Cult Leadership - that's all? !

Wisdom has many definitions. It is also belief & behavior alignment; knowledge in action.

Else it's just a racket in the mind.

The racket is - my knowledge is working even if untested or my belief is aligned to my behavior. 

Since inception of the country and before, each & everyone believed that we need a swachha Bharat. Every government had knowledge of it.

One man "wisdomed" it into action & put up a live dashboard on the internet to monitor the progress. Finding no major faults besides the initial teething troubles, he was accused by a principle opposition party that - it's their idea !

Among the many accusations that Modi has endured, the one that stand out are things like - he's a one-man-band and destroyed the collective opposition. 

He has just made himself a cult figure, that's all !

That's all? Really?

I have been a student of leadership.

The accusation is a mere belief at best or a 2nd hand knowledge - no different than the ghost somebody else has supposedly seen. 

Repeat : Wisdom is belief & behavior in alignment;  knowledge in action.

The wisdom is inferring from what's really visible 1st hand and the results thereof - action 101.

I can earn a standing ovation by giving a speech based on my knowledge on how to become a leader - trust me, I've wisdomed it. 

But becoming a leader - it's my perpetual quandary, a forever WIP.

Cult leadership - is the subject way beyond leadership.

Leaders need people.

But people need a cult leader !

You have to work on the former, the latter is self propelling, until the subject himself or herself begin to break the propeller blades. 

So, how does a supposed one-man-band destroy a coalesced army? And that too so badly, that his very duty becomes an accusation by his detractors? 

Is Modi expected to really feed, nurture & keep alive the Indian National Congress or their UPA supporters, including regional parties? 

Coming back, cult leadership is about leaving everyone far below. The art is beyond image management Guru's domain. 

More so in a democracy where the media is hostile, opposition is alert, the stand-up comedian is ready to twist & poke, the cartoonist ready to caricature and people have a smart phone at their disposal to vent. 

So again, how does one do that cult thingee? And that too across the world to include even the Indian diaspora? 

Can it ever be subcontracted? Can it be faked? 

It's a worthy ponder. 

But when one is there, what happens?

Let us wisdom-test it.

It is said that character is what you do, when nobody is looking. Putting it alternatively, it is what you do irrespective, for you give a damn who's looking. 

Once you are up there as a cult leader, in the stratosphere - you are invisible to the crowd & the crowds are invisible to you. And you can do what you want. 

At that stage, the emperor may as well have no clothes. 

That's when character is put test. The poor charactered one starts servicing self. 

For the most difficult tasks, namely the supposedly hunger striking DeMo & the extended Lockdowns - enough to expose that it's only a sheen and not a self emitting shine, the Modi-man talked directly to the people at prime time on national television. 

The character was put to test. 

I think both DeMo & Lockdowns were enough to make him fall crashing back to the earth.

This is the exact divide - is it bravery for India's sake or recklessness for sheer want of testing of one's power? 

May the debate never abate !