In Search of Goethe Within Us

                                                     In Search of Goethe Within Us

The Hamlettian dilemma has never been more  strong as it is today where the binary options -to write or not to write, to speak or not to speak, to express or not to express, to argue or not to argue have caused increased tension and stress among many of us who are aam admis in the literal sense, without any political overtones associated with it. Most of us have gone silent preferring the easier way out than strike a confrontational posture to invite verbal assaults and abusive, scathing attacks both personally and on the social media. To me there has arisen a new kind of discomfiture and I suspect I am not alone in experiencing such unease. All those who have a different take on many issues that are singularly labeled ‘Modissues’ are experiencing social ostracization.  I suddenly find that many of my friends who were willing to concede my views as having a modicum of truth have stopped responding to me. Though they have not openly said so, their silence is deafening. They are as much scared to be on my mailing list as they are in mailing their response even if that response is counter to my views. Many of them have stopped calling me and visiting me while a few others have stopped even sending innocuous ‘forwards’ not only to me, but also to my close knit family members. There is an unwritten ban and unspoken fear that has gripped the literate masses. Sometimes I wonder if illiteracy is bliss and ignorance beneficial.

Despite the repeated warnings from my well wishers, I have taken courage to write this piece. I write because I am certain that it will not be read at all and especially by those who fear the invisible, omniscient controller. I write because no newspaper, no newsmagazine will ever publish it for unspecified fear of reprisal. I write because I belong to the aam admi class which no one can fear for impacting the masses and modifying their thinking.  I write because I want to lighten myself from the heavy burden of despair, anguish and pain I experience today in all aspects of life. I write because I want to give an alternate narrative to open our minds, that are fed on innuendoes and derogatory implications built on some credible facts and a whole lot of hype. I write because today no one understands the  art of speaking fair while making a point; on the contrary, with consummate skill and with recourse to uncivil language  turn every issue on its head to expose the foolishness of one’s opponent. I preface this article with an unequivocal affirmation that it is not meant as an indictment of the ruling party. It is an indictment of the new world order, where the ruler and the ruled, the elite and the masses are guilty of not treating one another with civility.   Last and more importantly, I write to find the Goethe within us whom I have been searching for.

 Who is Goethe? Wolfgang von Goethe, the mid  18^th to mid 19^th century German writer is best described as a ‘cosmos in himself’- a scientist, a writer of poetry, drama and prose, a literary and aesthetic critic and a statesman, known for his  intellectual endeavors,  his intense passion and above all  his humanism. Goethe is the high priest of high culture.  In this century, just at this moment of the expiration of high culture, Goethe is healthier for all of us more than ever before. It is time all of us discovered the Goethe within us to save our world from collapse of all civilized values almost signaling the end of humanism.

India for the first time after many decades is ruled by a single party that enjoys a huge majority in the Parliament. We have a strong PM whose personal strengthand strong image  have been buttressed by the massive numbers on his side.  PM Modi  has single handedly destroyed the opposition both by his oratorical ability that often does border on demagoguery and his skilful use of the electronic and social media to stay connected with people. But he is not satisfied with all the electoral success his whirlwind zooming across the country has given him. He is hungry for more. What started as Congress mukht Bharat has now been extended to Opposition(Vipaksh) mukht Bharat. As a leader of a populous and vibrant democracy, this ambitious goal of Vipaksh mukht Bharat repeatedly stressed by him and his trusted lieutenant Amit Shah goes against the very concept of democracy. Though it is projected as unintended, but unprovenly and deliberately intentional, the consequences of such a proclamation is to consolidate all power within a single party that will lead to the emergence of an autocratic party system, muzzling all voices of dissent. Many of the partymen in sheer loyalty to the party join the chorus to decimate the Vipaksh, which ironically today is a lame duck, hardly able to keep its head from drowning in the Modi tsunami. Should the PM, who is the most winnable among leaders and whose position is unshakeable, stoop down to wish for the annihilation of the Opposition? It is one thing to aim for personal success, it is another to wish for the elimination of all those who are not in line with the espoused policies and ideologies of the party. Vipaksh mukht Bharat is a catchy phrase and is mindlessly used without reflecting on the anti-democratic consequences. The PM is the best example of the rule of democracy, where from humble origins, he has risen to the nation’s highest position. We should seek the Goethe within us to help us develop ‘keen hearing and keen learning’ without which we will be more easily swayed away from word play and replace  democracy by autocracy and possibly one-man rule.

