The Power of Integrity

“DO WHAT IS RIGHT, NOT WHAT IS EASY”

The below blog post is about ‘The Power of Integrity. It is adapted from The Eight Pillars of Prosperity by James Allen, published in 1911.

There is no cheap bargain for prosperity. It must be purchased, not only with hard labor, but with moral force. As the soap bubble cannot endure, so the fraud cannot prosper. Nothing is ever gained, ever can be gained, by fraud.

The person who courts prosperity must, in all their transactions, whether material or mental, study how to give a just return for that which they receive. This is the great fundamental principle in all sound commerce. It is scientifically stated in the formula, “Action and Reaction are equal.”

Human life is reciprocal, not rapacious, and people who regard all others as their legitimate prey will soon find themselves stranded in the desert of ruin, far away from the path of prosperity. Their efforts are destructive, and not constructive, and they thereby destroy themselves.

Without integrity, energy and efficiency will at last fail, but aided by integrity, their strength will be greatly augmented. There is no occasion in life in which the moral factor does not play an important part.

To be complete and strong, you must embrace integrity with your whole being, and extend it to all the details of your life; and it must be so thorough and permanent as to withstand all temptations to swerve into compromise. To fail in one point is to fail in all. And to allow, even a single compromise, howsoever necessary it may appear, is to throw down the shield of integrity, and to stand exposed to the onslaughts of evil.

There is a popular and old story about a man’s integrity and his prosperity. "The Woodcutter and the Axe". There was a Woodcutter in a village. He had an iron axe. He used to cut wood everyday by selling that wood in markets maintained his family.

There was river flowing by the village. On the bank of the river there was a forest. One day the Woodcutter went in the forest to cut wood. All on a sudden the woodcutter's axe fell in the river. The wood cutter broke down with worries. Because he could not cut wood without the axe and if he can not do it daily how he could maintain his family. Then his wife and children would remain unfed.

At that time the Goddess of water come up to him from the river. She had a silver axe in her hand. Goddess of water asked the woodcutter, "Have a look, is this your axe?" Having a look woodcutter said, "No, this is not my axe." The Goddess of water went away and come back again with a golden axe in her hand. She asked the woodcutter, "See this axe now, is this yours?" The woodcutter replied, "No, this is not also mine." The Water Goddess dived into water and come again up with an iron axe in her hand. She asked the woodcutter, "Now you see, is this yours?" The woodcutter replied, " Yes, this one is my axe." The Goddess of water was pleased with the woodcutter for his truthfulness. She gave these three axes to the woodcutter. After then the woodcutter was no more in want.

Through this story of the "The Woodcutter and the Goddess of water' We have come to know that honesty is a great virtue. Everyone like honest people. Even the deities love them. So, we should be honest. This is the moral learning of this story. You are not truly armored with integrity until you have become incapable of lying or deceiving, either by gesture, word, or act; until you can see the deadly effects of such actions. On becoming thus enlightened, you are protected from all quarters, and can no more be undermined by dishonest people.

The Pillar of Integrity is held together by these four powerful elements:

1. Honesty

2. Fearlessness

3. Purposefulness

4. Invincibility

Honesty is the surest way to success. One day comes when the dishonest person repents in sorrow and suffering, but honest person never has to repent. Even when the honest person fails (as they do sometimes), their failure is not that grievous as it is for the dishonest person, for they can always rejoice that they never defrauded a fellow being. They can find solace in a clear conscience.

Fearlessness accompanies honesty. The honest person has a clear eye and an unflinching gaze. They look others in the face, and their speech is direct and convincing. The liar cannot look another person in the eye. Their speech arouses mistrust because it is ambiguous and unconvincing.

Purposefulness is the direct outcome of that strength of character which integrity fosters. The person of integrity is the man and woman of direct aims and strong and intelligent purposes.

Invincibility is a glorious protector of those whose integrity is perfectly pure and irrefutable. Never to violate your integrity, even in the most insignificant cases, is to be invincible against all the assaults of defeat.

