From History to Heistory: the post-truth phantasm by Dr. Jernail S. Anand

Good has been replaced by better and better by the best. Bad is replaced by worst and then worst. Now we have a few terms more which describe something greater than the greatest, worse than the worst, and, of course,  better than the best too. In short, we are not content with ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Times have shifted to the superlative zone. The time which had good and bad were genuine. They had some aura of originality because it was possible to separate good from the bad. Moreover,if men were bad, they had a reason. For example, if a man took to dacoity, it was only when he had behind this decision, harrowing tales of injustice. The greatest villains of our times do not have such a history. The heists of goodness are not taking on the society because of any social injustice. They are enjoying their vocation. They are gone berserk only for the thrill of being evil. These are post-truth times in which it is not History, but Heistory that rules the imagination of the non-descript. Men are obsessed with their identity. Those who do good to society assert themselves with authority. But, those who act Heists come under uniform masks. This is the masked society which believes in a uniform act: loot. Masks also underline the idea of deception. So, history which has masters, idealists, and great actors to show, heistory which is at play nowadays revels in a faceless human being, who is driven by no other desire than personal gratification, and greed.

The Shift from Fact to Fiction:

Why literature is so precious to mankind, the single fact is: its reverence for history. Literature does not like to distort and twist facts, to suit the likes and dislikes of the ruling establishment. Right from Christ to Socrates uptill today, the main issue between the poet, the scholar and the administrations of time is: history. The poet and philosopher wants history to remain true to facts, whereas the political establishment revels in fictionalizing history. Fiction which is the domain of literature has suddenly changed sides, and is most comfortable now with the powerful. A more respectable name for history is Truth, a fearsome spectre no one wants to encounter, even in his worst dreams. No wonder, in this era of post-truth, fiction has run over truth, and Heistry over history.  Truth and History are on the run, as they have been declared proclaimed offenders.

Death by Starvation:

The poet, the reservoir of truth, has had to live from hand to mouth, and they were left to praise the kings in order to get some gold coins. Even today, the lovers of truth work on part time basis, forpoetry does not bring a square meal.  So, all the carriers of truth are working part time, remain under fed, and are never secure so far as economic future is concerned. It serves the society well, because, a poor poet cannot afford to speak the truth which means landing in prison and dying of starvation,  of which even Eliot took no notice, when he talked of Death by Water, in his The Wasteland.

Post-truth:

When we cannot live with truth, we are called upon to distort history. We suck the spirit out of words, phrases, and sentences, and make old wisdom stand on its head. We create new narratives, so as to justify [prove true] things that are not true. During the reign of Lustus, the Prince of Darkness, he had issued a commandment that all his Secret Agents will learn the scriptures by heart. They knew all the names of the Saints and stories connected with their lives. Whenever they started their dialogue, they would always begin with the name  of God.

Laundering History in a World of Illusion

This is the age when history has been tortured and truth, molested. The ‘best’ thing about History is that when it is washed, ironed and rehashed, it accepts all onslaughts, like a girl in a brothel who cannot resist her customers, because of the fists of her selldiers [dalals].

We are living in a world of illusion, a world of make believe. Knowledge is an alternative system of understanding which runs parallel to instinct. Animals live by instinct, and men by their knowledge. Knowledge is artificial intelligence which only men need to learn certain basic things which are a part of mother-wit in case of animals and birds.

Knowledge helps us create systems through which we understand the world and its operations. Some things we try to justify and some things, just tend to reject. What belongs to us is only very little in comparison to the huge mass of reality that does not belong to us.

Values of life which we inherit, or we create, are patterns of living which are inscribed on confusions of different kinds. New people come who change the pattern and give new religions. The truth of old times was living in a balance of body, mind and spirit of man, but the truth of modern times conflicts with this truth. We believe in body, at the cost of the mind, and in mind at the cost of the spirit. Body, which gives a strategic fate to our being, is actually an illusion, the real estate of mankind is the mental processes, which extend far beyond the body, and it is further supplemented by the spirit which is immortal and indestructible.

Crisis of Faith - Words and their Meanings Clash:

The state spreads confusion, so that people do not have a clear vision of reality. Media helps in spreading lies, and this euphoria is carried on so long as it becomes a part of the history.

In all this, what we cannot find is the truth. Whatever comes to us in the name of truth is a twisted and tampered account of things which cannot be believed. Most pitiable thing is we have no faith in what people say. We understand the words, we also understand what they say, but we have no faith in the said. How much are we and how much of us is superimposed? How much truth is reported in the newspapers and how much untruth is traded off ?

In these times of post-truth, one wonders how it has affected the world of nature. The truth of the animal world and the vegetation life is singular, because it has no mind of its own. It is comparatively at peace, and stays in leisure and tranquility. But truth and history when they fall into the realm of humanity, lose their originality, and become values which change with times and affect people in their essential nature.

Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, [the Seneca, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky award and Signs Peace Award Laureate, with an opus of 180 books, whose name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia]]  is a towering literary figure whose work embodies a rare fusion of creativity, intellect, and moral vision.