CORUPTION/BRIBE/ਵਢੀ
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/spiritual-articles/24461-coruption-bribe.html ABSTRACT
It is a serious socio political incurable malady of morality. It is and been present all over the world in all four ages and at present most prevalent in the world in one form or the other. It is a breach of formal justice and becomes injustice to the truth. The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means. Guru Nanak pondered over it in 16th century on the then judiciary in Raag Ramkali;
ਕਾਜੀ ਹੋਇ ਕੈ ਬਹੈ ਨਿਆਇ ॥ ਫੇਰੇ ਤਸਬੀ ਕਰੇ ਖੁਦਾਇ ॥ ਵਢੀ ਲੈ ਕੈ ਹਕੁ ਗਵਾਏ ॥ ਜੇ ਕੋ ਪੁਛੈ ਤਾ ਪੜਿ ਸੁਣਾਏ ॥
Kājī hoė kai bahai niāė. Fėrė ṯasbī karė kẖuḏāė. vadẖī lai kai hak gavāė. Jė ko pucẖẖai ṯā paṛ suṇāė.
Becoming judges, they sit and administer justice. They chant on their rosaries, and call upon God. They accept bribes, and block justice. If someone asks them, they read quotations from their books. -----Guru Nanak, Raag Ramkali, AGGS, Page, 951-15
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Corruption is defined as a lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery to violate duty); use of a position of trust for dishonest personal gain- prostitution of talents or offices or services for reward- rampant among public officials in third world countries-Punjab, India- a state of progressive putrefaction, decay with an offensive odor due to moral perversion, impairment of virtue and moral principles not in accord with standards of right or good conduct. Guru Nanak ponders on it in Raag Asa during those times, which has become worse with the passage of time;
ਦਰਸਨਿ ਦੇਖਿਐ ਦਇਆ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥ਲਏ ਦਿਤੇ ਵਿਣੁ ਰਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥ਰਾਜਾ ਨਿਆਉ ਕਰੇ ਹਥਿ ਹੋਇ ॥ਕਹੈ ਖੁਦਾਇ ਨ ਮਾਨੈ ਕੋਇ ॥ਮਾਣਸ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਨਾਮੁ ॥ਕਰਣੀ ਕੁਤਾ ਦਰਿ ਫੁਰਮਾਨੁ ॥ਗੁਰ ਪਰਸਾਦਿ ਜਾਣੈ ਮਿਹਮਾਨੁ ॥ਤਾ ਕਿਛੁ ਦਰਗਹ ਪਾਵੈ ਮਾਨੁ ॥
Ḏarsan ḏėkẖi¬ai ḏa¬i¬ā na ho¬ė, La¬ė ḏiṯė viṇ rahai na ko¬ė, Rājā ni¬ā¬o karė hath ho¬ė, Kahai kẖuḏā¬ė na mānai ko¬ė, Māṇas mūraṯ Nānak nām, Karṇī kuṯā ḏar furmān, Gur parsāḏ jāṇai mihmān, Ŧā kicẖẖ ḏargeh pāvai mān.
Beholding the sight of the petitioner, compassion is not aroused. No one lives without give and take. The king administers justice only if his palm is greased. No one is moved by the Name of God. O Nanak, they are human beings in form and name only; by their deeds they are dogs - this is the Command of the Akal Purkh's Court. By Guru's Grace, if one sees himself as a guest in this world, then he gains honor in God’s Court. -----Guru Nanak, Raag Asa, AGGS, Page, 349 & 350
Corruption is the abuse of power for private and personal gain. There are many kinds and types of corruption;
