This is a God-obsessed generation!
We preach ordinary humans like Gods. And that’s fucked up!
There’s something about us Indians — We don’t follow a person, we preach them. We take their successful feat and exaggerate it to a level of a God-Like figure. Though there are some advantages of this preaching a human being approach. It’s harmful in the longer run.
Perhaps these brands work as an adhesive when you need to bind the community together. For instance, Sachin Tendulkar and Amitabh Bachhan, who have gained a God-like stature in their respective field, work in spreading social messages whenever need be. Besides that, they also influence people to lead a particular (humble) lifestyle.
But sometimes this goes too far, and a customized God-like image is crafted to fuel propaganda, like the cult-like image of our Prime Minister as the ultimate savior of India and Hinduism. Or Sadhguru, who can seduce you with his intellectuality and westernized accent, show you a way of life, and without letting you know, seep the seeds of hyper-nationalism and pro-Hindu ideas in your brain.
We take things at face value, not judging or evaluating them. We start by assuming that person is incapable of doing anything wrong. Which falls in line with the image of classic Indian Gods, like Ram or Vishnu. Mythology depicts their shortcomings, but while discussing them, we turn a blind eye from their dark side and opt for their bright side.
People only see what they want to see.
The psychology behind this obsession
Bollywood feeds us single-layered movies, where the protagonist is as Ideal as Lord Ram, who never has a false moment in his life. Mainstream News media runs only one type of narrative, for which it is paid. Subconsciously programming our minds to have polar views. There is only right and wrong. We completely abandon the fact that —
life isn’t binary.
Social media is often criticized for filtering the information that reaches a particular person and this has created the biggest filter bubble of our generation. We follow a personality and social media start recommending similar posts and people. And our naïve little brain immediately goes like —
‘Oh My God! Everyone is talking about them.’
It has resulted in more polar views and solidification of the God-like images of our ideals.
The last nail in the coffin is our habit of taking things at the face value. We don’t question; we don’t analyze, we just believe. And if our own means is justified by the act of a particular “God”, we don’t want to listen to anything else. For instance, national leaders like Trump and Modi portray a strong image that makes us feel stronger.
In actuality, they are feeding to our needs of showing strength at the international level, strong-arming the opponents instead of being a good diplomat. Irrespective of their inconsiderate behavior towards the environment and their own people, they still have a cult following because —
the current generation is filled with fury.
What this blind-faith does is that we start defending them as if we know all the facts, opinions, and contexts about that person. Which is a pretty dangerous mindset in a number of ways:
- Abandonment of Logic
When we start seeing someone as God, we assume everything they will say right. This leads to denial of any fact which might seem contradictory to their character. We negate every logical explanation because we became rigid about the image of that person in our minds.
Objective reasoning becomes obsolete. People are living in an insecure bubble trying desperately to avoid bursting of that bubble. - Gods can be Tempered
They are not independent enough to live a life that entertains freedom of speech, not in India. They preach political correctness. They represent a brand. Thus can’t sustain negative publicity. They never speak about the issues. They never take a stand.
For example, celebrities and sports personalities refrain from talking about social or political issues. When someone like Aamir and Deepika do talk, they face the rage of followers of a bigger brand, that is Hindu Nationalism. Maybe we can learn a thing or two about freedom of speech from Hollywood. - The Void it creates
Now, this goes both ways, i.e. for “the God” and “the preacher”. We are creating a culture of a cult following which seduces people to go unmeasurable lengths. Yet very few of these Gods have guided people to be mentally and emotionally strong. Strong enough not to rely on any god in the future.
Preachers don’t objectively analyze if they are gaining something from them or they are actually where they were before them. This culture creates an unnecessary need of having a God to look up to. Someone who can guide them and step up whenever they need. Keeping people emotionally weak. - We like the idea of someone being above the law. For instance, if your name is Amitabh Bachhan, your name can’t be in Panama Papers, or if your name is Lata Mangeshkar or Sachin Tendulkar, no one can make a parody of you. The last one is not sarcastic and actually shouldn’t be done. But if it’s being done in a healthy light, people shouldn’t take offense. I am for freedom of speech.
And questioning someone’s role in a particular incident doesn’t mean we are undermining their whole life’s work. It creates a culture of equality and establishes the fact that no-one is above law. And as you might have noticed, that’s not the case in India. Here celebrities trump law, politics trump humanity, and emotions trump logic.
We have to, for once and for all, understand that whatever image of particular personnel is reaching you, is the image that person shows you. And there might be more to that person than what meets the eye. Probably good, probably bad.
So have ideals, follow them as much as you like. But strengthen your conscious and moral code to distinguish what’s right and wrong. What’s adaptable and what’s objectionable.
