How Corruption Works

Corruption in every facet of society: Corruption pervades universally in various spheres, such as governments, organizations, relationships, religion, science, academia, food industry, education, sports, military, police departments, families, and healthcare. The media, businesses, environments, judicial systems, computer systems, and even minds can also be corrupted. Corruption is not isolated to a particular sector, as it can be found in different industries including Hollywood and video games.
Underlying and indirect causes of corruption: Despite thousands of years of evolution and advancement, society hasn't eliminated corruption because of multiple factors. The most common causes of corruption include dishonest and fraudulent conduct, the abuse of entrusted power for personal gain, and a departure from originality or the correct path. Corruption can also occur when an expression or usage deviates from its initial or acknowledged meaning, leading to a perceived deformed or degraded form.
Relative and subjective understanding of corruption: Opinions about corruption are often subjective and relative. What might seem corrupt from one perspective may not be considered corrupt from another. The interpretation also depends on the evolution and change of meanings over time. This relativistic concept emphasizes the mutable nature of corruption and its definitions.
Motivations behind corruption: Fundamental motivations for corruption are selfishness, ego, and survival. Often, people resort to corruption to fulfil their personal desires or to ensure their survival. As these factors are commonly credited as motivating factors, they contribute to the widespread persistence of corruption.
Corruption is often more noticeable in others: It is a common human nature to quickly point out others' mistakes or wrongdoings, including corruption. However, recognizing corruption within oneself is often a lot harder. Identifying personal faults and corrupt actions and taking responsibility for them are crucial steps towards addressing and eliminating corruption.
Corruption in individuals and communities: Leo Gura highlights that corruption is not only found in external entities but within individuals as well. These corrupt individuals tend to be ordinary people who find ways to survive at any cost and defend their survival through means that may appear corrupt to others. He stresses the importance of acknowledging and taking responsibility for one's own corruption before blaming others.
Power and temptation: It is elaborated that power and success can greatly magnify the temptation to indulge in corrupt actions. Especially, when individuals climb the social hierarchy and attain fame, power, and success, the amplified temptations could lead to corruption.
Personal reflection on corruption: One of the significant insights mentioned is the difficulty of recognizing corruption within oneself, although it's easy to identify corrupt actions in others. Leo points out that the first step in overcoming corruption is to admit one's own corrupt tendencies.
Corruption and survival: Gura characterizes corruption as synonymous with 'devilry,' which embodies selfishness and ego - all mechanisms of survival. The desire for survival may lead individuals to act corruptly, disregarding ethics and societal norms.
Corruption perception relativity: He also explains that perceptions of corruption are relative and depend on individual identity. What may seem corrupt from one perspective may not be considered corruption from another due to differing survival and identity needs.
Blaming others for corruption: Leo Gura calls out politicians who project corruption onto others as a distraction a way to divert attention from their own corrupt actions and the corruption within their countries. Instead, he advocates self-reflection on individual and collective contributions to corruption before pointing fingers.
Addressing corruption: To effectively address corruption, individuals must change and act with integrity. This includes recognizing and letting go of one's own corruption, which is often a difficult and unpopular proposition. Gura points out that most people prefer to focus on fighting external corruption rather than confronting and changing their own corrupt tendencies.
Corrupt people are not evil: Gura posits that corrupt people are not inherently evil, but are ordinary individuals placed in situations of power and temptation. He emphasizes that these individuals are not exceptions but are typified by their ability to find manipulative and parasitic survival strategies which often lead to corrupt actions. He maintains that the charge of evil is generally an oversimplification and harmful stereotype.
Underestimating the Corruption Lure: The alluring and gradual corruption that comes with increasing success, fame, and power can lead to complacency, entitlement, and delusions of grandeur. The risk of sexual exploitation, bullying, and other abuses of power can multiply.
Power Magnifying Corruption: The character defects or issues present in an individual can get drastically magnified with increased power and success. Opportunities for manipulation, exploitation, and lawlessness also become more accessible.
