Some people are very honest and strict on small issues and on issues with small stakes. But if the gains are high they would become corrupt shamelessly. True, many are honest and impeccable because the opportunities and temptations are not great enough to make them yield. I also saw how some persons with great virtues surrender to mean monetary gains.

I saw an officer making a strong sound with his figures on the leather-dairy, which was given as a gift on the occasion of New Year, by one of the vendors to the organisation. The officer returned the gift by telling don’t give, take it. Probably this gift was very cheap to his stature. There is a ‘value of interest,’ that means people are interested to be corrupt only if the value is tempting and high.

There is a tradition of giving gifts especially on the occasion like Deepawali Festival or Festival of lights, celebrated especially by the business community in parts of India. A day before the festival, once I was in an important Government Office and saw that there was a line of people with very big sweet boxes. One of my friends was telling, do you think these officers, most of them being diabetic, eat the sweets offered to them. Along with the package of sweet packets, another sweet gift is offered that is the money. It is like an elephant has two kinds of teeth, the teeth shown or displayed are the tusks - they are the sweet boxes, whereas the teeth used for chewing are inside the mouth and not exposed, and these teeth are used to chew the ‘money’ given as a gift - bribe.

In the year 1995, I happened to discuss with Mr V. R. Reddy, a good man. He was not so much popular because of his humbleness. He was the founder of Deccan Development Society, one day we were discussing the topic of corruption and how bad it is. He said okay ‘you are less corrupt.’ I started thinking for the next two days, how come he could say that I am also corrupt. Before that, I was thinking all the time that I am one of the honest people.

Being in a polluted environment as one also gets impacted by pollution. Similarly being in a corrupt world one might also get corrupted unknowingly. Therefore I realised the fact that there are degrees of corruption. If everyone has to go to jail for every small act of corruption or wrong, the jails are not enough.

Most of the people in jails live in integrity during their punishment period, as they are isolated from the polluted environment.

Persons who are the Judges in the courts are not a hundred percent honest. Like a police person catching a thief, themselves need not be honest and clean to do the job of catching a thief.

Some countries fund some organisations, to destabilise a government in another country for strategic reasons, later the organisation becomes a terrorist organisation and grows into a monster. Finally targets the same country which it funded.

The world is only looking at the extremes and trying to prevent by punishing a few as an example. The guiltiness of a person is coming down as they are thinking that many are also doing similar things. In a highly corrupt state, corruption becomes a norm and no one feels guilty as they see that corruption is everywhere and at all levels.

The means of unethical acts are never taught as part of school education, but how come children growing into adults over a period in their life learn so many unethical things and lose their integrity.

Regarding getting corrupt, say if someone has offered a cup of tea, one would have it, but would never ask if this tea was prepared with the honest income. By drinking such a tea, would someone also share the sin of a corrupt person?!

This is also pertinent to the religions with customs and traditions of making offerings to the Gods by people. If a corrupt person has made an offering in the form of money or other things, does ‘God’ also would be corrupted. By offering such money how could one seek favours? God would punish them if this aspect is realised, then there won’t be anyone praying God. Over a period integrity gets restored and there would not be so many people following any kind of religion. Fear of something is the driving factor for religious faith and very few follow out of reverence. In the world of very less integrity growing among masses the density of religious places increases every day.

There is also life possible without shortcuts and life without corruption. All that is needed is integrity.