Integrity is the moral uprightness we observe in the conduct of our lives. It is the conviction that we are beyond aspersion on our moral selves. This arises from the value system we have built around ourselves over time, our safety net or Lakshman Rekha. Values are a set of beliefs, principles, the received wisdom through generations. The universal values of Truth, Justice, Honesty, Fairness etc are non-negotiable and cannot be compromised. With the adoption of these values in our personal lives we will achieve a sense of personal integrity that would make us stand up for and if necessary to fight and sacrifice for what we firmly believe in. There are also other values personal to oneself like punctuality, diligence courtesy etc. “Values are ultimate and they admit of no reduction below themselves.” It is the synthesis of these values that results in a moral sense, a morality that guides ethics. Ethics rests on a bedrock of values that shapes the attitudes of individuals and organisations.
We are but human and sometimes we forego our sense of ethics and when the realisation dawns on us we are subject to self-introspection. We may stand condemned by the world but it is our self-condemnation, the questioning of our self-worth, that is the most painful. When we have acted against our moral self the question we need to ask ourselves is not “What have I done? But How could I have done?”
Our moral worth arising out of our values is carried over to our professional lives and it is only a person with integrity who can make an honest, upright doctor, engineer or a corporate individual. To think out of the box, to walk the extra mile, and to go beyond the dotted line where it is warranted should be the norm. Above all, we must carry with us the basic human value, a sense of humanity and empathy that reaches out to others.
Integrity is a way of life. Ideas may change, ideologies may undergo transformation but values are permanent. Values are a definition of the self.