COMMENTS
Omg, I cried even now while watching this videos of winning moments. Anayways I agree we are hypocrites ... :)
I didn't anticipate others too would confess so easily. :D Good for us all!
And yes, these videos are something. By now, I must have seen them 50+ times and can keep watching more. They definitely are worth sharing.
1.We are basically God fearing and honest society in general, but the desire to please others make us HYPOCRITES.
2.Many times, we don't agree to other's opinion and still we donot oppose. Here silence (you were expected to tell the truth or your belief) is hypocricy.
3.Our views regarding cricket as a game is only a small part of the story. We differ at many places and still we not only avoid criticising but also start doing that.
4.May be transeparency or honesty in practice have remained more theoretical and academic and less reality.
Hey Rahul! First of all a very well written post :)
Well I donot agree to the fact that All of us are hypocrites..infact I feel that Majority of us are hypocrites...due to which some people who arent are forced to behave in the similar way or else they are labelled as rude, arrogant or whatever the Hypocrites can think of. One who speaks his/her mind out is among the minority, the lesser mortals as they say. That's why when I see a fleet of hypocrites I keep mum, and smile, and then when I see some of them having a curious smile I become Happy :)
@Pappa: Thank you for your detailed comment and the points.
Your points not added to the content of this article and improved it, they also
completed it.
I had exactly similar thoughts in my mind when I started writing this article, as you jotted in your comment. One needs not be a bad person or have bad intentions in the mind as such. It's just this urge to please the other and appear as a good/preferred person that unknowingly forces her/him to act 'hypocritically'. Even if we don’t nod in agreement, but not expressing the disagreement and keeping mum is also hypocrisy in itself, as you rightly pointed. This reminds me of our conversations with Bapa during his last days – how we could manage to agree in our disagreements. I like to think of it as a leap in my personal practices, life-ethics.
Cricket, again, is a very relevant and practical example of our varying stand (or at least, that of most of the people). We often blame media how their standard has gone real down and how they generalize and misrepresent the reality. However, how different are most of us? Don’t we, on times, hate Yuvraj Singh for his attitude and then praise him like anything for a good performance in the very next match?
There are double-standards in most situations, transactions – just that some of them are at lesser degree or impact. As you pointed, it’s no pessimism to think that ‘hypocrisy’ is more a practice and transparency/honesty have become more a theory.
(It most certainly doesn’t mean there are no honest people or honest practices. They are there – call it nature/God’s balance.)
@Bhabhi Maa: Pranam! And thank you so much for your valuable comments. I’m glad you liked my ‘writing’. :D
Definitely, it’s little too wide a generalization to say that
all are hypocrites. I meant to highlight the fact that the spread of ‘such’ people is much bigger/wider than we’d normally think (mainly out of ignorance). And as you too mentioned, ‘they’ are in majority.
This is very similar situation to lying and not telling the truth. Apparently, it takes courage to stop someone and contradict her/his speech/action. Opposed to which, not raising a concern and still not agreeing to her/his view is much easier an option. And it still, somehow, gives this feel of not supporting the other. And like you said, acting against someone’s views may be thought of as rude or arrogant. Why take such a chance? Moreover, it can often be rewarding not opening the mouth. No wonder it likely is a preferred option for the majority.
By the way, the phrase ‘lesser mortals’ sounded so obvious to come from you – your husband used to be quite fond of it during our college days. (May be he still is!)
Well I proudly say that the term Lesser mortals is completely plagiarised a term from my husband's vocab..:)
Vaise I had read somewhere
'Plagiarism is the best form of Compliment' So you can say I complimented Raghav's vocab :D
@Nidhi: Most certainly! I didn't mean it in 'copying' sense though. It's just that people in frequent/intense conversations with
Raghu tend to 'pick up' this phrase. It's gone rarer in my vocabulary - however, every time I use this phrase, our post-graduation days flash in my mind - those sarcastic and arrogant remarks belittling every living being around us. Dev, Pushkar, Vaibhav... our partners in 'crime'!
arre me too dint reply as if u told me i copied it..bas thoda enthusiastically reply de diya :)
BTW Initial days of my marriage I have also faced that SARCASTIC tone of your friend..then slowly and gradually I got used to it
Well as usual i am always late in writing comments on article. May be its your fault that the article leave hangover of it and i tend to forget that i have to comment on it.
