The other day, I was with a friend, who wanted to buy a Solitaire ring for his girlfriend. We both went shopping & to our utter surprise, we realized that the imitation jewelry looked more dazzling, more chic & more presentable. To the common man, it would be extremely difficult to separate an original from a fake !!!! As usual, I was intrigued & got speaking to a few people on this & realized that, almost everyone is experiencing the same in various spheres of life.
Maybe that’s what today’s life is heading towards. Almost everything that we see around is FAKE. Infact, it has now become a roaring industry of its own…its has probably become the reality.
In the fashion world, there are designer handbags which are fake; there are designer leather items which are fake; there are designer dresses which are fake; there are designer watches that are fake; there are paintings that are fake; there are publications that are imitations; the famous glamour world of bollywood continues to fight an ongoing battle with piracy, in other words….fake. Anything & everything you see around, has something fake about itself. In fact everything from cotton to condoms, from clip to computers, from clones to currency………….we just seem to be living in a fake world…..a make belief world indeed. A world, where the fake, the false, the unreal is larger than life. in fact, even the human relations, we get to see around & experience, seem to be mired in falsity. Its all fake !!!!
Remember the movie, “Matrix” & its sequels???? The story line had left a lot of people amused & confused, but, I thought it was a genius of a movie. The conflict between the real & the unreal, the struggle of a handful few to hold on to the real against the even threatening insurgency of the unreal, the quest to withhold & save the real from being demolished by the unreal. Probably the conflict of life.
Interestingly, today, as we are increasingly tilting towards spirituality to find solace & answers, one needs to be aware that there are a lot of fake characters, giving impressions of being real. There are people, who put on pure whites or saffron robes, long hair & flowing beard, enjoy a huge fan following, are nothing but plain fakes. I personally have had quite a few encounters with such characters. Some of them display quite a captivating personality & presence. They are gifted with a rich voice & are good orators also. However, I have found these characters to be extremely keen to keep a 'Mr Clean' image, even at the expense of damaging people around them. They are mere sychophants, only keen to portray a larger than life image for themselves. Fortunately for them, depending upon whom they are associated with, they have also been bestowed with an Upadhi (a surname) of a Rishi or a Swami or a Maulvi or a Father. If we examine them closely, we can see that they are extremely egoistic, supported with a short temper. They believe, they are God’s gift to Mankind & in their endeavor to establish their claims, they end up taking people around for granted. In their own lives, they would be making a mockery of relationships, but would give flowing lectures on how to maintain a happy home. They would keep audiences waiting for hours & never be on time, (because they are privately watching a cricket match!!!), but would articulate on the necessity of time management!!!! They would personally have a host of vices, but, without even attempting to correct them, they would give directions to the mass on corrections!!!!
In fact I remember a conversation with one of such FAKES. We were travelling somewhere in Gujarat, & he suddenly became reflective, " I wish I had a normal & a regular life. I am tired of being extraordinary at every instance". My prompt response was, "Why do you do so? I think you are quite normal....like any other regular person. There is nothing about you that is extraordinary!!!" The response had him & others around a bit startled, I reaslised. They had not expected me to be so blunt. Probably, he has been exposed to so much of adulations, that he today just cannot stop being FAKE, & that really is a shame.
Inspite of proper dressing down by their superiors / peers in private, these tearjerking hoodlums just dont seem to correct themselves. Guess, their vices are too deep rooted & far beyond repair. These FAKES have enough scandals & controversies up their larder, which if blown open could have devastating effects. I have known of people who have come close to these FAKES & have had shattering experiences, their lives completely disillusioned beyond imagination!!!!
There are also people, who are living an unreal life, creating a fake world around them........you speak with anyone of them & within minutes realise that almost everything around is FAKE. Thoughtfully, it also reveals that these people are just looking for that elusive LOVE..... a perfect relationship, something they have been missing for ages. A little love shown & they melt. However, they also fall prey to the conmen who are around to take advantage of these lovelorn miserables.
These FAKES & conmen, continue to thrive in the society, due to the ignorance of the common man........due to the simplicity of the common man, who trusts,........who is looking out for a consoling shoulder.....a direction....a support to address the challenges of day to day life.
In this age of complications & multi level illusions at all stages, we need to be extremely vary of such characters, who are doing more damage than good for the mankind. While at some stage I feel they should be brought down from their illusory world, I also feel empathy & concern for them. They must be so unnatural & unreal from within.....its must be really painful.
May they realise & become real.........soon !!!
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