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It is never late to change for the good. Righteousness takes precedence over consistency, self-esteem and even integrity.
is what i posted in the social media and here's a comment Dr. Subrahmanyam made in response:
How is it righteousness outside of integrity. Any examples? I believe, righteousness includes integrity. The example I think is Bheeshma in Bharatam.
So, i thought i'll explain it here in more than the 140 characters that social media allows :). Divine embodiments such Bheeshma and Srirama are born righteous and can never be wrong. But what about ordinary mortals like Valmiki and us? We are born as fallible human. So, when we commit mistakes, do we let internal consistency, which is same as integrity, take precedence and allow the mistake to persist? You may be surprised, but some do and they do it in the name of integrity. Some of them may not even be aware that they are making this decision. It happens automatically. It could be ego, self-pride, or just the way the system is designed to function that may be causing the mistake to persist. But the cover taken is that of integrity.
For instance, take the government, including the judiciary. What is the percentage of orders that are reversed even when it comes out glaringly in error? In this case, the system is designed to favor "integrity" to correctness. Once a government process kicks-in, it is designed to remain consistent and push forward, quite often, sacrificing the righteousness aspect. The effects can be long lasting - for decades, but things do not change and that is partly by design. Why is it designed like that? It is mostly to preserve the integral nature of the government. Government should by and large look unified. No one believes in a divided, fractured, inconsistent rule. There must be some finality in government decisions - the whole idea behind integrity. In Dr. Subrahmanyam's example, Bheeshma's decisions lasted all his life, in spite of immense hardship. That is the essence of integrity, which cannot take precedence over righteousness, in my opinion.
Fortunately for Bheeshma, integrity and righteousness were one and the same. He did not have to decide one over the other. But ordinary mortals have to, and they often prefer "integrity" of their decisions, knowingly or unknowingly. Hence my call to choose righteousness over integrity, when the context calls for it.
is what i posted in the social media and here's a comment Dr. Subrahmanyam made in response:
How is it righteousness outside of integrity. Any examples? I believe, righteousness includes integrity. The example I think is Bheeshma in Bharatam.
So, i thought i'll explain it here in more than the 140 characters that social media allows :). Divine embodiments such Bheeshma and Srirama are born righteous and can never be wrong. But what about ordinary mortals like Valmiki and us? We are born as fallible human. So, when we commit mistakes, do we let internal consistency, which is same as integrity, take precedence and allow the mistake to persist? You may be surprised, but some do and they do it in the name of integrity. Some of them may not even be aware that they are making this decision. It happens automatically. It could be ego, self-pride, or just the way the system is designed to function that may be causing the mistake to persist. But the cover taken is that of integrity.
For instance, take the government, including the judiciary. What is the percentage of orders that are reversed even when it comes out glaringly in error? In this case, the system is designed to favor "integrity" to correctness. Once a government process kicks-in, it is designed to remain consistent and push forward, quite often, sacrificing the righteousness aspect. The effects can be long lasting - for decades, but things do not change and that is partly by design. Why is it designed like that? It is mostly to preserve the integral nature of the government. Government should by and large look unified. No one believes in a divided, fractured, inconsistent rule. There must be some finality in government decisions - the whole idea behind integrity. In Dr. Subrahmanyam's example, Bheeshma's decisions lasted all his life, in spite of immense hardship. That is the essence of integrity, which cannot take precedence over righteousness, in my opinion.
Fortunately for Bheeshma, integrity and righteousness were one and the same. He did not have to decide one over the other. But ordinary mortals have to, and they often prefer "integrity" of their decisions, knowingly or unknowingly. Hence my call to choose righteousness over integrity, when the context calls for it.