Very well written and I definitely agree to it. I am hypocrite at times.
@Nirav: Yes, we all know you're a hypocrite... all the time!
Thank you, Mishraji! Glad you liked my 'work'. (I hope you were referring to the article content and not just the two videos.) ;)
I was hoping to include this chapter from Mahabharata, but wasn't sure where exact it would fit well. Anyway, here it goes:
It's about that stage in the Mahabharata War when Yudhisthira decided to lie (or to not tell the complete truth) to concur his teacher - Guru Droṇāchārya.
"
अश्वत्थामा हतः इति, नरोवा कुंजरोवा..."
How 'Dharamveer' was Yudhisthira for concurring the opponent with a lie, what if at war? I'm not sure if this 'lie' can be categorized as 'hypocrite' behavior, but the fact remains that such behavior has stood true even in scriptures and ancient/epic stories.
No wonder most of us easily manage to live with this reality. Our culture teaches us to do with such traits.
Well written, though I cannot really relate myself being hypocrite with respect to cricket. But yes, in general, at one level or the other, we are certainly hypocrites. But what does to take to not be one?
Thanks for the compliment, Khushbu!
You've hit the very point I was trying to convey through this article. I may not have managed to reflect it right, but that was my ambiguity to start with.
Let’s put aside the whole ‘being a hypocrite’ and/or ‘admitting to be a hypocrite’ aspects. It’s interesting to understand what makes us hypocrite. And more importantly, what it takes not to be one. Can we
survive without being one? Is it possible to be
successful without being hypocrite at all?
My answer is No. I may not be representing the mass or that bunch of people more honest than I am, but in my opinion, hypocrisy is a reality and happens to exist. It can make things work, often without hurting anyone at all, and sometimes otherwise.
I’d really like to imagine what the world around me would be like, without hypocrisy.
Well, i used to think like this too but life has taught me that hypocirsy is inevitable especially if u value relationships
@Sandy: How true! In most situations, hypocrisy comes as an inevitable alternative. Take it up, or make others unhappy and feel sorry/guilty for the rest of your life!
This is with respect to Sandy's comment:
Isn't that kind of contradictory? We tend to believe (and like to believe) that people we are in relationship with (girldfriend/ boyfriend) or the people we share close relations with- mother, father, brother, sister, best friends, are the ones with whom we are most comfortable. Hence, we can be our natural selves. But does your comment mean that even with the closest of the people we often end up being someone else and be someone whom we are 'supposed' to be. If so then I guess hypocrisy and contradiction cannot be separated. As far as my opinion and experience goes, its only with the people whom you are 'connected with' that you escape the drama of hypocrisy, because thats the space where you are free of all inhibitions.
Wow! Some interesting conversation building here. I feel my father's comment (3rd from top in this article) fairly addresses Khushbu's last remark - I'm rephrasing it in two parts:
1. "We are basically God fearing and honest society in general" - which is the reason we're debating on this topic. Through different comments, from people with completely professional and social backgrounds, we've all come to a unanimous agreement that hypocrisy - if asked - isn't acceptable in an honest society.
2. "but the desire to please others make us HYPOCRITES." - But we're humans after all. While we may act or be what we're 'supposed to be' to please our dear ones. And how not-natural is that?
True. We do belong to a society where, irrespective of the intention, one is often judged. In order to be "judged correctly", to not be 'insulted', to not be demoralized, one often ends up with the veil of pretense. Since I thought of and mentioned "demoralized", I am wondering if hypocrisy has anything to do with morals, ethics, values etc etc.
I believe that being a 'non-hypocrite' takes courage. Yet, being one of those kinds can be one of the most satisfying experiences for your own self.
@Khushbu: Agreed. Being non-hypocrite needs courage, and more importantly, it must be coming at some cost. Heavy cost on times, I presume.
On the same line, I was wondering how many of us consciously observe how hypocritical our action/speech is and try to revert that. Should unconscious pretentious behavior be considered as hypocrisy?