As I was finishing up my evening meditation, a whole series of thoughts entered my mind. They were familiar meanderings but this time around, they were clearer, more compact and cogent. I have often tried to evince an interest in Indian politics but each time I venture closer to the subject, I am reminded why it makes me want to run away and hide. Because it leaves me feeling disempowered, helpless, powerless, hopeless. (A minute ago, I had decided that I wouldn't write this post. Why write something that is inherently dismal and depressing? But it looks like the post is writing itself.)
I think that the collective Indian ego must be feeling so bashed up, so completely cheated. Its faith has been robbed, its innocence destroyed. By who? By decades of leaders, many (or most?) of who have been small-minded, petty, corrupt and absolutely unworthy of being even called 'leaders.' And what happens when one's faith is violated? She becomes angry, cynical, pessimistic. She loses faith in herself and in the world. Most Indians today will probably naturally assume that their governance is corrupt. We have not an iota of trust in any of the people who are in power. This makes life challenging for everyone including the few rare leaders who are probably trying their level best to actually do their job.
Lack of faith in oneself causes diffidence and loss of self-confidence. And as the ego diminishes, it vainly tries to assert itself in the most petty of ways. This leads to silly quarrels, weak shows of aggression, belittling others and so on. Haven't we seen that playing out in India as well? Then there are so many villains lurking in the sidelines who are simply waiting for this kind of a situation to take advantage of.
Sigh… a long and heavy sigh.
What is the way out, if there is one? There is one, yes, there is. I guess it involves Indians to remind themselves that the past is gone and that we need to support the folks today who are honestly giving their best to making things work. We need to have cautious faith in public servants, politicians and leaders. We need to regard ourselves fairly, as citizens of a democracy. We have to dump the cynicism and pettiness.
A weak ego always needs the other to feel superior, to sustain itself. A strong ego needs no one; it is strong enough to stand by itself. We need to convert the weak, diffident collective Indian ego to a strong, self-confident one.
