A conscience that's clear

There is a lovely quote by Ogden Nash: 'There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all.' The message is pretty clear - if you wish to experience happiness, peace and harmony, sleep and eat well, and live a fulfilling life, all you need to have is a clear conscience. Or be happy with the absence of conscience. Black and White.

The trouble is, life is so full of grey areas, so, sometimes, you need to operate in a righteous way, and at other times, for sheer survival, you need to mute your conscience. Yes, of course it is unethical, but in a world where corruption prevails, it is almost impossible to sustain oneself by being always so upright and honest.

Try getting your work done at a sub-registrar's office in any Indian city. Nothing moves without exchanges under the table. From the sub-registrar down to the clerk who takes your signature on a register and the tea- boy, everyone's palm has to be greased. Yes, it is disgusting. I once asked the officer, why do you all take bribes? To which he smiled and said, 'Ma'am it starts from the top and flows down to the lowest denominator. That's how things work.'


If everything is ship-shape, they will find an illogical reason to delay the process and you realise, oh, they are waiting for ghoos. Okay, here goes, and lo and behold, your work gets done. Yeah, your conscience gets muted. And theirs? They have none.