Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power

Disney's Aladdin (2019) showed that while facing adversity brings out one’s resilience, it is the power that ultimately uncovers one’s true nature. With great adversity, when both Jafar and Aladdin got the magic lamp, the former fueled by revenge, sought all-more power, while the latter, filled in love, wished to free a friend in Genie. Similarly, in life too, the power has the ability to expose one's character and bring out the depth in its features. And the depth in its features, in turn, determines the degree to which one can withstand the perks of power.

Power – Indicator of Character

“World is a stage, we are all its puppets who are stringed and controlled by puppets above us in the hierarchy.” –Anonymous

In such a puppet show, the power is perceived to be capable of liberating one by cutting such strings. This cassette of freedom plays the tunes of empowerment for some, eternity for a few, and becomes addictive for others. One becomes like an over-compressed spring. Upon cutting of strings, the spring explodes out of control unless and otherwise contained.

Mohammed bin Tughlaq was one such notable exploded spring. When he became the all-powerful sultan of India in 1325, the fragrance of his unquestionable freedom evoked his deepest desires of experimenting different ways to send a person, presumably those who opposed him, not to paradise but to death. His creative brutality might have even terrify the goddess of death herself, recalls many historians.

However, in a history shaped by many complex characters, not all of them had such dreadful desires. Sher Shah Suri was a great visionary who raised from the ranks of simple revenue officer to become an all-powerful sultan in 1540. And his desire, forged by sufferings of his people, made him administer justice impartially.

The fragrance of freedom, besides evoking desire, tests one’s value system. It simply makes one express what one values the most. In the modern age, the popularity has become a simple yet powerful weapon. In that line, actors became the uncrowned powerhouses who can either influence their fans positively, or seduce them into a misery. Those actors who valued morality campaign for initiatives that can bring a responsible behavior change in the followers, as seen in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign. Whereas, those who valued money through any means seduced their fans by endorsing in online real money games advertisements, brutalizing their followers’ lives.

How-much-ever noble the values are, without tolerance, it would not sustain its nobility. Freedom, thus, tests one's tolerance to critics because inherently, any ideology per se will be challenged by some people, that being the spirit of diversity. Emperor Ashoka was one of the powerful examples of tolerance. Despite being an all-powerful Buddhist king, he was very accommodative towards all religions. He organized and encouraged intellectual debates, pacifying the sound of opposition with his voice of justice – dharmagosha, rooted in tolerance.

Unfortunately, this is not the case everywhere. Rospierre was one of the heroes of French Revolution who was popularly called as ‘the incorruptible.’ But this popular title couldn’t stand the test of power, which exposed his insecurities with the help of critics. Thus, once a liberator, drove France into ‘the reign of terror’ (1793-94), replacing tolerance with guillotine justice.

Finally, the elixir of power invokes one’s ego, blinding even great scholars. In Ramayana, Ravana was a well-versed philosopher. Yet his unworldly power never let him repent for his evil deeds. He let it suppress his divine knowledge by evoking his ego and thus, pushing him into the path of self-destruction.

However, signs of hope too shines in the sky when we see some powerful people exhibit humility. For instance, PM Justin Trudeau was humble enough to apologize to India in 2016, on behalf of the Canadian government for the Komagata Maru incident (1914), when his country unwelcomed Indian immigrants.

While such incidents are momentarily pleasing, giving in a sense of confidence and hope, peace and justice will not endure in this world unless everyone realizes the true nature of power and attempts control its influence.

De-Veiling Power

As contradictory as it may sound, the true nature of power is not independence, but responsibility. As the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Power necessarily creates in oneself, an obligation towards others. This obligation, in turn, constrains one’s freedom through moral boundaries. Therefore, the widely prevailing theory of ‘power giving freedom,’ is nothing but a myth.

Furthermore, the trusteeship doctrine says that powerful people are endowed power in the form of wealth, skills and resources in order to aid those who are devoid of it. Therefore, all the power centers in this society – politicians, rulers, celebrity and, even fictional superheroes, exist to fulfil such noble responsibility of service to people.

And to prevent such noble responsibility from turning into violent autocracy, an ethical and just foundation must be laid. For such a foundation, while humility, altruism and compassion form its roots, weeds such as greed, pride and envy must be chopped out. Such kind of moral rooting was shown by Emperor Marcus Aurelius who lived like a saint, devoted to his people, unshaken in the storm of luxuries of his powerful kingdom.

Besides such moral base, a safety valve must be installed to preventing wild turns at times. This means external checks and balance must be ensured, especially in a sovereign state, to prevent misuse of power by the powerful. This is usually done by dividing and de-concentrating power, and establishing various accountability mechanisms. Even in ancient times, Kautilya advocated to hold the king accountable by protesting against him, if he became unjust. And modern world has diversified the means of protesting via elections, media, judiciary, social audits and so on.

Although power poses itself as an ultimate liberator from shackles of control, it actually entrusts one with a noble duty of service towards others, enchaining one with responsibility. The one who realizes this truth becomes the true altruistic hero, while those who fall for its fantasy become the new evil genie who must eventually be contained in such an itty-bitty tiny space in lamp. Therefore, in the test of power, one withstands its whims and fights its fancies, with what we call “Nishkama Karma” – Selfless duty!

Do you agree on my take that power is the true measure of character? Share your thoughts below.