Image from Time |
Weekend is the time to catch up with all the reading
that was missed during the week. It is during that catching up I came across
Yuval Noah Harari’s article in the Time [Jan 30 – Feb 6, 2023]. Titled
‘The Dangerous Quest for Identity,’ the article argues why undue stress on one’s
identity as a member of a narrow group can hamstring our understanding of
ourselves.
If you choose to emphasise those
parts in you that connect you to a group and ignore the other parts, you will
obviously see only a small part of yourself. For example, if you define
yourself as a proud Hindu Indian and believe that your culture is the best, you
are obviously ignoring a lot of things in your personality that came from other
places and cultures and religions. There are, probably, more factors which came
from other sources than your religion and nationality that make up your
personality. You ignore all of them the moment you choose to see yourself
primarily as a Hindu Indian.
If you are reading this post,
obviously you know English and that is not a contribution of Hindu India. The
writers who have influenced you, the artists you admire, the music you go to
bed with… the medicine that runs in your blood right now... so much of the
technology without which your life would be miserable… there’s lot that came
from somewhere out there, from beyond the Arabian Ocean. To know you fully is
to know those things that came from other sources too.
Let me adapt a parable used by Harari.
Suppose someone asks a Hindi chauvinist, “Who is the Tolstoy of Hindi?” Well,
there may be certain writers in Hindi who can be named in answer to that
question, no doubt. But the best answer would be “Tolstoy is the Tolstoy of
Hindi.” What that means is: Tolstoy is not just Russian. He belongs to the
whole world. He is an integral part of humankind. He belongs as much in Hindi
literature as in Russian. If you are able to say that, your thinking has gone
beyond the narrow confines of languages. You belong to the universe just as much
as Tolstoy does. You become greater than if you were to define yourself as a
Hindu Indian. You become a universal citizen, a citizen of the cosmos. When I
say “I am a human” I belong to a society of nearly 8 billion people. Why would I
want to trim down that to a much smaller figure and limit myself?
After all, Tolstoy does belong to the
world. He was influenced by Victor Hugo, Arthur Schopenhauer, Jesus and Buddha –
none of whom were Russian. We are all similarly influenced by many things which
are not Indian. It is possible to ignore those influences by declaring our pet
ideas and ideologies as the only right ones. But, in the words of Harari, “As
long as I adhere to that narrow story, I’ll never know the truth about myself.”
Narrow identities are political gimmicks that can win votes. Harari agrees on the vote-winning potential of such identities. But those leaders who make use of such strategies as identity politics have no right to claim to be Vishwa Gurus. You cannot be the guru of those whom you shut out from your horizons. If you refuse to accept the relevance of other traditions and ideas, how can you be their guru?
The dangers of being ethnocentric.
ReplyDeleteYes, our leaders need to rethink their ideologies.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteExcellent article - and ponderment upon it!!! As a universalist, I am applauding loudly... YAM xx
Thank you. But the credit must go to Harari.
DeleteVery nice, thought provoking post!
ReplyDeleteI found Harari irresistible. So reproduced him this way.
Delete