LOYALTY
Think of the word ‘ Loyal ‘and the first thing that comes to our mind are dogs .
Dogs are supposed to be very loyal pets especially to their masters.
Think loyalty and our mind gets into a overdrive of loyal and true friends who are with us through thick and thin.
Loyalty , trustworthiness, reliability, honesty are all used as synonyms , when actually they all are subsects of loyalty .
A person loyal to you can be relied, trusted and will be completely honest and open in his dealings.
Loyalty is actually overrated , I strongly feel .
No human being can be loyal to any one person, organisation , brand or even a nation .
Each human being is loyal only to his needs and requirements.
As needs change, loyalty changes .
Lets divulge in past a bit.
Whether it is Ramayana or Mahabharat, examples of disloyalty are more than rare examples of loyalty like Lakshman or Bharat to Lord Ram .
Judas was also a loyal discipline of Jesus Christ before betraying Christ for “30 pieces of silver ‘’
Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by his loyal friend Brutus though Caesar considered him to be his heir.Brutus betrayed Caesar to prove loyalty to his country .
Does loyalty to one means betrayal towards someone else ?
We all loved the movie Raazi, a true story of an Indian spy .
Was she loyal to the vows of the marriage?
Or can your loyalty be sacrified for a larger cause ?
Is betrayal allowed if it is in the interest of nation, or in larger public interests ?
The TV series ‘‘ Americans” about Russian spys in America.
Did they betray the confidence of people who trusted them as they believed their loyalty towards their nation is for paramount importance ?
When you say ‘ Survival of the Fittest ‘, doesn’t it mean self before anyone else ?
The old childhood tale of the mother monkey 🐒 trying to keep her children afloat in water till her survival is at stake , is it not an example of even a mother the epitome of selflessness, changing loyalty for the sake of her own survival?
Loyalty is hyped up to such a level that loyalty can get twisted or turned.
Lets now understand how easily loyalty turns into blind workship and sycophancy.
Minions generally deprives plain thinking and expressing of opinion which are in variance with the party or the Govt or even organization.
This form of loyalty is obsequious behaviour towards someone important in order to gain advantage.
Sycophants or bhakts are blind in their faith as they know this is a sureshot way to success.
Thus a person is loyal as his loyalty will fetch rewards for him.
Sycophants are like leech, parasite, sponge, and toady, usually obsequious flatterer or self-seeker,” This display of fawning, flattery, grovelling, ingratiating, servile, crawling behaviour is only to further their interest.
Anti — Defection Act which was passed to suppress the culture of ‘Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram’ has turned into a lethal weapon as the party whip now smothers all voices of dissent or even honest voicing of different viewpoints.
Which and what type of loyalty our democratic representatives are supposed to adhere to?
Remember Feroze Gandhi who would constantly harangue the Nehru Govt over issues he disagreed strongly
Was he then not loyal to his family as the Prime minister was his father in law ?
I can go on and on.
But the moot point is, Is loyalty like chameleon, that it can keep changing colours as per the circumstances?
CONCLUSION :
I wish to reiterate that there are many other strong and moral characteristics of an individual like his basic core value mechanism , integrity , honesty, fairness, and equality one needs to focus and support.
Loyalty is not a trait to be culled out and positioned to value or assay an individual worth .