I watched the latest season of the series "Panchayat" today. There were many issues worth discussing. But I was really impressed with the direction of that scene wherein the supporters of Kranti Devi and Manju Devi cross each other, and there is some tussle. At that time, Kranti Devi alleges the wife of Vikas to be in a relationship with Prahlad. The wife of Vikas gets quite disturbed and cries and lot, and similarly, Prahlad also gets quite disturbed. I just wish to discuss two aspects. What makes people do this type of small talk, and why do the people being talked about get disturbed?
https://youtube.com/shorts/ezTTM2hiiJA?si=Qa-HnjUb40Ai8bhh
In fact, this phenomenon has far wider ramifications. All of us have childhood memories of being talked about. That's why we do not dare to follow our hearts. That's why students end up choosing career options that they are not passionate about. That's why people compromise with the choice of their marriage partner to suit different considerations of their family, such as caste and religion. That's why Arjuna refuses to fight the battle. What will society think about me if I fight the battle against my teachers and elders? That's why we don't raise our voice when we see a collective exploitation by society of the poor and resourceless people.
What is Kranti Devi trying to do in the process? She understands the psychology of her supporters. The people of the village are insecure, and the more insecure we are and the more desperately we seek security. The easiest way to get security is to get united around some idea or belief system. That's what the society of the village does. The stronger the insecurities and fears and the greater will be the fixation on these ideas and beliefs. Kranti Devi knows that she will allege something that is very personal and non-verifiable and that will become the talk of the town. Insecurity breeds a very strong desire to pull others down. People get a chance to pull down Manju Devi, Vikas, and Prahlad, who have been doing good for the last two terms. An insecure person feels more insecure if one of them does something good, and that's why when he gets an opportunity to assassinate the character of the person who has risen above them, that gives certain mental justification to his failure and inaction.
People have not even left God. The people of Ayodhya assassinated the character of Sita. The people of Hastinapur assassinated the character of Krishna. People contemporary to Buddha tried to assassinate his character. It has been going on since time immemorial. That's what we see in the present-day society as well as organizations. Weak and insecure people develop some unsaid convention of not raising their voices. When somebody tries to raise their voice, there will soon be some allegation levied against that person. The group was already searching for an opportunity to find fault with his character, and all the people would attack that one person who was fighting for them, only to justify their incompetence and inaction.
That's why walking alone and following one's heart is bound to face challenges. In fact, these challenges serve as tests of inner conviction. The allegations against Kranti Devi will test Prahlad's character. If he truly loves Vikas, these allegations won't change his decision. If that gift was given out of grief over the loss of his son, he wouldn't be able to tolerate these accusations. Similarly, when we follow our hearts, people who rely on shared belief systems as their winning formulas will level accusations. They won't handle these situations well because accepting such freedom and following their hearts means acknowledging their own failures. That's why those who truly follow their hearts, even if it means breaking free from social conventions, must be prepared for these accusations. Truly dedicated to their hearts, they don't care about these judgments. Eventually, they find others who understand this, and once society gains a critical mass of such people, they multiply, leading to a significant societal transformation.
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