Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya
Even if we accept for a while that honesty fetches less revenues compared to dishonesty, the fact remains that honesty is the best policy from an economic angle and also due to its long term implications. Only the hard earned money can lead to prosperity, the illicit wealth vanishes like a bubble and leaves behind sorrows, blames and regrets. Dishonesty may help earning more money, but can not give you status or natural benevolence. Wealth of virtues is more valuable than money. If money was everything, then why great men devoted their entire lives behind achieving wealth of virtues and kindness? Why they propagated ideals of renunciation and sacrifice? Why they gave up everything else just to preserve their honesty? It is very clear that the internal satisfaction, the love, regards and respect they earned from public by walking on the path of truth and honesty was far more precious and permanent than money. Any amount of monetary gains can be sacrificed for such virtues. Accepting dishonesty as a means of growth can neither help an individual to make progress, nor the society as a whole. So it is in the interest of all to diffuse, as early as possible, the myth that honesty results into loss and dishonesty into profit.