Moral force is the greatest power. If you are seeking true prosperity, you must discover this force, foster and develop it in your mind and in your deeds, and as you succeed you will take your place among the strong leaders of your community, and of the world. As it is rightly said

“INTEGRITY IS DOING THE RIGHT THING, EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING.” C.W Lewis

Future of Education

 

“Education is the foundation on which we build our Future”

What do you think about the present system of education? Do you think our present education system is delivering what it is intended to do? Is it doing justice to our dear children? Are we responsibly getting the next generation ready for our nation or for the world at large? Are we making them happy and joyful? 

Photo by Max Fischer

I am not quite happy with our present education system and I am sure that you would agree with me as well. Let us consider my school journey. I remember the time when I was studying in school. I used to take load of books and notebooks on my back as per class timetable. There were series of subject classes one after another where I was poured with tons of information on world affairs in which some part was given as homework. During periodic class tests, I used to cram that information and poured them on exam papers to get high marks. Doing this way, I was considered one of a very bright and smart students of the class. I was a 90-percentile student scorer during my school times. 

However, I am sure, in a year time, if I were to be re-examined on the same knowledge, I may not be able to get even 10% of the marks. As I further grew up, I found myself severely lacking in application knowledge. The idea of cramming my subjects in lower classes has boomeranged on me by not getting desired marks in higher education. At that time, I felt severely limited and depressed. 

Pic: karolina-grabowska-pixels

As I further grew up and entered professional life, I found myself severely lacking in skills which were required to succeed in professional life. I found myself struggling to cope with the changed requirements of professional life. As a result, I would not consider myself remarkably successful in my professional and personal life. I started with a promising future but turned out to be mediocre in my professional life. 

Now when I look back at the faintly remembered, hard earned knowledge of school days, I find scarcely any use of those things in my present life. Okay and even If I do not remember my past knowledge, but did I improve my mind power substantially? Has my mind become more sharp, more intelligent now? Maybe yes! But that increase in mind power has happened to a limited extent which I believe is not sufficient for my life. I still find myself largely incapacitated.  

What is the problem here? Where did I go wrong despite working hard and despite being a good student? Why many others who were of my age and who were not as smart as I were at the time, have turned out to be phenomenally successful while I am a mediocre and still struggling professionally.

Photo by Max Fischer from Pexels

Personally, I believe the main fault lies within our present and prevalent education system. The present education system prepares students for merely gathering knowledge. It believes in the fact that by thrusting knowledge inside young minds through textbooks, will not only be retained fruitfully for a longer time but also be helpful in making their mind sharper and more intelligent. Thus, the aim of our education system achieves a primary purpose of acquiring knowledge and then a secondary purpose, probably distant purpose, of training the mind.

In today’s world, knowledge is fast changing. What is relevant today, may not be so few decades later. Hence there is no point in feeding such large chunks of information mindlessly into the brains of our young kids. Additionally, the present-day mind training techniques with application problems and analysis issues are only single tracked which fails to explore and develop the wide avenues of a child’s mind power.

As Albert Einstein said we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them. This means our mind needs to develop in a more holistic manner without restrictions. Each mind is a powerhouse which needs to be trained, nurtured, and systematically strengthened. The mind is like a fire which if mishandled can even burn the house but if disciplined, controlled, and regulated can bake a delicious meal for health and prosperity. Each child should be given freedom to learn at her own pace and to develop in her own direction. We, as parents and teachers, need to be patient and broad minded to let our children develop in their own pace while they experiment with their environment, adapt to it, and grow stronger. We need to be strong, patient and keep absolute faith in the process of nature which nurtures and educates the mind in unique way. Additionally, we need to be more tolerant and less judgmental towards the process of our children's mind development. We would need to come out of our limited fears about our child's survivability in present world.

