Combating corruption

Article by Sri Sri:

The big C of corruption can be countered by five more Cs The first, I
would say, is the sense of Connectedness. A lack of connectedness or
sense of belongingness breeds corruption in society. That is why,
often, you see people looking for connections, in order to avoid
corruption A sense of belongingness among people, among the community,
can root out corruption. That is why corruption is lowest at the
village level but when it comes to urban areas, cities, its much more
because there is no community sense there no belongingness. The
second C is Courage. A lack of self-esteem or confidence in ones own
ability is one of the causes of corruption. It is fear, or insecurity
in a person that makes one become more corrupt. He then tries to find
his security only through money, which doesnt really happen. The more
money he acquires, the insecurity doesnt disappear. In fact, he
becomes more afraid and more fearful because the money is not earned
in a right manner. So the second C that we will have to focus on is to
create that courage in a person courage and confidence in ones
ability and in the laws of nature. Third is an understanding of Cosmol
ogy looking at ones own life in the context of extended space and
time. Just take a look at our own life. How long is it? Only 80-100
years See life in the context of the huge dimension of time. Billions
of years have passed since the creation. Our creation, as scientists
say, is 50 billion years old. And everything in this creation is
recycled. The air we breathe is old, every cell in our body, every
atom is old, the oxygen and hydrogen is old And this will continue.
Seeing l ife from a different perspective of space and time is what
will deepen ones vision about ones life. Being corrupt, one amasses a
lot of money and puts it in the bank. One cant spend all that money
and then one dies. Ones children inherit the property and then they
fight over the inheritance Seeing life in the context of this huge
universe and unfathomable time can broaden ones vision, can broaden
ones mind and can enrich ones heart. The fourth C, I would say, is
Care and Compassion. Care and compassion in society can bring
dedication. It is the lack of dedication that causes corruption. The
Kumbha Mela in India was attended by a total of 30 million people
nearly 3 million people each day, and there was not a single incidence
of violence, theft or robbery One night, we were distributing blankets
to the poor as it was very cold and I came across a youth, who refused
to take a blanket, saying that probably someone else there needed it
more That sense of care and compassion It doesnt matter even if I dont
have, somebody needs this more. We have to care for them. That care
and compassion can root out corruption. The last one I would like to
emphasise is a sense of Commitment commitment to contribution. When a
person has a goal, a commitment to a higher cause in life, it brings a
shift from gaining to giving. In society, if everyone keeps thinking,
What can I gain? rather than What can I contribute? or How can I be
useful to the people around me?, then corruption cannot be rooted out.
In society, we need to have this shift in our attitude, from What can
I gain? to What can I contribute? But all this cannot be possible
without individual upliftment. Spiritual upliftment. A sense of
belongingness with the whole world. Today the globe has become a
village. We have globalised everything other than wisdom. And that is
one of the causes of terrorism and unrest in the world today. We
accept food from every part of the world, we accept music from every
part of the world, but when it comes to wisdom, people seem to shy
away. If every child in the world learns a little bit about all
cultures, a little bit about all values, the whole scenario will be
different. Then one will not think, Only I will go to heaven. Everyone
else will go to hell. This wrong education or lack of education has
caused so many problems in the world. A sense of belongingness with
the whole world it doesnt matter what colour or race you are is that
shared value that we are talking about today. Even if one pocket in
the world remains ignorant of these shared values, common values, the
world will not be a safe place. So we need to address these issues
with a lot of patience. It is not a job that we can do overnight, but
through education and creating that sense of community, through
inspiration and example. Make a subtle distinction between
spirituality and religion. Religion is like the banana skin and
spirituality is the banana. Spirituality or the common values are the
same, in every religion. The differences are only on the surface. and
they are good Its good to have differences. Nurture the differences
and at the same time enliven spiritual values. Then we all get
together and make a change. Make a better society.

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