Dishonesty, the Best Policy?

By Dr. Jyoti Patil

Honesty is losing its lustre in this breakneck competitive world today where the morals of the past are rapidly being replaced by new and baffling Moral Codes. If Honesty is the Best Policy, why was Hansi Cronie met with humiliating end in life?  And what is happening to other big wig cricketers who saved their skins by projecting lies and claiming themselves clean? What happened to G R Khairnar and Arun Bhatia who raised their voices against the land mafia and took stringent action against the powerful builders and politicians’ nexus in Mumbai and Pune? Kiran Bedi, the super cop is paying the price for being honest and sincere and had to take voluntary retirement only because of her “WORST” policy.  

Therefore, I want a suitable change in the saying “Honesty is the Best Policy”. I want to make it “Dishonesty is the Best Policy” or for that matter “Honesty is the Worst Policy.” I know many may object to it but hold, let me explain my point of view. The advocates of truth and honesty might say that without these two attributes life can not sustain as in any relationship or dealing, they play a very important role. Without honesty even a robber or a cheater can not go along. I know a gentleman who fought all his life against corruption of his boss in the education department and as a reward for his honest work he was demoted, suspended, harassed and ultimately terminated from service with many police complaints against him. Perhaps this may remind us a young engineer in Bihar who had to sacrifice his life for exposing corruption in road and bridge construction work. 

As life is always considered as an unsolved mystery, we can see many examples where a person has to suffer because of his honesty. Be honest at least for a day and see what problems crop up for you. If a clerk while seeking leave from his office informs his boss since he does not feel like seeing his face or he is not in mood to see any office papers and feels like enjoying a movie, he wants casual leave for a day. What will happen to him the next day can be well imagined. For getting a good job, a good match in life, easy entry into a temple for darshan or to get some work done easily; it has become essential to use falsity and lies. If you insist to be honest, be ready to pay a heavy price. 

To make life smoother and comfortable dishonesty plays a very important role. To get any work done in today’s complicated world it becomes easier when you grease the palms of concerned persons. Just as it is said ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ now I can say ‘A bribe for a work makes your life smooth and easy and keeps all tensions away’. It is today’s success mantra which has a greater power, prospects and potential to provide you with the best in life. The bigger your dishonesty is, the greater your status will be. Look around and you will find many fine examples of such species as they are in good numbers today. They are big, powerful and successful. If you find a person talented and unsuccessful in life, be sure that he might be having one tragic flaw i.e. honesty in his nature.

Today we don’t believe in honesty easily but we believe in dishonesty very easily. For dishonesty you need not take any oath but for truth and honesty you have to take an oath in an attempt to prove that what you are saying is correct. Keep it in mind, honesty is a disease today and dishonesty a treatment for many a disease. So my dear friends, it is up to you whether you want to keep yourself happy and tension free in life or to follow what Raja Harishchandra had done to make his life a great suffering. 

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(Article published in HITVADA Middle Space on dt. 21 Sep. 2008)