Harry Potter, a series of 7 books, which created frenzy in the literary world with its entry. Millions of children have taken to a long forgotten habit of reading, perhaps a sigh of relief for the few intellects. Older children read it through out the day and for the smaller kids, their parents read them as bedtime stories, and continue long after the child was asleep.
"J.K.Rowling deserves all the plaudits that are being heaped upon her. For once, the word phenomenon is an understatement." -- Scotland on Sunday.
"J.K.Rowling deserves all the plaudits that are being heaped upon her. For once, the word phenomenon is an understatement." -- Scotland on Sunday.
"The Harry Potter books are that rare thing, aseries of stories adored by parents and children alike." -- The Daily Telegraph
Such is the power of Harry Potter. The story about an orphan who feels uncared for and turns out to be the most popular wizard in an alternate world, captivated every child’s mind and heart. The trials and tribulations that Harry experiences seem familiar, that he immediately became a hero. Children like to dress up like Harry; their daily lingo has adapted words from the movie’s esoteric phrases and characters. It so happens that children especially in west do not get to spend much time with their parents and feel neglected and thus connect with Harry personally. And when they see this hapless guy turning into a hero in the other world of witchcraft and wizardry, their joy finds no bound.
No doubt, the book revived the reading habit in children in today’s age of Television and Computer. But the downside of all this is that the book has exposed and encouraged children towards escapism rather than enlightenment. Children see magic as an alternative to facing the reality. But what exactly is magic? Magic is something which someone can do, but I can’t. What good is it bringing about by making them read about witchcraft and wizardry? One thing for sure it encourages is the ghastly and cruel treatment of animals by sacrificing them at the altars of illusion.
Why someone watches movies, serials or reads books? Because life is boring and frustrating and people need to get an outlet, a means to temporarily forget their real life. If we survey the lives of the rich and the filthy rich, 5% of their time goes into their daily chores, the rest 95% time they try to escape from boredom, and that’s why they go to movies, theatres, join clubs, societies so that even if its for sometime, they get a relief. Because these people don’t know what to do with their lives, they indulge in these activities.
It would be surprising and yet very understandable the reasons behind the universality of the story. Parallels can be drawn with Krishna lila. The prophecy that a special child will be bornand would bring about an end to the evil king is the prevalent theme in both; Harry Potter v/s Lord Voldermort and Krishna v/s Kamsa. Harry’s escapades and learnings at Hogwarts can be compared to Krishna & Balarama’s stay at Sandipani muni’s ashram. The principle element of the story remains the same. In childhood itself, Krishna performs feats like killing big demons and protecting the vrajavasis from Indra’s anger by uplifting the Goverdhana hill.
Inspite of parallels there remains a huge difference - difference between Virtual Heroism and Eternal Heroism.
The diagram clarifies the rationale. Real life is at the level of Real Zeroism, where it is filled with boredom and lack of happiness and motivation. On the other hands these movies and books take us to the fictional world of Virtual Heroism. Where some virtual character do
es some magic or extra ordinary feat and plunges people in general into a further illusion or imagination.
On the other end of the spectrum lie the real and the eternal heroism. Who is a real hero? Krishna is great and so are his devotees. The story of Arjuna viz Brihanalla (in the garb of a eunuch) and the attack on Virata kingdom by kauravas illustrates just that. Krishna’s devotees are real heroes. Like Arjuna, Bhima, Dhruva and others. Apart from them, Krishna himself is the original, eternal hero. He is the hero of Vraja, the enchanter of gopis, protector of the citizens of Vraja, the destroyer of the immoral and the life of his friend. He has all the elements of a hero, and thus the stature of the eternal hero. And by associating with this hero brings an end to the meaningless and frustrated life and exposes one to the world of transcendence, where every gait is a dance step, every word is a song, and the atmosphere is filled with happiness and jubilation. In that world, Krishna is the central theme of every one’s life. Krishna holds the position of being their very soul and their lives.
The reason for the success of Harry Potter is one, people are in general ignorant of the goal of their lives and two, they want to escape the constant void in their lives. Stories like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia give people hope, a shelter from the daily anxieties of lives. But viewed objectively, it is a false hope. Ultimately it would benefit no one. Also the attraction to the supernatural indicate to our innate character, that in reality there must be some super natural being to which we are all attracted. Its just that we haven’t find that person yet. So instead of Harry Potter, lets idolize Lord HARI, the POTTER. The very name suggests that he steals the hearts of his devotees with his pastimes and steals their, miseries and sufferings. He is the supreme potter, he carefully makes the universes which are perfect in everyway to help us achieve our goal and thus help us in shaping our lives.