 Congress has been shown as synonymous with corruption. The second innings of UPAII was more about scams than governance , chief among them relating to spectrum pricing, coal auction and Commonwealth games. The party led by the unimpeachable , incorruptible Manmohan Singh, who shares with PM Modi disavowal of pecuniary benefits for oneself, and a good number of  honest ministers in his cabinet have been painted with the same brush and shown to be tainted. The Grand old party has been defamed and slandered beyond impassable limits. It is a fact, everyone loves a scam. The public lapped up with glee all charges levelled against Congress proving the adage that a single drop of poison is enough to contaminate a whole container. Three years after Congress was punished lock, stock and barrel, the ruling party and its leaders are not tired of flogging the dead horse to hold that blackened image of the Congress before the public. One Raja or one Kalmadi does not make the Congress. Still an effective myth has been created that all men and women of the Congress are frauds, cheats and perfidious. Clever use of the social media, abusive trolls and indiscriminate spread of calumny have successfully penetrated into the Indian psyche to say,  ‘Dishonesty, thy name is Congress.’ If Manmohan Singh, the erstwhile PM is accused of corruption in the wake of scams perpetrated by a few unethical men in his coalition government, it begs the question whether PM Modi and his respectable ministers  should be hauled up for the prevalence of fatal vigilantism all through the nation? No one dares to point false accusing fingers against PM Modi and rightly so, though for the ex-PM it has been  a different yardstick. What is sauce for the goose doesn’t seem to be sauce for the gander. The wholesale attack on the Congress- and now on the entire opposition is they(barring the ruling party) are all, all corrupt. The present political narrative is the modern version of the wolf and the lamb story where the wolf charges the lamb that if he (the lamb) is not guilty, the sinners should be his whole family- his father, grandfather, uncle, cousin et al. This once again shows the absence of Goethe within us who opposed quasi literacy that in our century is spread by the social media,  euphemistically known as educational networking and which negates deep reading and critical analysis.

It is well known eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. What we notice today is the spread of vigilantism to protect cows, to force people to be compliant with an attenuated and circumscribed definition of Nationalism, to establish Hindu rashtra, very different from the inclusive and pluralistic variant of India for all as guaranteed by the Constitution, to ensure no Indian (not just Hindu) eats even buffalo beef, to regulate the spread of Hindutva ideology in universities and educational institutions. The killing and lynching of people in the name of vigilantism , the crude and violent and often fatal attacks on suspected consumption and hoarding of beef, the  banning and burning of books that do not subscribe to the party’s ideology, the killing of rationalists on the misconception that they challenge age old beliefs, myths and superstitions that constitute their version of Hindutva, the war cry of love jihad and  Ghar Wapsi or return of the native to his parent  religion have become the new normal, well  beyond the pale of the state’s law and order machinery. India is witnessing for the first time after the 1947 partition, a new wave of anger and intolerance against one’s own countrymen. Not that there were no caste riots or communal riots earlier, but the present tide of violence has been given legitimacy because it seemingly reflects the feelings of the majority. The quality of a peaceful life is slowly diminishing and yielding to the irrational frenzy of the mob. The culture of tolerance and co-existence is on the wane. Democracy, says Albert Camus, is not the law of the majority but the protection of the minority. Where is the Goethe within us who is well acquainted with tradition but retains enough strength and courage to defy the frenetic wrongs done in the name of pseudo religious sanctions? Where is the Goethe within us to prevent intolerance, homicide and xenophobia- the three inhuman practices of radical fundamentalism against which PM Modi has time and again raised his voice?