1. Petty corruption.
2. Grand corruption.
3. Political corruption.
4. Bureaucratic (or administrative) corruption.
5. Judicial corruption.
6. Religious corruption.
All types can be distinguished from one another, though all of these generate a sense of unfairness and erode inter-personal social trust. Corruption obtains when an official transfers a benefit to an individual who is not entitled to the benefit, in exchange for an illegal payment (the bribe). By taking the bribe, the official breaks a legally binding promise he gave to his ‘principal’ (usually the state) to allocate the benefit to those entitled to it. It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's truer that power attracts the corruptible but the sane are usually attracted by other things than power. The truth is that power itself does not corrupt but it is the fear of a loss of power. Guru Nanak calls these persons as Manmukh (Spiritually ignorant and morally degraded) in Raag Maru;
ਪੜਹਿ ਮਨਮੁਖ ਪਰੁ ਬਿਧਿ ਨਹੀ ਜਾਨਾ ॥ ਨਾਮੁ ਨ ਬੂਝਹਿ ਭਰਮਿ ਭੁਲਾਨਾ ॥ ਲੈ ਕੈ ਵਢੀ ਦੇਨਿ ਉਗਾਹੀ ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਕਾ ਗਲਿ ਫਾਹਾ ਹੇ ॥
Paṛeh manmukẖ par biḏẖ nahī jānā. Nām na būjẖeh bẖaram bẖulānā. Lai kai vadẖī ḏėn ugāhī ḏurmaṯ kā gal fāhā hė.
The self-willed read and study, but they do not know the way. They do not understand the Name of the Akal Purkh; they wander, deluded by doubt. They take bribes, and give false testimony; the noose of evil-mindedness is around their necks. -----Guru Nanak, Raag Maru, AGGS, Page, 1032-11
Corruption is neither a property of a social system or an institution, but rather an illegal exchange. Naturally, illegality makes it hard to measure corruption. A positive relation appears to exist between the extent of bribery and: the level of ‘red tape’; tiers of government; the cost of capital and investment; and the degree of regulatory discretion on the part of officials. Studies show a negative relation between corruption and economic growth.
Questions arise that empirical regularities are no substitute for explanatory mechanisms.
Is corruption a function of red tape or is red tape a function of corruption?
If corruption were a function of red tape, bribes could be an efficient way to get round red tape. Contrary to this view, many argue that in the long term corruption breeds inefficiency. Also, with multiple officials and many potential bribers, corruption can generate further corruption, leading a country to fall into a ‘trap’ where bribery is pervasive e.g. India and even in West etc.
Kabir ponders on morality and lower instincts of humans born with and how to subdue them in Raag Suhi lalit;
ਏਕੁ ਕੋਟੁ ਪੰਚ ਸਿਕਦਾਰਾ ਪੰਚੇ ਮਾਗਹਿ ਹਾਲਾ ॥ ਜਿਮੀ ਨਾਹੀ ਮੈ ਕਿਸੀ ਕੀ ਬੋਈ ਐਸਾ ਦੇਨੁ ਦੁਖਾਲਾ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਕੇ ਲੋਗਾ ਮੋ ਕਉ ਨੀਤਿ ਡਸੈ ਪਟਵਾਰੀ ॥ ਊਪਰਿ ਭੁਜਾ ਕਰਿ ਮੈ ਗੁਰ ਪਹਿ ਪੁਕਾਰਿਆ ਤਿਨਿ ਹਉ ਲੀਆ ਉਬਾਰੀ ॥ ਨਉ ਡਾਡੀ ਦਸ ਮੁੰਸਫ ਧਾਵਹਿ ਰਈਅਤਿ ਬਸਨ ਨ ਦੇਹੀ ॥ ਡੋਰੀ ਪੂਰੀ ਮਾਪਹਿ ਨਾਹੀ ਬਹੁ ਬਿਸਟਾਲਾ ਲੇਹੀ ॥ ਬਹਤਰਿ ਘਰ ਇਕੁ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਸਮਾਇਆ ਉਨਿ ਦੀਆ ਨਾਮੁ ਲਿਖਾਈ ॥ ਧਰਮ ਰਾਇ ਕਾ ਦਫਤਰੁ ਸੋਧਿਆ ਬਾਕੀ ਰਿਜਮ ਨ ਕਾਈ ॥ ਸੰਤਾ ਕਉ ਮਤਿ ਕੋਈ ਨਿੰਦਹੁ ਸੰਤ ਰਾਮੁ ਹੈ ਏਕ॥ ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਮੈ ਸੋ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਜਾ ਕਾ ਨਾਉ ਬਿਬੇਕੋੁ॥
Ėk kot pancẖ sikḏārā pancẖė māgeh hālā. Jimī nāhī mai kisī kī boī aisā ḏėn ḏukẖālā. Har kė logā mo kao nīṯ dasai patvārī. Ūpar bẖujā kar mai gur peh pukāriā ṯin hao līā ubārī. Nao dādī ḏas munsaf ḏẖāveh raīaṯ basan na ḏėhī. Dorī pūrī māpeh nāhī baho bistālā lėhī. Bahṯar gẖar ik purakẖ samāiā un ḏīā nām likẖāī. Ḏẖaram rā▫e kā ḏafṯar soḏẖi▫ā bākī rijam na kā▫ī. Sanṯā ka▫o maṯ ko▫ī ninḏahu sanṯ rām hai eko. Kaho Kabīr mai so gur pā▫i▫ā jā kā nā▫o bibeko.