Such is the power of Harry Potter. The story about an orphan who feels uncared for and turns out to be the most popular wizard in an alternate world, captivated every child’s mind and heart. The trials and tribulations that Harry experiences seem familiar, that he immediately became a hero. Children like to dress up like Harry; their daily lingo has adapted words from the movie’s esoteric phrases and characters. It so happens that children especially in west do not get to spend much time with their parents and feel neglected and thus connect with Harry personally. And when they see this hapless guy turning into a hero in the other world of witchcraft and wizardry, their joy finds no bound.
No doubt, the book revived the reading habit in children in today’s age of Television and Computer. But the downside of all this is that the book has exposed and encouraged children towards escapism rather than enlightenment. Children see magic as an alternative to facing the reality. But what exactly is magic? Magic is something which someone can do, but I can’t. What good is it bringing about by making them read about witchcraft and wizardry? One thing for sure it encourages is the ghastly and cruel treatment of animals by sacrificing them at the altars of illusion.
Why someone watches movies, serials or reads books? Because life is boring and frustrating and people need to get an outlet, a means to temporarily forget their real life. If we survey the lives of the rich and the filthy rich, 5% of their time goes into their daily chores, the rest 95% time they try to escape from boredom, and that’s why they go to movies, theatres, join clubs, societies so that even if its for sometime, they get a relief. Because these people don’t know what to do with their lives, they indulge in these activities.
It would be surprising and yet very understandable the reasons behind the universality of the story. Parallels can be drawn with Krishna lila. The prophecy that a special child will be bornand would bring about an end to the evil king is the prevalent theme in both; Harry Potter v/s Lord Voldermort and Krishna v/s Kamsa. Harry’s escapades and learnings at Hogwarts can be compared to Krishna & Balarama’s stay at Sandipani muni’s ashram. The principle element of the story remains the same. In childhood itself, Krishna performs feats like killing big demons and protecting the vrajavasis from Indra’s anger by uplifting the Goverdhana hill.
Inspite of parallels there remains a huge difference - difference between Virtual Heroism and Eternal Heroism.
The diagram clarifies the rationale. Real life is at the level of Real Zeroism, where it is filled with boredom and lack of happiness and motivation. On the other hands these movies and books take us to the fictional world of Virtual Heroism. Where some virtual character do
es some magic or extra ordinary feat and plunges people in general into a further illusion or imagination.On the other end of the spectrum lie the real and the eternal heroism. Who is a real hero? Krishna is great and so are his devotees. The story of Arjuna viz Brihanalla (in the garb of a eunuch) and the attack on Virata kingdom by kauravas illustrates just that. Krishna’s devotees are real heroes. Like Arjuna, Bhima, Dhruva and others. Apart from them, Krishna himself is the original, eternal hero. He is the hero of Vraja, the enchanter of gopis, protector of the citizens of Vraja, the destroyer of the immoral and the life of his friend. He has all the elements of a hero, and thus the stature of the eternal hero. And by associating with this hero brings an end to the meaningless and frustrated life and exposes one to the world of transcendence, where every gait is a dance step, every word is a song, and the atmosphere is filled with happiness and jubilation. In that world, Krishna is the central theme of every one’s life. Krishna holds the position of being their very soul and their lives.
The reason for the success of Harry Potter is one, people are in general ignorant of the goal of their lives and two, they want to escape the constant void in their lives. Stories like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia give people hope, a shelter from the daily anxieties of lives. But viewed objectively, it is a false hope. Ultimately it would benefit no one. Also the attraction to the supernatural indicate to our innate character, that in reality there must be some super natural being to which we are all attracted. Its just that we haven’t find that person yet. So instead of Harry Potter, lets idolize Lord HARI, the POTTER. The very name suggests that he steals the hearts of his devotees with his pastimes and steals their, miseries and sufferings. He is the supreme potter, he carefully makes the universes which are perfect in everyway to help us achieve our goal and thus help us in shaping our lives.
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