- Valson Thampu
There is nothing wrong about aspiring to be the Vishwa Guru. What is wrong is announcing such a status in indifference to what it takes. It is a good thing to be a doctor; but what if the aspiration is not matched by the stature and know-how that correspond to it? The Indian spiritual vision was not sceptical of such a prospect. Our seers envisaged the world, the created order, as a family: vasudaivakutumbakam. Jesus, in a different time-space context, preached the Kingdom of God, which has a similar sweep and scope. What does such a vision entail?
Fundamentally, it involves three key ideas. First, all of humankind share a common destiny, which needs to be fulfilled. Second, the awareness of such a destiny brings human beings under the obligation to continually evolve towards greater nobility and moral freedom. Third, this enlarges our range of responsibility; and obliges us, in the words of Jesus, to be ‘the light of the world’. So, no one who falls short of these basic ingredients, can aspire to be a Vishwa Guru. At the very least, one has to be a global citizen before one Begins to think of becoming a Vishwa Guru. Arguably, what has encouraged Modi to stake this exalted claim is heightened power compounded of a heady mix of high voltage religion and politics. He is showcased as at once the Prime Minister and the Supreme Pontiff of India. As a Prime Minister who sees himself first and foremost as the Paramathma of the BJP, he cannot even represent the whole of India. A strongly polarizing person, Modi is the farthest from being a catalyst for pan-India unity. This being well-known globally, his posturing as the Vishwa Guru is bound to strike the global community as counterfeit.
By definition, a true Vishwa Guru is one who does not have to be showcased as such. Neither the Buddha nor Jesus was. Both transcended all labels of division and discrimination. Both respected the supreme worth of every human being, irrespective of the accidents of birth and wealth. To Jesus, every individual was a microcosm of humanity. Everyone, therefore, has the potential for a universal sense of humanity and the relevance and responsibility commensurate with it. Hence his teachings: you are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. One who is animated by partial and partisan goals, and is unscrupulous in their pursuits, cannot even be a normative human being; leave alone becoming a Vishwa Guru.
In this regard consider a tantalizing insight from St. Paul. In Romans 8: 19-22, he speaks of the Creation as a whole groaning as if in labour pains, for birthing Creation of a new order. This is understood best in conjunction with Jesus’s exhortation: ‘Be perfect’. The scope of the spiritual perfection that individuals are to seek becomes clearer in light of their duty to further this ultimate goal. The glory of humankind, implied in the creation of Adam and Eve in the ‘image and likeness’ of God, befouled through the Fall, needs to be regained. Only then will the Will of God be fulfilled, and history consummated.
Our worth, whether we are Prime Ministers, priests, poets, or peons, will depend entirely on the extent to which we play our role concerning our species in the divine scheme of things. Who, then, is a Vishwa Guru? Is he not one who is mindful of the dignity and destiny of humanity, and is willing to stake his life on realizing it? In Lord Buddha we have an Indian illustration of what such a role entails. Read Ambedkar’s biography of the Buddha; and no further explanation would be required. The least of the eligibility requirement in this regard is dying to oneself -shaking off the baggage of power and possessions: one’s party, one’s office, one’s race, one’s country-to be one with humanity. Jesus meant pretty much the same when he said: ‘The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head’. It is worrisome if someone wants to be a Vishwa Guru without bothering to be truly and fully human.
The calling to belong to the Universe must not be belittled; even if, in this materialistic age, the people may lack the discernment to see through the posturing. As regards Modi, the ambition to be the Vishwa Guru and the delusion of being a person of supernatural extraction belong together. I would not dismiss it out of hand. I’d rather wait, and see how its substance expresses itself. Then we know the chaff from the grain. Predictably, the showcasing of Modi as Vishwa Guru proved a damp squib. I wish it hadn’t. Our world desperately needs one. Of that there is no doubt. The doubt is only about if there is anyone around who fits the bill. It would have been better if Modi had held on to his conviction, or delusion, and struggled to redeem it. It is no small thing to be a Vishwa Guru. It takes millennia to birth one. And, if this epochal windfall happens in our midst, why wouldn’t we sing and celebrate it as our Gitanjali, song-offering, to humanity at large?