In the one fortress of the body, there are five lower instincts, and all five demand payment of taxes. I have not farmed anyone's land, so such payment is difficult for me to pay. O, people a person of the God, the tax-collector (Dharamraj) are constantly torturing me! Raising my arms up, I complained to my Guru, and He has saved me. The nine land-surveyors (nine sources of sensation) and the ten magistrates (10 Indries/ਇੰਦਰੀ) do not allow their subjects to live in peace. They do not measure with a full tape, and they take huge amounts in bribes. The One God contained in the 72 yogic principal channels of the body, has written off my account. The records of the Righteous Judge have been searched, and I owe absolutely nothing. Let no one slander the Saints, because the Saints and the God are one. Says Kabir, I have found that Guru, whose Name is Clear Understanding. -----Kabir, Raag Suhi Lalait, AGGS, Page, 793
Conclusion;
Corruption is a socio-political and moral pathology feeding on bribery, despair, human suffering, apathy, and spiritual ignorance. It has much the same effect on the development of a nation that cancer has on the life of a biological organism. Large-scale corruption is supported by power networks. Large-scale corruption is an emergent social process. The same governing factors that sustain large-scale corruption are in direct opposition to efforts to promote development. While extracting wealth, corrupt power networks generated waste, reduced production, and caused acrimony on the part of the victims. In the final analysis corruption is a tree, whose branches are of an immeasurable length spreading every where and the dew that drops from them has infected chairs and stools of authority.
ਬਿਖੈ ਬਿਕਾਰ ਦੁਸਟ ਕਿਰਖਾ ਕਰੇ ਇਨ ਤਜਿ ਆਤਮੈ ਹੋਇ ਧਿਆਈ ॥ ਜਪੁ ਤਪੁ ਸੰਜਮੁ ਹੋਹਿ ਜਬ ਰਾਖੇ ਕਮਲੁ ਬਿਗਸੈ ਮਧੁ ਆਸ੍ਰਮਾਈ ॥ ਬੀਸ ਸਪਤਾਹਰੋ ਬਾਸਰੋ ਸੰਗ੍ਰਹੈ ਤੀਨਿ ਖੋੜਾ ਨਿਤ ਕਾਲੁ ਸਾਰੈ ॥ ਦਸ ਅਠਾਰ ਮੈ ਅਪਰੰਪਰੋ ਚੀਨੈ ਕਹੈ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਇਵ ਏਕੁ ਤਾਰੈ ॥
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24461 Bikẖai bikār ḏusat kirkẖā kare in ṯaj āṯmai ho▫e ḏẖi▫ā▫ī. Jap ṯap sanjam hohi jab rākẖe kamal bigsai maḏẖ āsarmā▫ī. Bīs sapṯāhro bāsro sangrahai ṯīn kẖoṛā niṯ kāl sārai. Ḏas aṯẖār mai aprampro cẖīnai kahai Nānak iv ek ṯārai.
So weed out evil, wickedness and corruption; leave these behind, and let your soul meditate on God. When chanting, austere meditation and self-discipline become your protectors, then the lotus blossoms forth, and the honey trickles out. Bring the twenty-seven elements of the body under your control, and throughout the three stages of life, remember death. See the Infinite God in the ten directions, and in all the variety of nature. Says Nanak, in this way, the One Akal Purkh shall carry you across. -----Guru Nanak, Siri Raag, AGGS, Page, 23-17
Virinder S. Grewal
Williamston, MI
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