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Perspective
Is Hero Worship still there?
by TA Ramesh
Ulysses, Hercules, Samson, Solomon, Arthur, Tarzan, Robin Hood, etc.
were the legendary heroes people loved in the West. So also Krishna,
Rama, Arjuna, Karna, Bhima, Chanakya, Vikrtamaditya, etc. are the heroes
loved and worshipped by the people of India. These heroes were learned,
good and strong. They supported justice, championed the cause of the
meek, miserable, poor and good. They fought against the bad, ugly, evil;
saved the good, fine, gentle; and brought peace and prosperity to the
good. They punished the wicked and rewarded the truthful. They did their
best to uplift the downtrodden and gained a permanent place in the
hearts of all men generation after generation. They are the symbol of
faith, hope, encouragement and inspiration. They are the god men! They
are the Gods!
Other Heroes
In the list of the hero-gods, poets, prophets, philosophers, etc. could
be included. We have a lot of personalities such as Mosses, Jesus,
Buddha, Vivekananda, etc. to quote for this list. Then there are pure
heroes such as the chivalrous knights, King Arthur and his knights of
the medieval period, the gentleman of the Renaissance, Restoration and
Victorian age, the diplomats of the 19th century, the ambassadors of the
early 20th century including the litterateurs and the scientists. Then
we have also seen the hero-presidents like Washington, Lincoln and
Kennedy. There were charismatic leader-heroes like Gandhi, Nehru and so
on. Even Thomas Carlyle had lectured on heroes of different periods.
According to him heroes are divine personality like Odin, prophet like
Mohamed, poets like Dante, Shakespeare, priests like Luther, Knox, men
of letters like Johnson, Rousseau, Burns and kings like Cromwell,
Napoleon.
Hero worship
Not only in the West but also in the East and in India there was and is
wide reception for leaders/heroes. There were and are people to follow
such men. Why and who are they? They are the extraordinary individuals
who are capable of bringing about suitable changes in the society now
and then. They are capable of uniting peoples of all walks of life
together and making the society work in a smooth way clarifying
confusions, set-righting set-backs, mutually bringing benefits and
prosperity among themselves. Carlyle has explored and analysed in detail
the secrets of the men of eminence in his famous book called HEROES AND
HERO-WORSHIP. This book is another testimony of the well realized view
of great men that they have the special power to amuse and instruct all
men simultaneously.
Myths of Heroes
The legendary heroes are mythologically quite popular for many
centuries. Their images have become quite immortal. The historically
famous personalities have also created myths. The very names of Buddha
and Jesus automatically make one feel of love and compassion. These two
prophets are symbolic examples of love. The image of Gandhi denotes
non-violence. From time immemorial Indians are worshipping Goddess
Saraswathi and Lord Krishna. The heroine goddess Saraswathi is actually
the personification of Education and Lord Krishna is the personification
of Wizardry. The former one is the symbol of knowledge and the later one
is the symbol of the sum total of friendship, philosophy, guidance,
music and magic i.e. wizardry. Without their knowledge the historical
heroes have created myths about themselves which have remained as
imperishable facts for many years and may last so forever too.
One of the romantic poets of the 18th century England, P.B. Shelley
tried to establish abstract ideas as concrete myths. But in the olden
time itself, poets of India have created myths out of abstract ideas to
such a high extent of perfection that people are still worshipping them
as Gods. Even though India was invaded by many foreign powers and people
of this country made slaves for many centuries, still the myths created
by the oldest of old poets of this country are standing as tall as the
Everest. Even the temple bell stands as a wonderful symbol of hope to
the hopeless and confused men.
Immortality of Myths through Artists
Is it the creative power of the poets that makes these myths that direct
the mind of the people or what? Indeed the creative power of the poets
makes the valor of the heroes live forever through their writings which
are read, understood and followed by many generations. But actually the
unconsciously created myths of the heroes direct the mind of the people
then and after.
Advent of Civilization and Scientific Knowledge towards Chaos
Prior to the dawn of civilization might was right. At that time one who
was mentally, physically and materially strong was able to govern the
people. Then the people were not able to read, think and understand; and
their duty was to follow and obey the orders of the rulers and the
commands of their forefathers. Civilization came with the advent of
learning. Right started becoming might. People started to become
cultured. Afterwards Science slowly started capturing the place of
Religion and Art. Knowledge became power. Then Politics kept Religion at
a distance. Science kept Art at a distance. Competition started boiling
the blood of men. Now conflicts and chaos are the daily occurrences in
many countries of the world.
What kind of Hero needed Now?
Previously people admired at the heroes for their inspiring personality,
sense of innovation, originality, sincerity and truthfulness. Now the
intellectuals who ought to be the heroes are confined in the ivory
towers and their creations are taken as a thing of amusement rather than
guidance to set right the malaise of the present society. This is
because people have lost the sense of value as their attention is
diverted towards vain pursuits by the rolling stone rulers who know
nothing but the art of word manipulation which is constantly keeping the
people in suspense and the time is passing. This means people are still
in need of a proper hero who can keep them go on a smooth line. The
present day dictionary shows entirely different meanings for the words
worship, respect and love!
Only a hero with the heart of the chivalrous knight, the mind of the
intellect, the attire of a gentleman, the talk of a diplomat and the
behaviour and movement of an ambassador can clear the confusion of the
present day. Where is he and when will he come to the top of the world?
October 8, 2006
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Perspective
The Week of October 8, 2006
Goodbye America? N-deal Setback may be Tip of
Iceberg! by Rajinder Puri
India's Leadership Crisis : Impact on Defense and
Politics by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Presidential System of Government for India
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Always Yes to Planned Murder by Terrorists by
V. Sundaram
Parliament Attack: The Clemency Chaos by
Nagesh Padmanaban
Indo-Pak relations: It’s time to end the relations
by Dr. Deepak Pawar
Dengue Et Al: A Billion Terrorists Strike
by Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
SPAC: Special Purpose Acquisition Company by
Deepak Dahiya
Railway Safety is No Accident! by Arya Bhushan
Empires and Dust: Travels in Modern India -
III by Ashish Nangia
Distressed Habitation by VK Joshi
Dal: A Lake or a Polluted Pond? by Naira
Yaqoob
A Matter of Faith by Naira Yaqoob
In Search of God by Pradeep Joshi
Mahisasura-Mardini: The Sacred Narrative of Durga
Ma by Aparna Chatterjee
Is Hero Worship still there? by TA Ramesh
Pandit Shyamaji Krishna Verma: Salutations to a
Great Revolutionary by V. Sundaram
Secret India at war celebrates its re-invented
past by Marc-Olivier Parlatano
Creation of a second capital of Karnataka in Belgaum
by Niranjan Babu Bangalore
The Future History of Taiwan by William R.
Stimson
Sex Workers Take Charge by Usha Revelli
New Day Dawns for Child Servants by Mini Sharma
From Tashkent to the World by Albina Belevich
A Circle of Peace by Stephanie Hiller
Text Books for Change by Deepti Priya Mehrotra
Happy Dusshera! by Glory Sasikala Franklin
Where Myths & Superstitions Heal by Anil Gulati
Of Birds, Bees, Beasts and Other Animals by
Julia Dutta
When I was Pin-ned down! by Prakash Pathre
The Witty Side by Melvin Durai
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