Now, “tapasya” or meditation is intended to uplift the individual soul, but Mr. Modi appears to have elevated it to an instrument of governance. Now we know why demonetization, GST and the second Covid wave have played out the way they have: instead of sitting down with a few economists and virologists our Prime Minister was conversing with his soul. He forgot the caution underlined by the Buddha: “There is no meditation without wisdom.” Incidentally, there is also no tapasya without sacrifice, but Mr. Modi believes that the sacrifice has to come from the people, while he himself basks in the glow of Arnab Goswami’s rhapsodies.There is now a real danger that tapasya may soon be made an essential part of the government’s curriculum, like Yoga. Why, we may soon have an International Tapasya Day decreed by the UN. It may soon become our second most important export, after fugitive billionaires. This is not good news for the poor public. As it is, it’s impossible to find a sarkari babu at his table because he has either gone to do Yoga or watch Mann Ki Baat or organise the Yogi’s next rally or get one of his many cards (Aadhaar, PAN, CGHS, Metro card, SIM) updated or recharged. Now tapasya will be added to this onerous list of official engagements.The long-suffering citizens, naturally, will have no other option but to perform tapasya themselves, as they did at Shaheen Bagh, the borders of Delhi, Jantar Mantar and outside just about every second police station in Uttar Pradesh. Tapasya will shortly become a national movement, what Mr. Doval would probably term the fourth pillar of democracy, the other three being Mann Ki Baat, Ram Rajya and Electoral Bonds.
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