Al Ngullie
Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 9
The root source of corruption in government, governance and the greater society sits at the core of human failings in the singular individual himself; hence if these failings are purged so would the tendency and reality of corruption in the individual and society cease to be, according to a dialogue held today in Dimapur.
Bureaucrats, Journalists and government persons, Media personalities, entrepreneurs and young professionals gathered at Hiyo Café in Dimapur Monday afternoon to dialogue on corruption and “religion,” with special reference to “Christian state” as Nagaland and “Christians” as most Nagas.
Motivational speaker Cyril Georgeson conversed and dissected the dynamics of corruption in the individual, which he implied is in turn reflected by the condition of a society and her people. Chief Training Officer of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Mumbai Georgeson traced prior and current events of corruption, manipulation, deceit and crime currently sweeping India and her societies.
The motivational speaker tied the current societal upheavals to the very human qualities of the individual, at the micro level. He said corruption is only the result of the personal human failings being exploited by exigencies and situations of need or compulsion. ‘Corruption is essentially a breakdown of the human relationship (one with another); in the absence of relationship, money becomes a bridge to overcome the “gap” (the absence of relationship),’ the motivational speaker said.
To illustrate how corruption can be done away with, in a society, starting from the individual, the life-trainer took the instance of a typical bureaucratic ritual in India: For a person to have a particular task processed, he has had to move from one desk to another, offering bribes to get the task completed. The underlying principle of the remedial relationship which Georgeson explained was this: ‘A person never gives/takes bribe from someone he loves or cares about (that is the relationship in existence); he would never have to give/take bribes if the persons were known and close to him; yet those he sees in an establishment he has no relation with, he would have to bribe/take to get the job done.’
“What is the antidote for corruption? How do you change the system?” the Christian speaks queried. To correct the failings in the individual and the society, the leader and the community, especially those of “Christians” as in Nagaland, Georgeson said, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the remedy. “If corruption is the result of the breakdown of relationship, then the antidote to build up the relationship is Jesus,” the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries teacher, said while referring to the principle that ‘one never bribes someone dear.’ ‘Nothing but the truth alone can triumph; Jesus is the only antidote. Only an individual’s personal relationship with Him can change the society, as the individual is the microscopic facet of the society, the speaker implied.
He implied that only The Christ works out the personal failings in the human individual which is then reflected in his words and action, work and attitude and conduct, views and beliefs, conviction and faith.
An interactive session followed the discourse where those gathered exchanged views on the corruption sweeping the Nagas, their churches and society. Aside from that of political leaders, corruption in the Christian church in Nagaland, their obsession with finance, “donations” and “big church buildings,” was the focus of the interactions.
The human side of the clergy in Nagaland was illustrated by a police officer who narrated to the gathering a tale of a person he arrested for stealing a Mahindra Bolero – the accused turned out to be a pastor of a local church.