Self-Deceptive Nature of Corruption: Individuals often justify their corrupt actions in their minds, thinking of themselves as exempt from being bad or corrupt. Ego-driven survival mechanisms distort the perception of reality, aiding corruption.
Corruption Being Unrecognized: Ego-fueled perceptions of corruption view it as something others do, making it challenging for individuals to recognize and admit their own corruption. This inability to spot one's own corruption stems from a lack of self-awareness and unconscious self-deception.
How Success Can Lead to Corruption: The snowballing effect of success can easily lead to corruption, as individuals may disregard spiritual practices in favor of pursuing further materialistic gains, thinking they can get everything they want with money.
Self-Bias and the Claw of Corruption: Individuals struggle to see outside their own worldviews, evaluate their beliefs objectively, and acknowledge their self-bias, all of which contribute to corruption. Recognizing self-bias and maintaining vigilance against self-deception are integral efforts in combating corruption.
Understanding One's Own Corruption: Personal corruption often goes unrecognized as it stings to acknowledge one's own faults and failings. People often wish to perceive themselves as good and noble, hence when faced with their own questionable actions, they feel attacked, unloved, and underappreciated.
Becoming an 'Angel': To become what is metaphorically referred to as 'an angel', individuals must go through a difficult self-transformation process. This often entails feeling alone, frustrated, and even losing grip on reality. This purification process involves rooting out the 'devilry', or corrupt tendencies, through the 'light of consciousness'.
Low Level of Consciousness and Corruption: A key point in understanding corruption is by examining one's level of consciousness. An individual at a low level of consciousness is more prone to corruption as they are less equipped to spot their own self-deceptions, biases, and manipulations. Confession of self-deception requires a high level of consciousness and cognitive development, attributes lacking in a significant percentage of the global population.
Cultural Influence on Corruption: Corruption is deeply embedded in our culture, extending to multiple grounds including entertainment, government, religion, business, media, and education. It gets institutionalized within these systems in the form of ideas, norms, and ideologies. These ideologies are then adopted by most people without question due to conformist thinking.
Understanding Conformity: Majority of the worlds population learns and accepts prevailing paradigms through conformity rather than questioning and discovering the truths for themselves. This leads to a corrupt learning process where individuals simply repeat and reinforce what they have been taught without critical examination. The issue is not related to the truth or falsity of these teachings, but rather to their uncritical reception.
Quelling Corruption: To combat corruption requires independent thinking, questioning existing norms and beliefs, and not taking anything for granted. Conforming to beliefs purely because they are widely accepted can lead to the perpetuation of corruption.
Corruption within cultures and institutions: Within the culture or institution an individual belongs to, corruption can often be overlooked due to loyalty and identity attachment. When truth conflicts with one's cultural views, denial and blame are common responses. This denial includes dismissing those pointing out the corrupt practices as misleading or being in the wrong.
Corruption and its denial in science: Modern science, though heavily respected, is not immune from corruption. Scientists and academics might deny corruption in their field due to their dedication and commitment to it. Any questioning or scrutiny of their practices is usually met with backlash. Critiques are often dismissed as being anti-science, a projection used to maintain the status quo.
Accusation and demonization of whistleblowers: Individuals who bring attention to corruption in any domain often face demonization. In history and politics, such people are sometimes regarded as traitors and face severe retaliatory measures. This same phenomenon is observed in religious institutions, where reformers pointing out corrupt practices are labeled as heretics and often face punishment.
Difficulty admitting institutional corruption: It is challenging for individuals deeply invested in an institution to admit the institution's corruption. This is seen in the Catholic Church's handling of the pedophilia issue, where the higher-ups show resistance to addressing the issue openly due to the potential blow to the Church's image and credibility.
Struggle between loyalty and truth: The individual struggle to balance loyalty to one's culture and the pursuit of truth can manifest as an inability to acknowledge and deal with the corruption within. The denial then becomes a defense mechanism preserving the corrupt system. This dynamic applies to various fields, from academia and science to religion and politics.
