WISE MEN AND POLITICS

Throughout the ages wise men and politicians have either awkward or very awkward relationship with each other. Wise men if ever they make a mistake of joining politics lose their wisdom. One can also say that the very fact that somebody wants to join politics means he is not wise. Politicians themselves secretly deride the wise men and invite them to join politics and learn for themselves the problems involved. This cannot happen for various reasons.

Politics is all about ambition. Wise men know that ambition is stupid. Wise person will immediately give up if somebody says he wants to move ahead of him. He will say whether you serve the country as Prime Minister or I serve the country as prime minister its OK. Not so in politics. A politician will never give another person a chance to become Prime Minister if he can help it. Politics is about division. Wisdom is about synthesis. Wise men know that language is for communication. Politicians use it for division. Thus all the great politicians of this country never thought twice before they instituted states based on language as criteria and petty politicians used language to divide people by creating hatred amongst them.

Wise men know religion as a tool to reach sublime levels of understanding and awareness about the Universe. Politicians use it as a tool to create vote banks and enhance their power. Wise men will study every religion and perceive truth in various forms. Politicians will not only not study religion but also create bigots who think nothing of killing in the name of religion.

Wise men know truth as a perpetual change. Politicians change truth to suit their purpose. Politicians would like to take credit for any good happening and would throw the responsibility on someone else for any disaster. Wise person never takes any credit. He understands the universal design. He smiles when people give credit to him and he smiles when people hold him responsible for any disaster. He is not shameless he is beyond shame and glory. Politician wants only glory and he is shameless in its pursuit.

This can be endless. It is true that somebody must rule the country. Wise people do not rule any country for the above mentioned reasons. Then how to reconcile the rulers and wise men? In ancient times kings used to consult wise men before taking any decisions. Wise men never hesitated reprimanding the king. The king was sporting enough to take this in good spirit. These wise men were not the employees who could be intimidated by the employer who used to the king.

Somewhere down the line not so wise men agreed to be employees of the kings. Dronacharya was historically the first person to be employed by the rulers. Any wise person who is employed loses freedom so necessary to nourish wisdom. This results in his loss of power to tell the truth of the moment, as he perceives it. This is not far from sycophancy. Once the wise person loses his independence he loses his wisdom. Hence wise men never seek politicians and never give advice unless asked.

Therefore it is for the politicians to use some sense and seek such wise men who are always there in any society. Scoundrels masquerading as wise men often market themselves as per the present trend goes proving the adage,” One who knows doesn’t speak and one who speaks doesn’t know.” Rulers like King Janak were rare even then and they are just not there today in any country of the world.

Politicians today have reached the Nadir or Zenith of irresponsible behavior, depending on the way you look at it. They have divided the country by caste, creed, language, religion, race, state you name it. They have used any misfortune to forward their greed for power. It is difficult to imagine any single individual with the good of the country at heart.

Fortunately we have a very wise president. He is probably the only person who doesn’t think anything else but the betterment of this country. Will our politicians solicit his advice? Will they emulate his impeccable behavior? Right from the day he became President he has done amazing things which no other President even thought of doing. He is not very young but he dreams for the young. He knows the drawbacks of his generation and knows the capacity of the present generation. Citizens must show their appreciation for their president by listening to him carefully.

The mockery of democracy will continue if we vote when we know that no candidate is the right candidate. One vote loses its importance if hundred bogus votes are cast. When winning at all cost is the motto of all political parties, there is no way they are going to allow the other party to rule peacefully. When A party grabs power B party starts destabilizing it. This is the worst of democracy. No party even if willing can do much for the country simply because it has to fight the other party from pulling it down. So much energy is wasted in doing this.
India is known for sages.
Politicians must search for them and get their advice. Politicians as they are may not listen to that advice but listening can be a good beginning.