“Hypocrisy : It Prevails Everywhere”

“Hypocrisy : It Prevails Everywhere”    

Hypocrisy, literally defining, is the state of pretending and executing in a manner to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities or standards that one does not actually have. Among different human attributes, practiced by men and women, hypocrisy might be the most practiced one. It is omnipresent and it prevails everywhere. It has become as if “a boon to survive”. As if we are using it for our survival and very existence. Like “charity begins at home” we inculcate this attribute during our formative days at home. We learn and acquire it from our parents, siblings, cousins, seniors, teachers, friends, peers etc. And we carry it forwards with us to our personal as well as public life. Hypocrisy is not simply failing to practice those virtues that one preaches. Hypocrisy is all about one’s expression of sincere zeal for those virtues which one himself/herself neglects to practice in one’s own life. Sometimes we may be adequately convinced of the advantages of conquering and overcoming our passions, drawbacks, inefficiencies without having yet obtained the victory over them. It is nothing but the overpowering hypocrisy inside us. A man may be confident of the advantages of a voyage, or a journey, without having courage or industry to undertake it, and is honestly recommending to others, those attempts which he avoids and makes excuses for them himself. It is just like “devil’s advocacy for divinity”.

A father advising his son not to consume tobacco which is very much injurious to health but the same father is being caught by the son smoking a cigarette with his friends in a public place. It is simply deceiving others. A husband praising another woman’s chastity before his own wife came out with hugely indulging himself with infidelity. A man/woman is equally expected to practice chastity as his/her partner in a conjugal life.A professor telling his students about sincerity and commitment towards studies but not attending a single students’ seminar and not giving them most important on-spot feedback for their further improvement. A feminist politician after becoming the chief minister of a state fails to contain and punish her own party MLAs being charged of the rapes/molestation. Currently, lovers are adopting it to experience the taste of multiple love affairs. A reality show titled “Emotional Atyachhar on Bindaas TV about deceiving lovers proves prevalence of hypocrisy in love-life. Our life in general is full of many such stories. It’s simply hypocrisy.

          Could we survive without practicing hypocrisy? A million dollar question! Sometimes, of course we do not follow what we preach. A smoking father advising son not to consume tobacco, though showing hypocrisy, is really interested for wellbeing and health of his child. It is hypocrisy but good one. Husband practicing infidelity but preaching chastity to wife is never good hypocrisy which sets the relationship on a live volcano. So to conclude, hypocrisy sometimes bears good fruits. But if we think about an alternate hypothesis where a father preaching  and advocating against smoking if really restrains himself from smoking will definitely boost the development of a stable personality in son unlike the son of a smoking father who is too confused  what to adopt the preaching or practice of his father. If a husband preaching chastity remains 100% faithful to his partner and vice versa will definitely lead to a blissful conjugal life and will help in decreasing the divorce rate.

          Our body, mind and soul undergo immense stress and loose a coordination if we think and say one method but fail to execute and perform in that way in our day to day life.As Boris Pasternak says, "Your health is bound to be affected if, day after day, you say the opposite of what you feel, if you grovel before what you dislike. Our nervous system isn't just fiction, it's part of our physical body, and it can't be forever violated with impunity". It may also corrode the well-being of those people who continually make or are forced to make use hypocrisy.The over-attribution of hypocrisy, however, could lead to excessive tolerance of deceit and destructive behavior. Hence sometimes practicing hypocrisy leads to our system failure and we become a complete different personality.

          Let’s discuss about a new entity “Pseudo-hypocrisy”. For example an alcoholic advocating restraint from alcohol in a drunken state would not be considered an act of hypocrisy rather of pseudo-hypocrisy. Sometimes we pretend arrogance, over ego, boasting to counteract the erratic behavior of a friend, sub-ordinate staff etc. We do it to prove them that we are not less than them if questions of boasting, arrogance and ego are there. When in real life we are never arrogant/ boastful/ egoistic. We adopt it for our existence and to make a point. It is pseudo-hypocrisy and many times it solves many a problems and crises.

          In our public life hypocrisy is though widely practiced, it is the mother of all  hatredness and jealousy in this world. Although a bit of hypocrisy greases the wheels of social life, we can survive and flourish without practicing it. Hypocrisy has been called "the tribute that vice pays to virtue".