Impact of institutional corruption on individuals: Individuals who grow up within a corrupt institution, convinced of its divine and moral authority, struggle to accept that the institution they revered might have been used for wrongdoings — that it may have been a tool for corrupt practices. This cognitive dissonance can block progress and keep corruption intact.
Corruption within Religious and Corporate Cultures: Corruption can manifest within religious and corporate cultures, often as a result of individuals becoming overly identified with these institutions. This attachment can inhibit individuals from seeing inherent corruptions and defending the actions of the institutions, despite harmful or deceitful practices.
Defense against Corruption Leading to Corruption: Attempting to defend against corruption can ironically result in further corruption. This occurs in instances such as strict adherence to religious doctrines, where individuals conform to practices without questioning their origins or efficacy, thus perpetuating a cycle of blind obedience and potential corruption.
Claims about Corruption Heralded as Devilry: Individuals pointing out acts of corruption in others are often depicted as causing harm or trouble, rather than being recognized for their attempts to reform the system. This is largely a result of the corrupt individuals' self-deception and bias, leading them to project their corruption onto their accusers.
ExxonMobil Corporate Culture: A case in point is the ExxonMobil corporate culture, where the impact of the company's actions on the environment is played down or ignored. This is a form of self-deception that allows company employees to convince themselves that their actions are not contributing to environmental harm.
Impact of Conformist Mindset: A conformist mindset can perpetuate corruption. People who follow practices, doctrines, or rituals blindly without questioning their origin or legitimacy can become vessels for corruption. This can occur in religious contexts as well as in teachings that are passed on without critical examination, leading to the potential distortion of the original messages.
Effects of Power and Corruption: In powerful positions, corrupt behavior can be ignored or even celebrated, leading to rampant exploitation. The difficulty comes in admitting and recognizing the role one plays in perpetuating such corruption.
Transparency and Ego Dissolution: Transparency in all actions can help eliminate corruption as corruption typically thrives in secrecy.
Impact of Uncovering Corruptions: Recognizing and acknowledging personal corruptions can be threatening, but it's a necessary step towards personal growth and corruption eradication.
Need for Evolution and Growth to Overcome Corruption: To overcome corruption, long-term evolution and growth are required, and includes awareness of one's actions, and efforts towards change. This might involve activities like self-inquiry, shadow work, love, and consciousness-raising. High levels of awareness are often threatening to those who are corrupt, as the practice calls out distortions in behaviours and attitudes.
Deceptive Nature of Corruption: Corruption can be deceptive in nature. For example, defend against corruption can unintentionally create further corruption. This manifests in processes intended to preserve the integrity of teachings and practices but end up contributing to further rigidity and potential corruption.
Corruption's ties to dependence on external authority figures: Leo Gura explains that reliance on external authority figures can lead to corruption as it prevents independent thinking and adherence to one's own consciousness. This idea applies across religious beliefs and scientific pursuits, both of which can be corrupted through rigorous adherence to established norms, preventing the exploration and acceptance of broader perspectives.
Corruption as a lack of consciousness: Gura emphasizes that corruption is a product of lack of consciousness. The prevention of corruption necessitates not following any simple formula, but independent thinking for oneself. Efforts to prevent corruption often end up creating it, as narrow logic or beliefs can distort reality and limit understanding.
The role of the devil in corruption: Gura refers to "the devil" as a deceptive force that exploits universal intelligence for personal gain, leading to corruption. This force targets influential institutions such as religions, universities, and governments because they can disseminate corruption across society. Despite their perceived credibility, these institutions can easily be targeted and corrupted to influence the masses.
Infiltrated institutions and the spread of corruption: Gura gives examples of highly credible institutions that have been corrupted. When influential figures within these institutions are corrupted, society is inadvertently led towards deception and selfishness due to trickle-down effects. Such corruption could ultimately affect millions.
Internal resistance to corruption: Rather than battling corruption externally, Gura argues that individuals should fight corruption internally. This focus allows for self-examination and positive change, which he considers more effective than external confrontation. He cites the instance of Islam, suggesting that the religion initially focused on the inner journey to overcome corruption but later got distorted into external conflicts i.e., the lesser jihad.
