Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | The Sunday Guardian | Feb 6, 2022
To eradicate corruption it requires individuals who are incorruptible and, undoubtedly, what produces such individuals is spirituality. There is a saying that violence begins from the mind. This is true also of corruption: corruption begins from mind. If we can alter people’s thinking, we can safely say that we shall have eradicated corruption by at least 50%. What best changes the heart and mind is spirituality: it enlightens the inner self. When an aeroplane takes off, it leaves behind everything and reaches a higher plane, at which point it is capable of flying towards its destination without any hurdles. Similarly, a spiritualized personality takes a man to a higher plane where he goes beyond all kinds of negative influences.
There are two aspects of spirituality: one is spirituality and the other is applied spirituality. Basically, spirituality is a non-materialistic approach to life’s issues. There are two ways of thinking: one that is based on materialistic interest and the other which is based on a non-materialistic way of thinking. One who is spiritual gives more importance to non-material values, and it is only his non-materialistic approach that can eradicate corruption, since the root cause of corruption is the materialistic approach.
Applied spirituality enables one to infuse daily life with spiritual values and those who are spiritualized are able to distance themselves from all kinds of corrupt practices. One aspect of applied spirituality is the duty-consciousness which it induces. A rights-conscious person can see only what is in his own interest, while the duty-conscious person looks to the well-being of others and, in doing so, can never stoop to corrupt practices.
How to inculcate spirituality among people? Basically, it is a part of education, both formal and informal. Education means the training of the mind, with special emphasis on inculcating high values.