Life is Attachment
Ahmedabad, Narendra Modi Stadium, 29th May 2022, IPL Final between Gujarat Giants and Rajasthan Royals. Stadium packed, with over a lakh of spectators, and with bands playing all over, Commentators, with their high pitch voice, screaming with excitement, 'It's a spectacle to watch'.
No, no, I am not going to talk about either that match or a cricket match in general. I am going to attempt to explore what exactly happens to spectators and their emotions, who get so charged watching a match, be that Cricket, Soccer, Basketball or Lawn Tennis, and join chorus of music, hooting, clapping etc and feel high when their favourite Team/player is winning or curse the devil for playing a spoil sports if the other team they are not supporting seems winning.
Display of extremely high level of emotions at an individual level, and stampede of emotions at collective level, which charges the air with excitement at such sports venues, is the subject matter of our discussion today. And the number I am talking about is One lakh in stadium and around one crore people watching such matches on their TVs.
This is an attempt to decode the chemical reactions that goes in spectator's mind which makes them so charged. Fallout of vicarious entertainment.
Firstly, most of the spectators are not personally known or related to players who play the match. Most of the spectators may not even belong to respective places whose teams are playing the given match, and wonder is how any individual is able to one-sided relate oneself to either a player or a team to the extent that they rejoice when a player or team they are hooting plays well, or they curse if the player or team they are hooting doesn't play well and is on loosing side. Many a times, I wonder as to what extent such a behavior on part of spectators is logical and rational.
Secondly, Cricket is not an exception here. This emotional stampede is witnessed in all other sports, such as Soccer, Hockey, Lawn Tennis, Basketball, to name the few, which are played in bigger stadiums with thousands of spectators watching the same. The height of absurdity is when you find soccer fans supporting their favourite teams lock horns among themselves and create so much ruckus, at times, especially the English fans and Russian fans.
Thirdly, even when I am a neutral spectator, means my country's player is not playing the match, why I still favour a particular sports person/team over other equally competent sports person/team in a match between the two. To give one example, say Lawn Tennis, why in a match between Federer and Dojokovic or between Nadal and Federer, I wish a particular player to win? Some people may comment that they like the fighting spirit of Nadal so they back him up and want to see him win. Some people may say that they like the melody and symphony of Federer, and therefore want to see him winning the match etc. Why people can't fathom not-siding with a player/team, just appreciate the quality match being played between two players/two teams, and enjoy match impartially?
The moot question in all the three aforesaid example is why we get emotionally attached in such cases, even when neither the players are related to most of us nor we are going to have any material gain in our favourite player/team winning the match. Why we let our emotions run amok, and why we can't enjoy the match as a neutral spectator. WHY WE GET ATTACHED? IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE DETACHED AND YET ENJOY THE MATCH? SHALL IT GENERATE THE SAME THRILL?
These are the questions which have been rocking my mind ever since that IPL Final played on 29th May'22, or Wimbledon Final played on 10th July 2022, and I invite my readers to join me in examining our psyche in such circumstances, and help decipher the chemical reactions which happens in our minds.
The same analogy is applicable when elections to Govt formation takes place and people have to vote for candidates/party they trust will deliver results, with the full knowledge that whatever is promised in oratory may not transform into reality. Yet we take sides even when most of us are not related to candidates in fray and no personal gain accrues to any one of us at an individual level.
My take is, not intending to undermine 'Detachment' our Scriptures, Saints and Philosophers have been unequivocally propagating all along, that Life begins with attachment, stays with attachment, and flourish in attachment, starting from our birth, our family, our neighborhood, our school, our college, our shops, our factory, or the the organizations we work in our life time. We are nothing without such social and meaningful relationships/attachment, which helps us all grow smarter than where we start our journey, called Life. Therefore, in a drama, movie, play or a match/sports, by default, we necessarily have to choose sides in case we really want to enjoy the same, and allow emotions to run amok, as that leads to some fulfillment in case you happen to be on the winning side. Detachment can wait, as I can't build my life on that.
Attachment is Life. Family is Life. Enjoy