On integrity and corruption: Gura warns against confusing actual integrity with integrity put up as a show or an ideology. From his perspective, true integrity is dictated by one's level of consciousness and moral development, not by the proclaimed ideals.
Understanding Corruption as a Reflection of Limited Consciousness: Leo Gura details how corruption, particularly in religious and political contexts, is heavily tied to limited self-awareness and consciousness development, where corruption serves personal agendas and survival needs. He notes that lower stages of conscious awareness (a concept defined in "Spiral Dynamics") tend to harbor more corruption, due to more constricted or limited senses of self.
Tearing Down False Images of Purity: He further explains how entities (e.g., religious institutions) often project images of purity as a defense mechanism against confronting their own corruption. These false images mask the inherent ideology and conformity, which are primary vectors for immoral behavior.
Correlation Between Corruption and Development: Leo Gura discusses how third-world or underdeveloped countries struggle with higher levels of corruption due to survival struggles and limited resources. He emphasizes that corruption remains a serious obstacle to their growth and development, slowing the process of expanding love and consciousness.
Case of Evangelicals and Perception of Corruption: According to Gura, modern evangelicals serve as an example of this kind of corruption, where they express concern for the poor in theory, but in practice support political ideologies that disregard the welfare of the poor. He argues that this behavior demonstrates that corruption is not always tied to lower socio-economic conditions, but can be deeply intertwined with distorted worldviews, ideologies, and self-interest.
Role of Consciousness in Resolving Corruption: Transitioning to tier 2 consciousness (a state of being needs according to Maslow), which is less self-involved and more detached from personal agendas, is considered a crucial step in eradicating corruption. By seeing their own worldview objectively, individuals at this stage can recognize and overcome their own corruptions.
Corruption Index as an Indicator of a Nation's Development and Consciousness: Gura introduces a "corruption index" representing countries' levels of corruption, arguing that it mirrors the collective consciousness of the respective society. Countries below 50 are deemed more problematic, with prevailing selfishness and violence, while those above 50 (mainly in Europe) are considered better.
Challenges in Third-world Countries: In third-world countries, corruption is driven by dog-eat-dog survival, and starting a business requires paying often hefty bribes due to corruption. It makes capacity building and self-actualization especially challenging.
Corruption in Third World Countries: This part of the transcript delves into the rampant corruption in third world countries, particularly Liberia, which makes them into a chaotic and desperate state of existence. The people's desperation for survival makes it impossible for them to focus on self-development and progress.
Challenges of Imparting Consciousness: Imparting consciousness and self-actualization to individuals in desperate conditions is almost impossible. Even good leaders are quickly eliminated due to the prevalent corruption. Selfishness, in such conditions, appears to have the upper hand, but eventually, selflessness, which is immortal, prevails.
Power of Selflessness: Leo emphasizes the power of selflessness, stating that it yields true power and leadership. This level of leadership is very rare and cannot be faked. It only arises from pure selflessness.
Importance of Understanding Corruption: Regardless of one's role in society, understanding corruption is crucial, especially for leaders, as they have to navigate through various community dynamics. Whether on a global scale or within smaller communities, leaders must learn to effectively police without being overbearing.
Corruption and Leadership: High-consciousness leaders face tremendous resistance from the populace, who are typically unable to appreciate the progressive ideas these leaders try to disseminate. If the disparity between the consciousness of the leader and masses becomes too vast, the leader may face backlash and even removal.
Catch-22 Situation: Developing a society with high consciousness is a catch-22 situation, as high consciousness leaders are needed to foster high consciousness in citizens, and vice versa. With lower consciousness citizens electing similar leaders, breaking this cycle becomes challenging.
Ultimate Limit of Community Evolution: The evolution of a community is limited by the conformist majority's capacity to accept visionary ideas. Leaders with higher consciousness and love are often rejected or removed by society due to the radical shift that their ideas represent. This makes the process of societal evolution slow and arduous.
