Parroting a common message

Can advice from the likes of Deepak Chopra; the Sris’, Babas, Gurus and Robin Sharma be expanded to include nations? 

Sure the tips are for individuals, but if sufficient numbers cotton to it, a critical mass may cause a countrywide chain reaction. 

The spread of religions and the success of modern-day leaders from Lenin, Hitler and Mao to Trump and Modi, are apogees of this process. One should heed Margaret Meade’s observation “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world” and take heart from the Goebbelsian “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”. Some will say that the definition of ‘thoughtful’ will need to be diluted for the interesting times we live in. Be that as it may, a core constituency parroting a common message that touches a nerve will attract a following and in time the message will ripple through the country and bring with it change. 

One could argue that the Swachh Bharat campaign, which uses similar forms of communication, has not met with much success. This is true, and there are obvious reasons for it. The campaign fails because it sweeps the oppression of the caste system under the carpet, and attempts to change actions, not centuries-old mindsets.

For a few years now, many religious leaders in the US, India and other countries have been dishing out advice on national matters. Given their chosen vocation of being godmen knowledgeable on matters of the human soul and happiness, their suggestions on such national issues are undercooked. However, the chances of success of their guidance for individuals being extrapolated to a nation and therefore influencing the country, are greater.  The reason is simple, the message and the audience remain unchanged. What has changed is the ask — from the self to the nation. More importantly, one is looking at a young country and the advice is to tackle fairly recent behaviours which have become habits with far-reaching calamitous consequences. 

What would be the outline of this advice?

Serving ministers have had audiences in rapturous nationalistic pride by claiming dibs on inventing cloning and the like. People and nations make fools of themselves by embellishing the past to suit immediate blinkered purposes. 

Significantly, venting on minorities, changing history curriculum, renaming various places and force feeding nationalism will not change the truth of the past.  

Appreciate the difference between faulting someone’s ideology, actions and claiming you could have done better.  Do not undermine the efforts of your predecessors just to burnish your image, nor misuse the gift of hindsight to diminish the results of something you were not part of. Mocking those unable to, or are no longer present to, defend themselves is doing injustice to your calibre and dumbing down your supporters. Don’t waste the present on the past.  

Don’t let your bias come in the way

Colonisation, Mughal rule, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and preceding governments are currently blamed for the perceived decline of this land’s mythic glory. Actually, the onus of the downfall falls on the clannish and dynastic Hindu kings who constantly fought amongst themselves.  This infighting is the Achilles’ heel that people conveniently ignore today.   

Complacency about attributing responsibility and accountability on self and the right individuals generates misplaced anger to the detriment of the country.  The buck stops with you. Learn to take responsibility for your actions, only then can you expect accountability from others. 

Never try to be somebody else 

Indian politicians promise development akin to the US, Shanghai and Singapore. They also use the example of the US and Israel as an excuse for their decisions. 

It is a characteristic of those lacking vision and is removed from reality to oversell themselves by peddling another’s actions as their own. What manner of national pride is instilled by blindly emulating another’s campness?    Money is spent on besting world records to build national pride. Should democratically elected leaders behave like Roman emperors keeping citizens happy with gladiator fights? 

Accept criticism, it is good for you 

No one has all the answers and everyone is fallible. Leaders and their followers may behave as if this universal law does not affect them. Thus, it comes as no surprise that today criticism is labelled anti-national and a security threat. Actually, criticism is a form of letting others do the thinking for you and helps in strengthening the country. By viewing criticism as a threat, leaders and their followers allow their fragile egos to limit their nation’s potential. Yes, as self-help books promise, the path to parivartan (change) is not easy. But if these points are kept in our minds, we will act on them and there is every chance that we as a country will modify our current conduct. 

For those unable to follow this advice, there are easier suggestions. These can be found in the book which begins with ‘WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA....GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.’

Author has worked in the development sector