In school, people often say "Honesty is the best policy." The Oxford Dictionary defines honest as an adjective, meaning free of deceit; truthful and sincere.
Integrity is a noun, and defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles” . I found a great definition of integrity in an article by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudeva: Integrity is about coherence between what you say, do and think. You can read the full article here: http://bit.ly/1faCpHo It is in your actions, in the way you are, the way you carry yourself. It's not something you do, only when others are watching.” Integrity is crucial for building trust, and without it, you can't be a leader.
We had an honest Prime Minister and possibly an honest Defense Minister, but do they have integrity? The Prime Minister recently mentioned that history would judge him kindly. Unfortunately, in our country history itself lacks honesty or integrity for that matter. Achievements of two of our better Prime Ministers in recent times, Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Narsimha Rao have faded in to the background. Dr. Singh received credit for the 1990s reforms, but it's important to thank PM Narsimha Rao for leading these reforms with courage.
The most significant fraudulent activities and improper governance have occurred under the leadership of these two honourable gentlemen. They believed in the school's saying, but future generations will pay the price for the honesty. We should teach integrity in schools to our children, following Sadhguru's definition rather than the Oxford one. Visit http://sadhguru.org for more on Sadhguru. It's time to distinguish between Western definitions and their true meanings.
The Aam Aadmi Party's success may be because Arvind Kejriwal and his team are seen as more honest compared to Narendra Modi of the BJP or Rahul Gandhi of the Congress. What India needs is governance and that can only happen when people with integrity run the government. The Congress’s model of entitlements has run its course and the general population is skeptical given the high inflation. The BJP model is all about strong and decisive leadership. Perhaps there’s space for inclusive leadership with the integrity to take this country forward.
Abraham Lincoln, admired for his honesty, once said that a compass can guide you to True North, but it won't provide guidance for the obstacles you may face on your journey. If in pursuit of your destination, you plunge ahead, heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a swamp... What's the use of knowing True North?” (http://imdb.to/19asXRx )
Come election time, will you vote for a person with integrity?
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