What is corruption? The dictionary defines it as follows…

1. Degrading, immoral acts or habits:
2. Departure from what is legally, ethically, and morally correct:
3. A term that offends against established usage standards:

The definitions above will tell us what it is, but not why it is?

The dynamic & driving principle of Life is “Survival”. No matter what we do, we are either trying to survive or working to enhance our potential to survive. Fundamental “Needs” for survival are food, sleep, clothing, home, physical security etc in that order.

When these needs are met, “Wants” develop for extra “Pleasures” – physical, emotional & intellectual – in that order. This is the most crucial stage in humans, where aberrations may take over the management of human minds. The aberration is – inability to distinguish between needs and wants with their inherent value for survival. The inability to acquire without robbing others fortifies this. Sense of shame is lost!

Needs ensure survival – wants do not. Wealth, power, prosperity, multiple possessions, fame etc. are all wants of varying denominations & degrees – which demand sacrificing basic survival needs like food & sleep. This means wants can drive anyone towards contra-survival … as they breed greed!One fundamental and most important difference between “Need & Want” is – Competition. One does not compete normally in satisfying basic needs like food & sleep. But when it comes to wants for wealth & luxuries – competition drives the pursuits all the way for gratification.

This is when “Corruption” enters the lives of people. The desire to be & win in the competition for possession becomes very compulsive. Wants for self & family begin to assume such overwhelming priority – it ignores and even threatens the very survival of all others. When this deadly mental disease progressively infects the other members of the society – corruption becomes a norm and not an exception. When the society as whole becomes corrupt – it moves from survival to non-survival collectively.

If corruption makes one proud of what one should be ashamed of – the degradation & degeneration of the society as a whole accelerates to its logical end – The End. Corruption is an acute mental disease that is endemic in politics & bureaucracy – now percolating down to the general population, thus becoming pandemic.