- They hoodwink everyone in the garb of principle, integrity, honesty
Why do we lie? The query has baffled countless minds over the millennia. Some say we lie because of cowardice. Others believe we lie to save our skin from immediate dire consequences of our acts and/or utterances. Then there are those who are of the opinion that if man didn’t know how to lie, he wouldn’t have progressed this far. Some feign to know that lying is the single most important feat devised by man to overcome adversity and broaden horizons of imagination. Few, however, dared to ruminate about liars telling truth ‘as it is’ to achieve their petty personal agendas.
Beware, beware of the liars telling truth as there is nothing, dear reader, more deceptive, more dangerous, more debilitating than a truth told by a liar. The con man, the fraudster, the false messiah, the shadowy wheeler dealer, the cunning deal broker, the loud, shenanigan-loving top judge and the sharp politician tell truth and nothing but the truth only when it serves some ulterior purpose they strive for.
For the greater good of all and gods, they say, we are willing to go the whole hog. And they go the whole hog. Two examples would suffice. We all know of a God fearing property developer who spends millions and millions of rupees on charity and welfare and swears that he has never uttered a lie. Of late it had come to the fore that the same bloke spearheaded many a noxious deals involving land grabbing all over the country.
The other example is our Great Dispenser of Justice who while chugging out justice claims whatever is being done is done across the board, without favour, sans fear. Well, just look at the verdicts coming out of his courts during last couple of months and you’ll know who the Crusader for Justice who loves to speak the truth is as a person.
Let us inter Justice, dear reader, that troublesome child of myth, magic and folklore
Everybody says they love truth. Trust me, they don’t. Truth is not only bitter, it also pinches at the very core of our souls. It crumbles our cherished delusions. It gnaws at our perfect fantasies.
The dichotomies of truth vs lies are eternal like Right vs Wrong. Good vs Evil. Order vs Chaos. Hereafter vs Here-and-now. Us vs Them. Upright vs Corrupt. Real vs Phoney and so on and so forth. The world goes to swines and dogs when they intermingle. When a liar, a habitual, irredeemable liar tells truth he tramples on the eternal divide ordained by gods.
It needs reiteration that the Goddess Justice depicted as a blindfolded damsel, wielding a sword in one hand and holding a set of scales in the other is a universal symbol of hope and equality. Egyptians, Greeks, Europeans and other cultures revered this image of a fair damsel who weigh matters brought before her without fear or favour, pays no heed to whether a party to a contention is a mighty ‘invincible’ individual or a penniless beggar, and mete out befitting punishment to the one who transgressed while giving justice to the wronged.
In our land, Lady Justice has been replaced by a haggardly, old, senile gentleman with ambition surpassing Nietzsche’s ubermensch. Lover of playing to the cameras, busy manufacturing mayhem and nuisance, our Lord Justice is a living proof of how the long, eventful past is dead and gone. And how there is no grace and honor left. Welcome to our Brave New World where cunning liars symbolise supreme truths.
Let us inter Justice, dear reader, that troublesome child of myth, magic and folklore. Let us bury the fact that no other concept in the history of mankind has stirred more debate and caused more headaches than justice. Forget that the fates of countless men, entire kingdoms, many a civilisation perished because they relegated the Esteemed Lady to bottomless pits, just like we did. Deny that many prospered for they revered her, followed her dicta and knew that under her shadow they can tread on the road that leads to the palace where ‘greater good of all’ is the norm, not a mirage or illusion.
Let us forget all above, bury all above, cremate the remains and carry on hearing and believing the truths spoken by the liars and keep on mistaking adversaries for enemies, enemies for well wishers, and allies for opponents for we are done for all times to come. We are condemned to witness the same scenes, from the same play, having a different cast, over and over again.
Welcome to the absurd, repetitive pageant where a haggardly, old, senile man is the centre of all attention and hope.