Corruption in Schools and Society: Schools evolve slowly, paralleling societal evolution, often burdened by internal resistance or "molasses". They are led by elected individuals who mirror the majority of ordinary, conformist citizens. Should a highly conscious, enlightened leader gain power and push for major changes, they are often throw out by those who find their criticisms unpalatable - a form of societal projection.
The Issue of Corruption in American Politics: Using Donald Trump as an example, it is suggested that he is a significant example of corruption in US politics - a claim anticipated before his presidency and supported by various allegations during and post his term. Supporters' initial claim of his intention to "drain the swamp" is viewed as ironic given the alleged corruption throughout his presidency.
Projection and Bias in Politics: Accusations of corruption are often projections of those making the accusations - powerful supporters would not work under a corrupt leader if they were not likewise tainted. This aligns with observations of Trump's administration, where frequent scandals and financial misdeeds reinforce perceptions of corruption.
Corruption Levels within Different Political Parties: The claim is made that corruption is not a partisan point, however, it is argued that one political party may be more corrupt than another. It is suggested in the U.S. context, that Republicans are more corrupt than Democrats, largely based on the level of consciousness and selfishness demonstrated.
The Long-standing Practice of Opposition to Corruption: Spiritual teachers and leaders, from the beginning of time, have faced criticism, and even execution, for pointing out societal corruption. Current corruption must be evaluated objectively, considering consciousness and perspective, rather than brushed aside due to political alignment.
The Consequences of Corruptions in Wider Society: High levels of self-deception among various segments in society, including science, religion, economics, media, and business, exacerbate corruption. Speaking out against such levels of self-deception and deception is what consciousness requires.
Effects of Corruption on Historically and Culturally Important Figures: Corruption can have lasting effects, even leading to the erasure of figures from history due to their controversial changes. This reflects a societal resistance to drastic change and awakening, often leading to the protection of corruption instead of its eradication.
Corruption and History: Corruption can shape history, leading to biases in recorded events. Sides of history are chosen based on one's stand regarding corruption - either in support of those rooting it out or those pushing a false equivalence narrative to conceal it.
Higher stages of the spiral dynamics are less corrupt: In the context of American politics, liberals tend to be higher on the spiral than conservatives, hence are objectively less corrupt. This assessment is based on generalities and individual exceptions may exist.
Why government corruption is common: Government corruption is often due to the enormous amounts of money involved, with the potential for more via printing. It is manipulated mostly by the powerful and wealthy, rather than by welfare receivers or immigrants. Large corporations extract billions by lobbying, deregulating, cutting government size, reducing oversight, laxing laws, and more.
Size and quality of government: Bigger government is crucial to maintain order and alignment for the greater good. A small government can be overrun by corporations if they grow too large. However, size is not the only important factor, a better and cleaner government is essentially needed.
US Government corruption: Currently, the US government is corrupt, mainly due to the influence of money in politics and legalized bribery. A constitutional amendment is required to end money in politics and to establish publicly funded elections.
Wolf Pack organization: Wolf Pack strives to remove money from politics by seeking a constitutional amendment. It is a non-partisan organization focused on promoting democracy. Donations for this cause are encouraged.
Practical corruption reduction: Theory must connect to practice to achieve corruption reduction. Political contributions, grassroots activism, local government involvement are suggested practical methods. Personal action include recognition and management of personal corruptions which may manifest as small abberations like lying, cheating, greed, envy etc.
Higher consciousness and love: Elevating societal consciousness and love helps thwart corruption as it promotes empathy, understanding, acceptance and good governance.
Understanding and correcting personal corruption: To combat corruption, we must begin by recognizing and acknowledging our own corrupt tendencies. This includes smaller instances such as manipulating others for personal gain, inflating qualifications on a resume, infringement on copyrighted materials, or giving special preference based on personal relationships. These small actions give way to larger forms of corruption when an individual gains more power, money, or influence. This recognition of personal corruption is a crucial step in personal growth and change.
Tools to combat personal corruption: Utilizing various techniques can aid in combating personal corruption. Tools such as plugging holes in Maslows hierarchy of needs, employing the letting go technique, practicing self-inquiry and shadow work, or Kriya yoga meditation can assist in decreasing corrupt tendencies. Clearing out lower chakras, journaling and introspection, completing shadow work, and adopting more loving behaviors are also helpful techniques.
