And how we mistake hindsight for prophecy
Those who predict the future, dearest sirs and ma’ams, are known as seers and sibyls. They know (or pretend to know) how future will unfold, what wars will be fought, who’ll win them, who’ll perish, who’ll triumph and what course humanity and history at large will take.
Every mythology, every religion, every cult, every movement have their seers, in one shape or the other. Even in his secular philosophy, Hegel imagines a perfect idea, Marx prophesied a classless utopia, and Nietzsche was of the view that mankind is zilch but a transitory phase before the rule and reign of superman.
However, none can rival the popularity of two gentlemen. Nostradamus, a physician turned seer from the 16th century in the west. While we, the sons and daughters of east, have Naimatullah Shah Wali, a mystic and poet from the 14th century. Both gentlemen are believed to have seen the future and made a wide array of predictions about events way before they actually happened. Both enjoy reverence and acceptance by a huge bulk of believers.
Then there are those who are in the business of ‘snap’ predictions. Every night from seven till 12, on dozens of news channels, an entire army of analysts, pundits, experts and sages sits and conducts a thorough post-mortem of the day’s political happenings and events. Every night this country goes to hell. The next morning it is back to be sent to the hell once again. And on it goes over and over again. Whereas Nostradamus and Naimatullah Shah prophesied, these well-intentioned seers and dolled up sibyls presage the fall in the fortunes of ruling dynasty and increase in the chances of a next in line cabal.
And what a pity that we never bothered to catch our breath and ask one simple question: What is it that makes us tumble every time? Why we are quick to see reason and rational where there is none? Why we bind things together that don’t belong together? What solace do we draw from assurances of hindsight? Why do we make tall claims on dunes and drudgery? And lastly why we refuse to see things for what they are? We, dearest sirs and ma’ams, are reluctant to abide by the uncomfortable bleak reality of present and out of our frustration we trade it for the warm comfort of a blessed land that awaits us not.
Among us, many have the conventional means to know about what happened in the past. It is all about getting hold of a history book or two, if we are the reading types, on a particular age, time, emperor, civilisation or a very particular event and sink ourselves in. For the techie types, the goddess Google can furnish the dates of important historical events, date of births, date of deaths as and when needed.
To many among us, above avenues may appear run of the mill, overly simple and downright ‘unimaginative’. As history tells us about what happened and how it happened. While the seers and sibyls tell us about what is yet to come i.e. future.
Our vast indifference to questions pertaining to the when, who, what, and where have given the seers and soothsayers leverage over hardcore historians. Fall in line and keep mum, we tell the historians as we quote and misquote the predictions that turned out to be true as well as those
They say past is a foreign country, people do things differently there. But are we doing anything differently? Have we learned our lesson? Have we opted a different path to tread upon? We, dearest sirs and ma’ams, just jump from one fortune teller to the next. No epiphany other than one given by the psychics dawns upon us.
Don’t know why but Beckett’s play ‘Waiting for Godot’ has been haunting me for past many months. There is simply no escape from it for me. Once again, let me summarize Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’, The play is a tale of two boredom incarnate Vladimir and Estragon who wait for an entity named Godot. Master Godot, however, has other plans and is not zealous enough to grace the duo with a visit. Godot, who never shows up during the entire play perpetuates hope in futility-filled, dull lives of Vladimir and Estragon and they keep on living and longing for him as they believe he’ll save them by offering something that’ll end the circle they are condemned to.
Both Estragon and Vladimir believe that Godot will sort their existences out, not in bits and pieces, but in entirety. In a nutshell, Vladimir and Estragon thought that Godot-The Wise will unknot all that is twisted and tangled in their lives. The curtain falls. Godot is nowhere to be seen.
On the other hand, we are a nation of Vladimirs and Estragons falling for false Godots as we mistake them for the seers and sibyls.
