature based or spritual. Therefore, while some are very vocative, a few tend to remain silent. Naturally, nobody likes an odd man or misfit smiling over.
Today, I was dragged into conversation in spite of my non-willingness.
Everybody has a tendency to draw a halo around him when the matter is about dishonesty and corruption. We even do not comprehend the expanse of dishonesty and corruption.
I surprised everybody by telling that each of us is dishonest and corrupt. The scale and the principals of such aberrations might be different from one person to the other.
I find one gentlemen accepting that he saves a lot of time and harassment by offering traffic police some money. I myself told them that I had negotiated sleeper births with the train conductor many a times though I refrained from confessing several other procedures bulging in my memory bag.
The professor was smiling as if he had been into a noble profession having no scope for immorality. I reminded him that a few days back, he told us that he used to suggest his superior for nominating him to various places of tourist interest for attending seminars. One elderly who managed a jute mill at Kolkata never thought the inhuman manner in which the jute workers were treated just to earn more profit. Then, there was a metallurgist/scientist from ISRO who never thought that he succeeded in perfecting a composition for better performance in the area of powder metallurgy managing time from his duty hours. He later sold the technique in open market. One industrialist openly confessed that he had to keep statutory and regulatory authorities at bay and that there is but only one way for smoother sailing.
Persons who are in high places either in business or in politics had to climb numerous obstacles to reach the pinnacle. In the beginning, some had sold groceries on wheel carts, some other had functioned from railway platforms and yet some other had only lamp posts to avail light. There are those born with a golden spoon but they do not know the difference between a stale bread piece and a chocolate cake. Do we know what it is to live like beggars and eat like pigs ? If a beggar cannot resist his greed, if we succumb with all the proclaimed wisdom, how could we expect such decency from persons occupying a seat of power and money? A steam engine and a bullock cart are generation apart in terms of respective power and fuel. Besides, there is a cut throat competition at the upstairs and less room for ssurvival at the top.
The atmosphere became gloomy. There was restlessness as if I had abused them. Therefore, I asked the professor to ponder about the way we bribe our gods. We bribe our boss, teachers, parents, guardians, elders, servants, our spouse and most of all our children. We do not leave our pet animals. We bribe machines by lubricating and that is from where we hear about greasing one’s hand or lubricating the process for smooth sailing.
This imperfection is ingrained in us from our birth, or from the inception of homo-sapiens on the Earth, or is integrated in the mechanism by which this Earth evolved or…..from the imperfection raging in the universe. Talking of imperfection, the eminent scientist Stephen Hawking says – “One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn't exist.....Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist”
Neither you nor I would exist and so would be the universe and universes. This mounting imperfection would one day become unbearably critical. The corollary could be a perfect perfection. Either way, it is a win-win situation for the ultimate black hole getting its bag full to burst again and thus creating universes again.
There is but only one way out – “ Be true and honest to oneself”. One is accountable and responsible for one's own perfection.
Neither you nor I would exist and so would be the universe and universes. This mounting imperfection would one day become unbearably critical. The corollary could be a perfect perfection. Either way, it is a win-win situation for the ultimate black hole getting its bag full to burst again and thus creating universes again.
There is but only one way out – “ Be true and honest to oneself”. One is accountable and responsible for one's own perfection.
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी॥२-७०॥
"That person of steady intellect remains stable and passionless when desires enter in to his mind as the water of countless rivers flows into the brimmed ocean without causing it any vacillation. And this great person attains highest peace; not the one that has desires to fulfill desires."
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