Integrity can be defined as adherence to moral and ethical principles. It is honesty and truthfulness in our personal conduct and character. It is the soundness of the moral character. When we live in integrity, we are firm in our following of a code of moral values. Our beliefs in the ethics that we follow are so ingrained, that they are incorruptible. We exist in a state of completeness. Integrity is a way of life. We maintain our integrity even when no one else is looking at us. It is about who we are inside and how our ethics and values manifest in our thought, word and deed. We maintain integrity when we are true to our word and deed and our word is consistent with our deed.
Integrity is a highly valued quality. It shows how much courage we have in taking hard decisions which protect our truth and honesty. Integrity gives us opportunity to act in the right manner. We cannot say we have integrity unless we live in that manner. Integrity is a way of life. It reveals the divinity within us and makes us truly noble and honorable. Life tests us daily and every day we are given opportunity to prove that we are persons of integrity. Integrity is being true to ourselves and to all despite the fear of ridicule or failure. Let us see the story of Vetrivel and the rewards for his integrity:
A King who was ruled over one of the states of South India was growing old. He knew that he had to decide his successor soon and train him to take over the kingdom. Although he had sons, relatives, friends and advisers he decided to select his successor in a unique manner. All the young people in the kingdom were invited to his palace the following week on a particular day. He greeted all of them and handed them a seed. He said: Please take this seed and plant it in your home. Water it and take good care of it. Exactly one year from today, bring back the plant you have grown. I will examine all the plants and chose the next King of the land.
A young man called Vetrivel was also present in the King’s court. He also received the seed and took it home. He was very excited and told his mother the whole story. Together, the mother and son, planted the seed carefully in a pot and he watered it daily. Every day as he watered it, he checked if it had sprouted and started growing. After a few weeks, all the other young men reported to each other about the progress of their plants. Poor Vetrivel! His plant did not sprout at all despite all the care and daily watering.
One, month, two months, six months passed. Still Vetrivel’s plant did not grow. Others reported the flowering of their plants. Vetrivel had nothing to report. He felt like a failure. There was nothing in his pot. Perhaps he had unknowingly killed his seed. He had stopped talking about his plant to others. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
A whole year had passed by. On the appointed day, all the youths gather at the King’s court with their pots. Vetrivel was sad and but decided to go and show the King his empty pot. He did not wish to tell lies to his King. When he arrived at the palace, the other youths stood proudly with their pots of plants. There were beautiful healthy plants of all shapes and sizes. Vetrivel stood there silently with his empty pot. A few felt sorry for him. Most of the youths jeered and laughed at him.
The King arrived and walked around the hall and looked at the plants and greeted the young people. He announced: Today one of you will be appointed the next King. Vetrivel tried to hide in the back. All of a sudden, the King saw him at the back of the room with an empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring the young man and his pot to him. Vetrivel was terrified. He thought he would be punished for not take caring of seed given by the King.
A trembling Vetrivel stood in front of the King. The King asked him his name and he replied. Everyone jeered at the young man thinking he would be punished severely by the King. The King clapped and all became quiet. The King pulled Vetrivel to the front and said: We have a new King. He is Vetrivel. Vetrivel couldn't believe his ears. He could not even grow the seed. How could he be the new King? The King spoke further: Last year, on this day, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you all to take it, plant it, water it and bring it back to me today. But I had given you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you except Vetrivel have brought me trees and plants. When you found out that the seed would not sprout, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Only Vetrivel had the courage and integrity to bring me a pot with the seed I had given. So he is your new King!
Integrity gives our life meaning. Practicing integrity gives us opportunity to prove what we are willing to sacrifice to protect our values. It is not easy to maintain integrity. It is truly a noble quality. Let us work on being honest and truthful and maintain our integrity. Let us do our SitaRam mantra, meditation and follow the teachings of the Guru. The truth and honesty that we hold dear become the light in our path to God.
