Corruption is corruption

The previous government was virtually dogged daily with allegations of corruption. These led ultimately to the fall of that government and since then several charges were being laid against persons associated with that government. Now the corruption busters have been branded with the very same brush of corruption in a very serious manner. The new government since assuming office has also been branded as corrupt in many ways these have also remained as allegations. The charge by Opposition Chief Whip Ganga Singh that public funds were being siphoned from the Scarborough Hospital Project to a private development of Housing Minister Dr Keith Rowley at Mason Hall brought a serious and substantial dimension to the charges of government’s corruption.

This recent allegation against Minister Rowley cannot be de-linked from the recent corruption ranking report from Transparency Institute’s Corruption Perception Index. Transparency Institute’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), rated Trinidad and Tobago a low fifty-third out of 146 nations ranked on the basis of perceived corruption. TT Transparency Institute (TTTI) revealed these statistics recapped that Trinidad and Tobago first appeared on the CPI in 2001 with a score of 5.3, and that score has fallen consistently to 4.9 in 2002 and 4.6 in 2003. According to the Index, TI viewed TT as one of several countries, “that is perceived to be increasing in corruption.” TTTI director Petra Bridgemohan said, “On the basis of data from sources that were used for 2003 and 2004, TT is being seen as more corrupt.” The denial of the SDMS application for a radio licence by the State in favour of other later applicants no doubt added to the perception of corruption.

Interestingly Bridgemohan also said questions have been raised in recent times about the effectiveness of the Auditor General’s reports and parliamentary joint select committees as anti-corruption tools. Bridgemohan wondered about the signals Government might be sending the population about its efforts to combat corruption by exempting organisations such as the Central Bank from the Freedom of Information Act. The Central Bank was made exempt only after the SDMS used the FOIA to ask questions from the Central Bank. What has also added to this increased perception is the allegations of corruption in various State projects such as CEPEP, etc, dubious scholarships, policies involving education, housing, allocation of State resources, as well as employment and promotion in the State sector. Corruption in Trinidad and Tobago it appears is being filtered slowly from the highest offices to the rank and file of society.

What is corruption? Hindu scriptures describe it as hydra-headed corruption. Its heads are bribery, exploitative profit, vested interest, naked selfish desires, hypocrisy in the form of false promises, pride, false ego and calumny. If not controlled with true knowledge containing permanent truths, it spreads very fast in politics, economics and various organs of the state and institutions of the society. Sama Veda 179 and 913 refers to 99 sources for the entry of this evil in the human gross body. From each of the five senses, five sense organs and outward looking mind, nine types of evils enter the human body. In the Vedas, the inward looking mind is “manas.” This results in diminishing the discerning power of mind to distinguish between right and wrong, virtuous and non-virtuous conduct and values. Such persons tend to follow the non-divine professions and become avarnas, vritras and yatudhani as they resort to exploitation of the weaker sections of the human beings, mother earth and even supreme.

Rig-Veda 1-104-3 refers to corruption as misappropriation of public funds, taking bribe for money belonging to the State and trusts and when the individual’s action results in the reduction of State revenue or the revenue of the institution where he/she is a trustee. Rig Veda.1-42-3 mentions bribe takers are thieves. Sam Veda while, mentioning 99 sources of corruption and evil, also calls it a disease which goes on increasing with all material treatment and makes the power of soul and human spirit weaker and weaker (Sama Veda 913 and 179). Even a person who profits by corrupt practices has an evil mind. Seneca, a Roman stoic philosopher of 1st century CE who said, “One, who profits by a crime, commits crime,” also held similar views. Vedic metaphysics states, those learned persons who praise or justify any type of evil or wickedness is a corrupt and evil-minded person. Their learning is based on material knowledge ie avidya or nescience, which is destroyer of noble attributes (RV1-129-6). Those who have not acquired the wealth of Vidya are the real poor and shall always remain poor (RV1-186-11). Buddha had said that consciousness of gross body dims the eye of the mind that leads to germination of the evil of corruption in all its forms. This is the origin of all illusion. The Ramayan mentions that just as the dust tarnishes the brightness of a gem, the material wealth obtained through corruption too contaminates the virtue of the wise.

To explain the Vedic hydra-headed corruption to the followers of Vedic Dharma, Valmiki’s epic Ramayan depicted the demon king Ravana with ten heads representing each of the nine heads for a different kind of evil and corruption and the tenth head depicting the knowledge of Brahma — the supreme reality, soul, spirit, divine nature. During the war of “good over evil” between Lord Rama and Ravana it was shown that the devil had the habit of pretending to be dead. Rama with his arrows and missiles succeeded in cutting Ravana’s head from the body and the second would come up until nine heads were severed from the body, which represented various facets and forms of Vedic hydra-headed corruption. As already mentioned, Vedas also say that if a learned person praises or justifies any type of evil and corruption, he is also an evil person. The Ramayan tells us that Ravana was also a highly learned person. As such Lord Rama before killing Ravana did not cut his tenth head and even asked his brother Lakshman to go to Ravana before he was dead and get the higher divine and spiritual knowledge from him.