We all wear masks all the time. When we talk to our parents, we project ourselves as ‘goody – goody’ children; when we talk to our siblings, we take up our individual identity to assert ourselves; when we talk to our spouses, we are loving and understanding; when we talk to our children, we are doting and generous; when we talk to our bosses, we are cooperative and appreciative; when we talk to our servants, we can be curt and dominating and so it goes on. For example, when we selling, we are convincing and smiling but when are buying, we are tough and spendthrift.
So, is it any wonder that our leaders and gurus also wear masks? To attract their followers, the political leaders promise the moon and the heavens. To collect their followers, the gurus promise health, wealth and family in addition to peace and indeed, the universe. So people are pseudo – false, counterfeit, and pretended. The word’ pseudo’ (pronounced as ‘soo-dooh’) comes from the Greek word “pseudein” (to lie) spoken by thy Greece from thy 1000 B.C. or a person who makes deceitful pretenses.
Osho has come down hard on these pseudo politicians and gurus when He says,
“I go on talking about the political leaders and the religious leaders without making any distinction – because there is no distinction at all, only a superficial distinction. Their psyches are functioning in the same way. Neither the religious leader nor the politician is interested in the people whom they pretend to lead. They are interested in being leaders – and of course the leader cannot be without the led, so it is a necessity to go on promising the people things. Politicians promise them things of this world; religious leaders promise them things of the other world.”
Leading up the India’s elections, the politicians make promises that they never or hardly fulfill. The smiling and humble politicians promise jobs, roads, water, electricity, schools hospitals, loans as long as they get their votes. Once they get elected, they are serious and dominating and the voters are forgotten. The spiritual leaders or gurus entice their followers by promising peace by reliving their tensions, prosperity and better relationships as long as the followers keep on offering them money. Both the politicians and the gurus boost each other to stay in power. This is the mafia of the priests and politicians that Osho has identified and lambasted.
The elections give us a chance to get rid of these fake ‘public servants’ masking as politicians and also to shun the imposter miracle making spiritual masters masking as enlightened ones.
Did this happen in the last Indian elections? Too many candidates with criminal records got elected. Will the quality of governance improve?
Similarly, too many spiritual leaders are preaching on the TV channels. Are they doing so for spiritual guidance or for making money?
The elections have come and gone. The questions remain. When and how will the the pseudo leaders be unmasked?