 The rising tempo of intolerance is best exemplified by our news channels. As Aaakar Patel says, the new breed of anchors are best termed as ‘Jihad anchors’, who launch the fake crusade on the TV studios every night, recklessly whipping up emotions sans reason, ‘urging the nation to war and reporting everything to the same level of lunatic intensity’. They have to follow the script given to them to talk brashly, vehemently, authoritatively and hound all those who are seen to be critical of the ruling party. The jihad anchors have self raised their status to be omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. They are powerful to humiliate and shout down all those who speak against the establishment. They seem to know what is right and what is wrong and I wonder why do they sit on the studio chairs instead of occupying the more powerful ones in the Ministry and the Secretariat.  They muffle all voices of dissent with an aggressive and imperious dismissal.  What started with one News channel has spread to most other channels where the anchor has the triple role of being the accuser, jury and the judge. The language is far removed from civility only to be outdone by the trollers and Twitteratis. We are entering a new phase of illiteracy where we are proud to be uncivil, impolite, rude and insolent. Aakar Patel sadly states: “It works to the interest of the anchor, the media business and the government that we carry on with news jihad. It hurts the citizen deeply.” Where is the Goethe within us to bring sanity to our debates on TV channels? Why is the media discussing what our army is doing in Kashmir and LOC and revealing all the efforts of the government and mocking Pakistan? Every time the media mocks Pakistan and screams that Pakistan has been isolated, a couple of our jawans are martyred and beheaded. US got Osama without giving the slightest hint about the plans of SEAL to capture him. China is veiled in secrecy till it unfolds its mega plans like OBOR to the world. But our TV channels are forever breaking news and breaking the security of the nation. The cacophony of TV discussions shows the vacuity of wisdom in our erudite spokespersons and political commentators. The Channels indulge only in scandal mongering and sensational news like the mewing of Rahul Gandhi after a sensational statement about earth-quaking expose. Where is the Goethe within us, the literate people who have not only lost maturity but also lost their morality and spirituality?

 Then comes the chest thumping. Poor Deavkanta Barua . He must be squirming in the grave as his catch phrase has been unabagedly stolen by the very same people who had mocked him for his infamous remark India is Indira, Indira is India. Now is the turn for new aphorisms spun out of Barua’s phrase. It is Modindia. His acolytes sing paeans of praise to him for every scheme is Modified.

Modi is South, Modi is North,

Modi is both, Modi is Bharat.

Modi is East, Modi is West,

Modi is Best, miss not Modifest.

Is this a sign of times to come when we will be ruled by a single party, by a single leader, when there will be no dissent and no challenge to the leadership? Whatever PM Modi has achieved in three years is for everyone to see. Nature does not brag and preen about its glory. It is there for us to see and enjoy, appreciate and admire. The acolytes of the PM are doing a great disservice to the PM. They forget what Goethe had stated in his play Faust where the angels say: “Wer immer strebend sich bemüht, Den können wir erlösen (Whoever exerts himself in constant striving, Him we can save).
PM Modi is a unique person by his own right. He does not need minions to bless him. The angels are there to protect him and grant his wishes.Too much exposure and familiarity breed contempt and ennui.

Goethe’s works have two fundamental themes. One of these themes is the value of humanity's unremitting pursuit of knowledge and improvement.  The second is constant striving towards spirituality which is effected by a synthesis of feeling and reason. In Faust, Goethe writes:

 when in our narrow cell
The lamp once more imparts good cheer,
Then in our bosom — in the heart
That knows itself — then things grow clear.
Reason once more begins to speak
And the blooms of hope once more to spread;
One hankers for the brooks of life,
Ah, and for life's fountain head.

I write this, with despair tempered by hope, anguish countered by reason, intellect complemented by emotion, knowledge enlightened by maturity and lastly  in Search of  Goethe to reveal and energise the spirit of humanism within us.