By : P.M. Arora

Why is it that we usually compromise with our conscience from time to time? We develop a sort of habit of compromising in all aspects of life. Probably, this habit is developed unknowingly since the childhood; and the habit developed rather innocently in the childhood, becomes a tool for camouflaging our shortcomings when we attain majority.

If we just recollect the past we shall observe that as a child we used to cry to be fondled. If we wanted some toy or sweets we pretended to cry in front of the mother. If we reached the school late, may be because we got up late in the morning, we gave a lame excuse to the teacher. If we had not done our homework, again we simply gave an excuse to the teacher to escape punishment. If in the school we had skipped from the classes, we reached home ‘wearing’ innocence on our face to avoid an explanation to the parents. If the result in the class was not good, we told our parents that the question paper was out of the syllabus. All these excuses and tricks we did under the guise of innocence, but gradually these small tricks made us experts in covering our misdeeds.

When we take up a job we indulge in all sorts of manipulation, misrepresentation and make false claims, may be, to please the employer and to retain the job. Similarly, when we start our business or profession, we do not hesitate to win over the confidence of the customers, suppliers, clients or any other related departments to extract the maximum benefit for ourselves.

Even while driving on the road, just for fun’s sake, we jump the red light, overtake from the wrong side and do not observe the traffic regulations, drive without license, over speed, at times and on top of all, if stopped by the police-man, we persuade him to compromise on the basis of the ‘expertise’ developed since childhood .

If we are unable to fulfil a commitment made to our parents, brothers, sisters, children, relations, friends, officers, departments or as a matter of fact, in any sphere of life, we try our best to compromise with our conscience and put the blame on others. Perhaps the cause for the compromises always is our selfishness.

You might have noticed that each time we so compromise, our conscience always sends us signals not to do the way we are going to do, but we ignore the same. The tragedy is that after doing all this, since we have done it knowingly, we simply go to temples, congregations and other religious places, pretending to be praying, again as a ritual. So all this leads us nowhere by to utter confusion in life.

The art of compromise, which is the cause of our mental deterioration, can be made use of as a cure for our degradation and a source of our enlightenment if used honestly. If at all we have to ‘compromise’, let us make a compromise with the Almighty God that whatever has been done by us till to-day, knowingly or unknowingly, against our conscience was a folly and we sincerely feel sorry for the same and hence onward we shall strive to tread on the path of Truth and Truth only .

In short, the knowledge attained through religion should be used as a detergent to wash and prevent the misdeeds rather than as a perfume to suppress their foul odours.