Corruption is rampant in India. It has permeated in the very fabric of the society. There are corrupt businessmen, teachers, engineers, doctors, bureaucrats, politicians and others. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our society. From the level of peon and constable to a mantri and a high-level official, corruption exists. In every branch of governance whether it is politics or media, judiciary, police, religious institutions, economic growth or private sector, corruption prevails. Corruption in India has wings, not wheels. As the nation grows, the corrupt also grows to invent new methods of cheating the government and public. Corruption has become a routine practice in Indian society and people learn it faster than anything else; it does not require a gurukul or teacher, a majority of the people have mastered the art.
Now a days, everyone in India is glued to their television sets to know more about the “High Profile” legal cases that are going on across the country. All of a sudden, people have started taking interest in the judicial system. Those who were not so serious about the laws of the land have become law-conscious. The decisions made by judiciary in recent times have instilled a renewed confidence among the countrymen in the legal system. There is, however, no denial of the fact that public opinion, by and large, is in favour of the current trends reflected in the judgements, emanating from courts, especially in public interest cases.
However, some well-wishers of the society are dismayed to see that. In this rising dust and din, the real point is being missed out as not much serious attention is being paid to the root of corruption.
The more laws regarding corruption there are, the more corruption is taking place. Some intellectuals have pointed out that it is the high lust for making easy money that has led to corruption on such a scale. But the cause of lust for money has not been identified by anyone yet.
Since ages, scriptures and sages have spoken about vices and virtues. Of all the vices like lust, anger, attachment, greed, ego, the most dangerous and subtle in nature is “greed”. It is said that greed is such a kind of hunger that never gets satisfied.
Our desire for food ends when our hunger is appeased, our anger also subsides when it purpose is achieved. But greed creates such a tendency in the mind that does not get satisfied even we get the kingdom of whole world. Today, we see that on acquiring wealth, men want to acquire a kingdom, having acquired kingdom, they want to become godfathers and even after becoming one, they are still not satisfied. Hence, it is this tendency, which is created by acquiring wealth, in a person who possesses it, that leads to corruption at all levels. So does it mean that one should not recognise the importance of wealth and remain poor for whole life? Not really! What is required, in fact, is to draw a full and clear picture of wealth and create right perception of the characteristics of wealth so that people could get a balanced view of it. We must remember that all our attitudes and tendencies ensue from our beliefs; therefore, we should have right kinds of beliefs if we want the society to get rid of the evil inclinations.
There is no denying that acquisition of wealth is necessary for sustenance but we should not take an extreme view of its benefits and must keep in mind the negative inclinations it produces by keeping our tendencies under check, because accumulation of wealth does not only give rise to a host of evil inclinations but also destroys peace and happiness. The funniest thing about wealth is that the one who possesses it is always under threat of losing it, the one who does not possesses it is always yearning for it and the one who possesses it in abundance is always sad while parting with it. Thus, wealth connected situation produces nothing but pain.
However, people believe that it is natural for human beings to have desire for wealth and its fruits but they forget the very fact that this tendency of making money gives rise to other negative tendencies by natural cascading effect which is self-destructive. There is no doubt that wealth and its accumulation is one of the primary needs of a man but it is equally true that this tendency needs to be accompanied by honesty, well-being of the society and self-control. Otherwise, it leads to massive havoc. Hence, one should not wrench the benefits of wealth from the dangers of greed. There has to be a balance through self-control, only then corruption will end and there would be a lawful and peaceful society in real sense.
Prof Mithilesh Kumar Sinha
Finance Officer
Nagaland University, Lumami