Photo by Noelle Otto

Sir William George Jordan, who was a strong advocate of modern education system said, mind needs to be educated in the following four faculties to 1) Imagination 2) Memory 3) Perception 4) Intuition. Proper systematic mind training is vital for each child which prepares children to use their mind power creatively for any future challenges. In an article on future of American education by 2030, where it mentions that in future, education is more likely to be personalized based on where each child’s education will be done based on her aptitude, interest, and pace. The schools will move towards online education more taking the help of new technology and away from brick-and-mortar kind of schools. Parent will have more role in the upbringing of their own child.

Imagination, Memory, Perception, Intuition

Although, it details out the education system of the future but still it fails to address the point of a child's mind power development in a holistic and non-judgmental manner so that when the child grows up, he feels capable to adapt to new environment and become more confident, more controlled, more creative, and eventually happier in their life. This way, the nation will also get an army of new generation people who are confident of solving their own generational problems in a creative manner. I will end this article with the following quote.  

“The dilemma of our times is that the future is not what it used to be”

Climate Change

“No challenge posses a greater threat to future generations than Climate Change” – Barack Obama, former President of United States.

Nigeria Oil Fire

What do you think on the issue of Climate Change? Is it a real threat? And What are we doing about it? Let me explain.

Drought in Rajasthan India.

What is Climate Change? Climate Change refers to significant change in the measures of climatic conditions lasting for an extended period. In other words, climate change includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns, among other effects that occur over several decades.

Our Earth is warming. Over the past 100 years earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.5 ⁰F. 100 years back Earth’s average temperature was 100 ⁰F whereas now it is 101.5 ⁰F. Similarly, at the current rate of climate change, 100 years after temperature may be 110 ⁰F. Small changes in average temperature can lead to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather.

Hurricane sandy in Haiti

The effects of Climate Change are clear! Rising global temperatures are accompanied by changes in weather and climate. Many places have seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, severe droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. The countries like Bangladesh, China, India, Ethiopia Cambodia have already experienced it. The planet's oceans and glaciers are warming and becoming more acidic, ice caps are melting, and sea levels are rising. As these and other changes become more pronounced in the coming decades, they will likely present challenges to our society and our environment. The countries like Maldives and Mauritius may not be there on the face of map.

Who is responsible? Humans without doubt!! Over the past century, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The commercial greed of humans has extracted more from this earth than it can sustain. Most greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy. Other reasons include, deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural practices.

Manila Bay Waste

What are Greenhouse Gases? Greenhouse gases act like a blanket around Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and keeping it warm. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect and is natural and necessary to support life on Earth. However, if uncontrolled, the buildup of greenhouse gases can change Earth's climate and result in dangerous effects to human health and welfare of the ecosystems.

Bush Fire Australia

Climate change affects everyone. Our lives are connected to the climate. Human societies have adapted to and enjoyed the relatively stable climate since the last ice age which ended several thousand years ago. A warming climate will bring changes that can affect our water supplies, agriculture, power and transportation systems, the natural environment, and even our own health and safety.

We can reduce the risks we will face from climate change. The choices we make today will affect the amount of greenhouse gases we put in the atmosphere soon.

By making choices that reduce greenhouse gas pollution, and preparing for the changes that are already underway, we can reduce risks from climate change. Our decisions today will shape the world our children and grandchildren who will live tomorrow.

School Children Gardening

We can make a difference. We can act. You can take steps at home, on the road, and in your office to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the risks associated with climate change. Many of these steps can save you money; some can improve your health and Conserve Energy and Environment! such as walking or biking to work can even improve your health! You can also get Involve in a local or state level to support energy efficiency, clean energy programs, or other climate programs.

Everyday, at home, use energy efficient lights, insulate your home properly, Reduce – Reuse – Recycle wastes, use water efficiently.

Geothermal Power Stations

Drive smart. We can drive fuel efficient cars with right tire pressure and regular maintenance. Save your bills and help the environment. These small everyday changes can protect the environment.

As Mr. Jim Yong Kim, President World Bank on Climate Change said, “We have to wake up to the fierce urgency of now”.