The role of transparency and collective action: Personal actions and improvements are important, but collective actions, such as advocating for reform in systems rife with corruption, are necessary too. Transparency can play a vital role in rooting out corruption, as corruption often operates most efficiently in the shadows. The concept of living with 100% transparency, allowing all thoughts, intentions, and actions to be known by all, is discussed. Increased transparency could potentially reduce corruption by eliminating secrecy. As such, striving towards honesty and openness in all aspects of life can help in battling corruption.
Corruptions connection to consciousness, truth, love, and spirit: Ultimately, increasing consciousness, embracing truth, practicing love, and aligning with spirit are identified as the most critical steps in eliminating corruption. From an evolutionary perspective, increasing these aspects equates to decreasing susceptibility to corruption. It's pivotal to remain self-aware and strive for transparency as this aids in overcoming corruption on a personal level, and contributes to the larger societal fight against corruption.
Corruption in practice: Observing corruption at a micro level and acknowledging personal corruptions are vital steps towards reducing corrupt behaviors. Corruption manifests in various forms, including laziness, falsification, greed, and deceit. Recognizing these behaviors, contemplating their consequences, and taking corrective actions are essential practices for personal moral development. An emphasis is placed on the crucial role of leaders to stifle their own corruption to prevent its spread and influence.
The interconnectedness of individual and collective corruption: Transparency and collective action are significant factors in curbing corruption. Individual actions are not enoughcollective measures also need to be undertaken for significant progress. This can be observed in the example of publicly-funded elections in the US. Finally, corruption is most efficiently combated with heightened consciousness, truth, love, and spirituality. The dissolution of the ego and an increase in transparency are emphasized as central solutions to corruption.
Corruption and Self-Judgment: Everyone struggles with corruption to some extent, which makes it a significant and universally human challenge. There is a tendency to harshly judge those who are caught in corruption, causing public vilification and shaming. However, it is possible that trusting in the human capacity for transformation might be a more effective approach.
Corruption is rooted in Unconsciousness: Corruption is perpetuated by unconsciousness and a lack of adequate education about ethical behavior. Those trapped in corruption are often afraid - of death, of spiritual work, of love - and are acting out of survival instinct.
Importance of Self-Love and Acceptance: If you judge yourself too severely for your corruptions, you may deny them, causing further corruption. Hatred does not resolve corruption; instead, it multiplies it since hatred is a low-consciousness response. To eradicate corruption within oneself and others, it helps to practice love.
Love and Self Acceptance: It is acceptable to admit and love oneself even in the face of one's corrupt tendencies. Embracing these aspects of ourselves can help us overcome them. Loving the corruption to death and practicing acceptance can instigate profound personal change.
Corruption Worksheet: Filling out the corruption worksheet linked in the video description can help increase awareness of one's own corruption.
Encouragement to Donate: Leo encourages viewers to donate (if they can) to Wolfpack, a non-profit organization working to end money in politics and establish publicly funded elections in the United States.
Focus on Big-Picture Understanding: Leo's content focuses on big-picture understanding, aiming to help viewers eventually achieve 'infinite understanding'. His teachings are abstract and span Maslow's hierarchy of needs but mostly focus on 'being' needs above 'survival' needs.
Implication to Supplement with Basic Learning: Leo suggests that viewers supplement his teachings with other sources that teach basic life skills. He admits his content may not cover essential survival skills and emphasizes the need for both perspectives in personal development.
Warning Against Rushing Through Content: Leo advises against rushing through his content with the expectation of swift transformations. Instead, he suggests that viewers should consider his teachings on a long time horizon, with transformative results coming from the cumulative effect of understanding built over years.
Reach a Critical Mass of Understanding: Leo's intent with his teachings is for viewers to reach a critical mass of understanding- to the point where they feel they understand all of life, from the natural world to human behavior. Further, he believes that achieving this level of understanding is the 'magic key' that can unlock the full potential of life.