Are we the most gullible on earth?

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

I wish experts on human behaviour introduced a gullibility index, as this surely would have been the one, we could easily have topped! We have been fooled by politicians of all hues who have mastered the art of exploiting gullibility. We have been brainwashed to believe that family bandyism is an integral part of success in politics. We have been fooled into putting caste before the country. Our votes are cast not on policies but on the subtle, and the not so subtle, bribes. Whilst other countries borrow for developmental purposes, we borrow to repay political bribes and are in an abyss now, as a result. Even at this darkest hour, our politicians have put self-interest first, instead of getting together to save the country. Seeing no light at the end of the tunnel, professionals are fleeing in droves and soon we will be a country bereft of talent, on top of being financially bankrupt!

It is not only the politicians who exploit the gullibility of the masses. Paradoxically, even the intelligentsia are at it. Look at the proliferation of professors in Sri Lanka! It has become such an epidemic that University Grants Commission is reportedly considering laying down guidelines. How they are going to implement, I wonder! There are plenty of dubious universities the world over, awarding pseudo-degrees and appointing professors! Ayurvedic Medical faculties do not produce Ayurvedic doctors, all labelling themselves as doctors and practicing non-Ayurvedic medicine. Further, plenty of bogus doctors abound, practicing very successfully with no training at all!

It reminds me of a colleague of ours, who went on a Chinese government fellowship to study acupuncture for three months. On return, not only he became a specialist in the field but also set up an institution to teach and award degrees. Seeking legitimacy, he invited President J. R. Jayewardene, who happened to be the Minister of Higher Education, to award degrees at the convocation.

The danger of this was discussed at a Sri Lanka Medical Association council meeting and it was left for Dr N J Wallooppillai, as the President, and me, as the secretary, to appeal to President Jayewardene. Fortunately, we were able to approach President Jayewardene and convince him that he would be awarding degrees from an institution not recognised by the UGC. As it was too late to cancel, he attended but did not take part in the awarding of degrees!

Of course, gullibility is at its peak when it comes to religion which, in a way, is no surprise. After all, religion is the first and strongest brainwashing we get in life. More often than not, the religion we practise is based on birth, not on conviction as it should be. Gullibility is best exploited in this situation by so-called conversions. I have no problem with conversions based on convictions but most conversions are simple exploitations. Many rewards are offered in some religions for conversions resulting in conversions through, from marriage to trickery; almost all miracles falling within this category. The worst offenders are the cults and the only thing that has not happened in Sri Lanka is people killing themselves before the world ends!

There is much hype these days about a self-proclaimed prophet, supposed be close to some politicians too and he is accused of insulting other religions. Some politicians are up in arms demanding punishment which seems more for their political gain. Out of curiosity, I carefully watched YouTube video and am quoting verbatim what he stated, as media did not do so. During his preaching to a large cheering crowd, where Sinhala translation followed each line, he stated:

“This is what separates Christianity from Buddhism. This is what separates Christianity from Islam. Let us take Islam for instance. You can’t even call Allah, father! Are you hearing this? You have 99 names for God in Islam and yet, love is not one of them! This is what separates Christianity from Buddhism. Because for a Buddhist in their mind, it is like, Okay, annunta kala de tamanta palade In a sense it is true, especially if you do something to a prophet anyway. Now, but in the Buddhist mind they never hear the love of Buddha. Are you hearing me? Their focus is on enlightenment. Now, to be enlightened you need light. The Buddha himself, the name Buddha means enlightened one. Ladies and gentlemen, what is greater? Light or enlightenment? Jesus said ‘I am the light of the world.’ So, I tell you now, Jesus did not say I am the enlightened one.

No, no, no, Jesus came from a different wavelength. He said I am the light. So, I submit to you, the Buddha was looking for light. He was actually looking for Jesus. This is why every Buddhist needs Jesus. This is why every Muslim needs Jesus. This is Christianity that separates itself from Hinduism. Glory to Lord! Hindus are very close to the gospel. Buddhists are also very close to the gospel. Muslims are very close to the gospel. Very close.

That is why you need preachings like this. Let them take the next step. Sit down! Hinduism, the reason why they venerate so many animals. They don’t realise and hopefully after I said this will realise why they have a god that looks like an elephant. The reason why they have gods with ten thousand hands. They are not far from the truth. Why they venerate cows? They are very close but they are still far away. But what separates Christianity from Hinduism? It is this reality of life. Agape love. Some of you should tell your loving Hindu people, what you are doing may be true to you but there is a deeper truth. Never prosecute anybody. Never shame another person’s faith.”

As for me, these are not the words of a prophet, nor a preacher but the ramblings of an ill-informed individual who is making a living out of the gullible. The cheers for some of his ill-conceived statements amply demonstrate the gullibility of the audience. Their behaviour is in sharp contrast to our youth; I have been most impressed by the knowledge of Buddhism displayed by non-Buddhist children in quiz shows. In my opinion, the best way to handle ill-informed persons is to ignore them. In fact, past events support this. In January 2000, a series of chain emails spread the rumour that imported bananas were infecting people with ‘flesh-eating’ bacteria, adding that the FDA was trying to cover up the epidemic to avoid panic and encouraging readers to spread the word to their friends and family. FDA issuing a denial which only made matters worse!

Coming back to the pseudo-prophet, he displays gross ignorance as he implies light is needed for enlightenment! Light gets rid of darkness and that is not enlightenment!! He completely overlooks the fact that the Buddha was there six centuries before Christ, making it impossible for the Buddha to look for Christ!

After insulting all religions, the pseudo-prophet demonstrates the height of his hypocrisy by stating: “Never shame another person’s faith”!