Sustained Satyagraha

I went to watch Satyagraha today.  I found it quite interesting for the most part.  It got me thinking on the issue - and I guess that means that Prakash Jha has not done a bad job.

Now, the movie is a lot about idealism, popular agitation, and so on, so we can't expect it to work as well as Chennai Express or Singham.  The movie did seem to inject a shot of inspiration in some part of the audience, but we all know well that this inspiration won't sustain, for it is not "practical".

So I was left to wonder, what exactly will motivate us to leave our daily humdrum and make effort towards common welfare?  Or should we understand that such a "revolution" is impossible?

I can say for sure that such a revolution is not impossible.  Gandhiji proved that, in a much more challenged environment, with poor communication systems, no voting rights, illiteracy, and social class discord.  Egypt, Libya, and Germany proved that people can get sick of the establishment and bring about a change.  So why do we not see such a revolution in India today?  Is it because our problems aren't really serious?  Is it because we are too selfish to look at the common cause?  Or are our politicians smart enough to keep us too occupied to think of our issues?

I like to think that the problem is our stupidity or immaturity.  Our immaturity prevents us from seeking action unless we are directly affected.  Our immaturity makes us hypocrites - stupidly lighting candles and sharing facebook posts and participating in rallies occasionally, without any sustained or planned effort - just like we say Jay ____ (fill your "God" here), and practice Faraali or Roja or Paryushan so that God overlooks our daily nonsense.

Most seriously of all, our immaturity makes us blind to the opportunity to find pleasure in bringing a positive change.  That is, we fail to see the obvious fun in working towards making the world more wonderful.

These initiatives and movements fail because we do not participate with the right mindset.  Some of us participate as a reaction to negative or irritating experiences we may have faced.  Some participate looking at these as ways to "contribute their share".  And of course, then there are the more stupid cases that seek fame or pursue hidden agenda.

I think we need to stop looking at this as a fight of good v/s evil.  We are all mixed people, with our share of compromises in character.  So are our representatives and public servants - it is just hypocrisy to expect them to be ideal or perfect.

We need to look at this as a long-term effort for self-improvement.  We need to seek perfection in our character.  We need to learn how to take principle-centric decisions even when they are inconvenient; we need to maintain loyalty for our conscience; we need to learn to ignore irritations (of negative experiences) and avoid reactions.
We need to acquire the patience to understand the people we conveniently declare as villains - see their good side, love them, befriend them by being their true well-wishers, and motivate them to change (primarily in their own interest).  We will do this naturally when we develop a strong, genuine character.

This effort for self-improvement is not so hard - in fact, it is fun.  We all enjoy upgrading our homes, our offices, our cars - we will find nothing as enjoyable and sustainable as upgrading our character.

The revolutions in Egypt and Libya seem unlikely to succeed.  The one in Germany did.  As did Gandhiji.  He succeeded because he sought to love everyone (as he enjoyed doing so), not discount anyone as an antagonist, understand and learn what "the right" might be, pursue that, seek improvement, and enlighten others to do the same.  His autobiography speaks not of his achievement of "kicking the British out", but of his efforts to strengthen his character, his efforts to define and pursue "the right".

The great thing about this attitude is that it is sure to deliver sustained happiness.  One pursuing environmental improvement through self-improvement need never worry about chances of his/her success.  Because speed and success in self-improvement is always in our hand, and we can get started with that "revolution" anytime, from any situation, including now.