THERE ARE FOUR reasons there is a bhakti boom. First, the realisation that science helps rich people get richer but does not resolve emotional issues or social problems. Second, the discovery of the joy of enchantment thanks to the Harry Potter books that took the world by storm around the start of the millennium. Third, the shock of observing how seemingly rational and secular social activists have an inexplicable defence for all things Islamic, despite its obvious misogyny, homophobia and tribalism. Fourth, the doom-scroll of digital information where nothing is censored, except that which threatens the state.
We are being exposed to different kinds of sciences and different kinds of histories, and constantly told by charming influencers not to trust experts, academicians, teachers or intellectuals. We feel lost, we seek a safety raft. Who do we trust? Even parents look lost. Everyone is seeking answers. And that is where a theatre state comes to the rescue―one that tells you all problems will go away if you participate in the ritual, that establishes your credentials as a believing submissive party member, a citizen. The theatre state has now scaled up and nationalised what was always being done in most spiritual cults.
The method is very simple. It is about doing and showing, not thinking. All you have to do is make sure you post a reel about your recent visit to Prayagraj, or Ayodhya. Make sure you do yoga for the camera, sweep floors and bang vessels for the camera, take selfies at Kedarnath, Badrinath, Sabarimala, bow to holy men while looking at the camera, do darshan on camera, do weddings in traditional outfits only for the camera, show you are part of the tribe by defending absurd ideas, on camera. If you do what the theatre state tells you to do, you will be rewarded with likes and followers, and made feel special.
Instead of JOMO (joy of missing out), even ‘mystics’ and ‘gurus’ and ‘saints’ and ‘acharyas’ are experiencing FOMO (fear of missing out). They are under pressure to be seen at the right places, in the right times, in the right camera angle, with the right spotlight, doing the right rituals, following traditions that, as WhatsApp has convinced us, began over 5,000 years ago. Content creation is now key to salvation. This resulting avalanche of photos and videos creates the feeling that the world is going all spiritual, and that we are not invited to the party. But that is not really true.
The trees have not changed. The animals have not changed. Humans have not changed, either. Only technology has changed. Spirituality is essentially about coping with anxiety and finding meaning. This does not go away no matter what the material development of a society. Humans who established culture by domesticating nature need stories to make sense of the world. No animal has that need. Animals are not spiritual. They are not looking for God. They are not performing rituals or taking selfies. Their lives are simple: they spend their time eating, reproducing, and avoiding predators. They have no desire to be special. Humans, however, have an imagination that keeps giving them alternative realities, challenging received wisdom and perceived experiences. We never know who is a friend or who is a foe. We yearn to be special. We demand our lives be witnessed and admired. This is why we were drawn to sages, gurus, missionaries and evangelists. They showed a path. Now the theatre state indulges that deep yearning. Tells you what to perform in order to feel good.
Science never made us feel proud of our past. Rationalist social activists only made us feel like either the oppressors or the oppressed. We were told tradition was evil, and in need of reform and solutions offered by the west. Now, we are being given freedom to mock science and history lessons that were forced down our throats at school. Now we are being given the postmodern tools to challenge academicians and colonisers who denied the nation’s greatness. The suppressed hidden history of Hindus is being revealed by mythological fiction writers who now are popular on history channels and academic circuits. White tourists are being shown in social media marvelling at ‘alien technology’ that created ‘upside down’ Hindu temples (step wells of the 10th century, for those who care about evidence and sober interpretations).
Directors of the theatre state are telling us we have been victimised in the past―a toolkit once used by Marxists and feminists. To be heroic, we need to weaponise gods. To get glamour, we need to indulge in religious cosplay. To feel connected, we need to visit overcrowded, stage-managed spiritual theme parks.
A bhakti boom is clearly being manufactured, like an extended trance party. The manufacturers and monetisers think they are as cunning as Chanakya of yore. They are reclaiming their civilisation, while filling their purses. This delusion of the deluder is what Adi Shankara referred to as ‘maya’ over 1,300 years ago. The wise wait patiently for this bubble to burst, and the next bubble to rise, until realisation strikes that problems are invented when solutions are invented.
Pattanaik is a mythologist and writer.