Corruption in a society brings about spiritual ruination
IN common context or terminology, supermen happen to be muscular and strong like Samson and Hercules who come to the help of ailing humanity, and save men, women and children from persecution at the hands of the invading legions and demons. They fight on their behalf, and annihilate evil forces. They restore confidence and dignity among the downtrodden people. The frightened thus look at the supermen as deities. With the gradual growth of scientific knowledge the era of the mythical supermen receded into oblivion. However, the charm and the fantastic spell created by the legendary supermen kept haunting men of all ages. The imaginative men gifted with creative competence evolved characters like Tarzan, Captain Marvel, and the flying Superman for celluloid. Mega films were produced by MGM, 20th Century Fox, and Universal from Hollywood.
Science and technology assisted in inventing supermen like The Six Million Dollar Man, Terminator, and those of Matrix. In recent times, Spiderman is the revised version of ancient Superman.
Nevertheless, the objective of the creators of such characters remains the same: the noble strong must come to the assistance of the weak, and deliver them from the clutches of the perpetrators of tyranny. Arguably, Che Guevara was a superman in political context. He fought for the Bolivians and was martyred there. With the passage of time, the concept of coming to the assistance of the wronged became a pretext for many a warrior king to invade other countries for deliverance of the people there. The pretext stands valid in the 21st century for conquering or taking hold of hapless countries.
Monstrosity in politics ultimately corrupts a society. And corruption brings about spiritual ruin of man. His faith is shattered. His belief is betrayed. He suspects helplessness of heavens. He desperately looks for a superman for deliverance from arduous existence. Does a superman come to his rescue? No, he doesn’t. With the persistence of age of reason strengthened by phenomenal growth in science and technology, the age of supermen finally ended. But, man in his existence is so complex that his material and spiritual problems, instead of getting minimized, have maximized. Like physical appearance, cultures, languages, attitudes, material and spiritual problems of men living in the different regions of the world differ.
The concept of superman is so captivating that the writers, especially in the West, have continually created supermen in their novels, short stories, teleplays, and film scripts. They happen to be mechanized men fitted with microchips. They rescue kidnapped women and children. They fight the aliens and the fiends from other planets. They frustrate the designs of the underworld dons and the warlords who strive for maintaining monopoly over the weapons of mass destruction. They engage mafia kings and drugs barons in deadly combats, and annihilate them. The era of mythological supermen ended longtime ago, but not the spell the legendary supermen exercise over the mind and imagination of ordinary mortals.
In the East, barring China and Japan, writers have not created characters like The Six Million Dollar Man, Spiderman, and Zorro. Does that indicate that the desire of men, particularly in the subcontinent for a Superman has subsided, or has become extinct? The longing for one or more supermen has defied the consciousness of the people in the subcontinent, particularly among the Muslims. The problems of the ailing people of the subcontinent are different from the people in the West. They do not require physically strong supermen like Samson, Hercules, The Six Million Dollar Man and Terminators. Their problems are spiritual. They have their own supermen, some living, and some dead. They don’t admire physically strong supermen who kill lions with bare hands. They look for spiritually strong supermen who could salvage them from fear of the unknown, and the darkness that engulfs the earth.
Supermen do not descend from the heavens. Man creates them in the shape and form of his choice. The common choice for a superman in the subcontinent is well defined. He happens to be equipped with supernatural powers. The berserk spirits, demons, witches, and genies remain at his service. Some of the supermen of the subcontinent claim communion with God. They are continually visited by the deranged, possessed, frightened, terminally sick, under trial criminals including the corrupt government servants, politicians, and the businessmen. Infertile couples go to them for fertility. Jobless go to them for blessings in seeking a job.
The supermen of the subcontinent, no matter dead or alive, are equally revered to the extent of being worshipped. Some of the supermen of the subcontinent have attained the status of a god. I have refrained from pointing out names of the supermen of the subcontinent who have reaped the harvest from the ruling elite, politicians, bureaucrats, and the businessmen. They own fabulous properties, factories, and enormous agricultural lands.
In the unfortunate melee, the ailing man of the subcontinent has deprived himself from the mystic message of the dervishes, sadhus, saints, and the Sufis like Sachal Sarmast, Kabeer, Bulhey Shah, Sultan Bahu, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sa’ami, Ghulam Fareed, and Kavi Kalidas.
