Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most corrupt of them all?

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the most corrupt of them all?"

There is this story from the Bible [John 8: 1-11], of a 'condemned' woman, about to be stoned as the 'rules' then required, being brought infront of Jesus. His simple response was to ask anyone from the crowd who had never sinned, to throw the first stone. Each one of the accusers slithered away.

I tried to imagine. If this incident had happened in the world we are living in today, not only would she have been stoned by the very people who had 'caught' her, each one of them; her captors would most likely also have been her past clients. One could almost mistake hypocrisy for a virtue these days!

A case in point: It has apparently become fashionable for Indians to accuse India of being very corrupt. The problem is that most of us seem to look elsewhere for an answer. Maybe its an overdose of Harry Potter movies on our cable TVs? We seem to be searching for a magic wand. And perhaps a magic mantra to go along- 'arrestus corruptus'? Perhaps its an overdose of Hollywood. We seem to be waiting for super-heroes to set this right. Well, super-heroes are fictional. Maybe a few larger than life political netas could do instead? Yeah! Hmm..maybe! Bingo! We need 'em laws to set us right! Draft 'em bills! A thousand pages at font ten, no less! Smirk! How dare I corrupt now?

Considering the length and breadth of some of the scandals that have been unearthed in the recent past, one could be forgiven for expecting a miracle. Unfortunately, that miracle needs to start from within: within each of us. That is exactly where it gets tough. Really tough. We're so mired in the muck that its almost become second nature. Pigs don't think they get dirty when they frolic in the sewer, they kinda enjoy it! Asking pigs to suddenly behave like royal felines is TOUGH. Tough is an understatement. It needs a miracle!

And miracles do happen. I believe in miracles. This one starts with a simple mirror. And me. And you. And a little bit of introspection. 

Just ask the man or the woman in the mirror. He or she has all the answers.

"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." [Mathew 7: 1-5]