It is a fact that in Asoka's India a woman could travel around safely, which shows the law and order of his rule. In the fifties, the Soviet government challenged its citizens to show four square inches of dirt in Moscow. Macauley spoke about India of his times and said he had never heard of theft or met someone who lied to him. When great values spread across the country and come to settle down as culture, the nation is proud about it. Evading customs duty was a universal passion in England of the 18th century, among the rich as well as the poor. Will a day come in future when we can be proud of saying that nowhere in India can one meet a man who had his work done by giving bribes? Or can we hope to see a day when smuggling can no longer thrive because no one will buy smuggled goods with a clear conscience? We have, by now, outgrown such ways. Surely such days will come in the future.
Centuries of existence give rise to a little history. Centuries of history yield a few drops of culture. Culture is a way of life based on values. Existence is survival. One struggles to survive. Prosperity releases man from such a struggle. Prosperity is the result of intelligent industry which comes from education. So education, intelligence and industry over the centuries move men from mere existence to a little history, a life of achievements to remember. Corrupt politicians sometimes send their children abroad. They return not only educated but with a little self-respect. They are ashamed of parental corruption. They accept as their goal never taking a bribe. It is common amongst us to be happy about influential contacts. No one scruples to move such contacts and get things done. There is no question of being ashamed of it. Often people are proud of it.
To have your M.Phil thesis written by another, to secure an admission by going around the rules, to accomplish things through money are not things people are ashamed of. A new generation highly educated, with a developed sense of self-respect should step in before such values become personal ways of life. Without this self-respect, one cannot be truthful inside. Utter Truthfulness is the channel through which the Spirit emerges. To subtle vision, such a truthfulness in a person appears to be a dot of light in him or a bright aura around him. India is great in Spirit, but only in potential. It will become an actual reality in life through the medium of TRUTH.