Power and Corruption

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely – this is a popular saying which has a strong element of truth in it. In every sphere we come across powerful and corrupt people who, to serve their own interests, stoop to any extent. They could threaten a vulnerable, honest person to implicate him in a case of corruption. Often, even if the actual culprit happens to get caught, the umbrella of power is there to provide protection. Power begets power. The most dangerous are those who are powerful and corrupt as well as intelligent. Intellect is a double-edged sword – it can cut either way. It could even justify a wrong-doing. Articulation and skilful presentation could make untruth appear like truth.

Since there will always be powerful and corrupt persons in life, the crucial question is, how should we handle them? Two paths are before us. One is to unite ourselves with others as per the old saying ‘united we stand divided we fall’. It will be possible to find like-minded people who have respect for truth and ethical values. It is not as though society is full of corrupt people; they are fewer in number but they seem to dominate because of the strong nexus they have with the powerful. If only the honest ones keep their ego under check and come together to overthrow the corrupt, the problem of corruption can be overcome.

Here is an example from the our religious traditions, from Durga Saptasati. As long as devtas fought Mahisasura individually, none could defeat him. The moment they came out of their individual ego and decided to act together, the result was tremendous – it led to the arising of the eternal Goddess Durga. Each devta empowered her with the strength that they had individually. That collective force rose up to meet the challenge posed by negativity. The message is clear: sometimes evil cannot be destroyed by individual actions of each of us, but it can be easily tamed through our collective actions. It’s thus important not to remain indifferent when faced with corruption or deliberate misuse of power but to speak out and do what one can to make a difference.

Several temptations will come our way that could distract us from the task at hand. These offers are likely to be substantial in terms of the material. However, the need is to cultivate equipoise and not surrender to temptation. Not even a few of us might have the resilience and strength of a Gandhi or have the will to follow in the footsteps of a Christ. But one can try, and perhaps make a difference, however small, so that eventually, taken in the collective, there comes a time when the force of honesty and goodness gathers sufficient strength to root out corruption wherever possible.

Each one of us can contribute a bit of ourselves to strengthen the efforts of the more forthcoming among us – and who knows, just as the devtas put in their mite to raise the eternal Durga, we too could find ourselves raising a strong force that will help cleanse the system.

[Arup Mitra (arup@iegindia.org), from Times of India dated 23rd March 2012]