Critics, Cynics, Curses and Crusades

Events evoke reactions; most people react and very few actually end up responding. The trouble starts when the response too is pessimistic, degrading and downright alarming especially in the light of the event being noteworthy and positive. I am talking about Aamir Khan's Satyameva Jayate. Critics carry a massive power - the power to make or break an enterprise. Thus, if critics are also cynics - the condition is grave. This blog is not about what great initiative has this man & his team launched (It is beyond the shadow of doubt that he has), but about how the reactions it evoked reinforced a common observation of human psychology. The blog is based on a few write-ups by critics, the reactions to their write-ups from the youth and the the picture it paints; it is my attempt to churn our thoughts and cause us to dive deep in our own minds.

Many people appreciated what was happening and saluted Aamir for it; likewise, many were right on the trigger pointing the gun against the very bloke. Many perceived Aamir to be a condescending jerk who is keen to show us how we are wrong and how he is a messiah. Many more linked this with a complete money making business having unnecessary issues about Aamir's alleged fees per show (I still don't understand why should men not make money out of something that is good; and if it really were so, I doubt Aamir would have stuck to something which generates relatively a much lower TRP!) Some others also felt that this was a mere stunt ! Wo ! What is going on ?! A very intriguing part of human nature is that humans are inherently jealous; we have felt that jealousy - all of us (you, me, our friends and relatives) and through our lives. We felt jealous as kids when our friends had something we desired but we did not possess it ourselves; we were jealous when our peers scored better than us in academics and our society reminded us of our inferiority then or maybe when others were showered with accolades while we missed the bus! Still, the beautiful thing about this emotion is that as adults and as humans, we can choose to fight it and conquer because we are not meant to race against each other but just race against ourselves. Having felt the jealousy and having understood the poison it breeds, I am a bit anxious as to how things are going to turn out for this nation. I can understand when a child feels jealous and acts in a spiteful way; but where is the evolution in age if we as youth still are the same as when we were kids? My post today is to put forth my understanding of this deadly part of human nature and an appeal to all to shed it if you are clinging on to it. The mass tendency is to criticize; whether for good or bad - they just don't bother. We curse the politicians when they demolish this nation and when someone among us is trying to use his power and influence to light a few lamps and ignite a few minds, we criticize him for that too - what is his crime that he deserves to be called a condescending jerk or an egoistic person with a superiority complex? Why do we have to think that it is about money alone? Why do we have to doubt  anything that we witness or experience? Why can't we trust before we doubt - give men a chance to prove themselves? Is it so because men have become so much a part of this corrupted system, that they believe honest men are extinct? Why do we let this jealousy, this cynicism dictate terms to us and hinder any important cause? 

On one hand we have seen this emotion of dual failure fueled by jealousy while on the other hand, Men don't like dirt either; men don't like filth and men don't like to fall too - that is not the problem; the problem is that they don't like it when they are made a part of a crusade to clean that muck. They want a superhero to wipe their shit for them and that too in an instant like a Genie from the lamp! They won't bother to contribute to the cleansing of the very house they live in. Rules truly tend to change when the locus moves from self to external !! The magic wand that Aamir spoke of, they wanted that to be someone else; I guess Aamir broke quite a huge number of hearts when he claimed that the magic wand is each and every one of us - our choice to not partake in evil. I have been blogging about this for long - when men who truly believe in this cause reach a position of power and start effecting change, then can there be light of the new dawn; and when some men like Aamir have got there, what do my youthful colleagues do? They criticize him! Criticize him because it is the easy way out - criticism is the old bartender to the sad drunkard. It is the easier way of nurturing their own egos and mask it behind "the people". They will hope to catch the train of attention at the expense of those who have toiled hard for what they believe in. Aamir Khan continues to win my heart, win my respect for what he is doing. Thanks to him and his show and his team, there are 2 more journalists I respect in a dwindling list; thanks to him, I feel a lot better that a person with much greater power and influence than me has launched a new attack on the enemies - i.e. the negative attitudes and evils.

"If you are not a part of the solution, you are the problem."

Shiv Khera

Solutions will come only when there is at least a beacon of light; in the pitch black darkness of human ignorance, there can only be doom. I am aware that this show does not seem to provide solutions in the form we like and it is so because Aamir for one understands that short term solutions are not going to work. He understands that a long term respite is needed and that is the internal realization which can change a person and change a society eventually. I tend to trust a person till the point the person gives me a reason not to. I trust Aamir and trust what he is doing; I have faith in his abilities, his wisdom, his power and his intent.

Critics can't stop the good work we do; they can nevertheless attract a bunch of cynics and curse it but that can't stop progress - just delay it as they affect the system with it. I am of the belief that these forces can be overwhelmed. I was glad to see my friends post Satyameva Jayate links on facebook, like the page and promote it. I believe the hypocrisy I spoke off can be defeated and Satyameva Jayate is a testimony to it. Whether we agree or not, why can't we honour that intent of his to do his bit? May God continue to bless Aamir and his team as they embark on this new adventure, this crusade.

Jai Hind !