Wear the willow for morality

The Lord makes it clear that even in crime, there is a merit list. Gambling is the aristocrat, Man’s oldest sport (there’s even a `gambler’s lament’in the Rig Veda, the world’s oldest book). That’s why the Cro-nje catastrophe is so interesting. The most amusing aspect is the public outrage: matchfixing is not cricket!

But, wasn’t there a similar outcry aga-inst Douglas Jardine’s bodyline? And wh-en he went home with the Ashes, didn’t he shut everyone up by coldly declaring that he played to win? The gentlemen’s game then quietly slid itself around to accommodate these new tactics. Then there was an uproar about Kerry Packer’s night cricket and one day matches. But who cares now? Not the cricketers, earning more than wiel-ding the willow ever allowed, not the TV channels, raking in ad shekels hand over fist, not millions of couch gladiators, whose lives are ruled by which team won or lost.

And certainly not the gamblers, who bet vast sums on these matches. When a game is no longer a game but a commercial proposition, why cavil if th-ose who handle one piece of the busine-ss take steps to ens-ure their gains? This is merely the logical extension of the whole commerce of sport. And we, the gambling public, are accessories to the fact. So the first shift in this issue is from an absolute to a relative plane: Yes, I’d gamble. Yes, I’d place bets with bookies. Or, yes, I ‘d gamble. But not with professionals, I’d only make wagers with friends. Or, yes, I’d love to win. But hey, I wan’t to stay on the safe side of the law.

Even if morality were not an issue, it would actually be amusing to see with what artistry the bought players muff catches, get themselves run out or deliberately set themselves up for an lbw. After all, to lose convincingly when every twitch of your muscles is under ca-mera scrutiny , is no easy feat. Perhaps sponsors might be found for a Fakes-potting competition. The point is, there is no morality involved in bribing or being bribed. It is merely one more aspect of a prosperous busine-ss. It comes down th-en, to individual ch-oices and their co- nsequences.

In Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam, Evil is an outside force, waging war with the goodness of God. Hindus think Good and Evil are both there right inside you. Each cannot exist without the other. It is up to you to choose. But then there’s always a price to be paid. Matters are further muddled when the end justifies the means, but the doer has to pay a price anyway. For instance, in the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna whacks his thigh during Bhima and Duryodana’s final combat. Bhima is having the worst of it, but this gesture of Krishna’s reminds him of his vow in the Kaurava court to break Duryodana’s thigh (the Kuru prince had lewdly invited Draupadi to sit on his lap when she was gambled away by Yudhishtira).

A rush of remembered fury makes Bhima hit below the belt. Justified, perhaps, since Duryodana was his opponent and it was Bhima’s dharma or duty to worst him. But the crime of an adharmic act accrues to him, anyway.Earlier, in the course of battle, Krishna had stage-managed the death of Jaya-dratha, king of the Sindhus and leader of the pack that had fenced Abhimanyu fatally in the chakrrvyuha. Arjuna had sworn to kill Jayadratha by sunset next day or lay down arms. The day was drawing to a close, but Jayadratha remained alive. So Krishna faked an early sunset to put the Saindhava off guard and Arjuna’s arrow severed Jayadratha’s head.

These were indeed big battles, with desperate stakes. But even so, the Mahabharata tells us, the end did not justify the means. Krishna may have helped fix a situation. But Arjuna did not have to play along. He did, for his gain, and went to `hell’ for it.

The stark truth beneath the seeming ambivalence of these instances is liberating if we dare grasp it. But the worldly wisdom of the Gita is meat for strong stomachs: there is no Right or Wrong. There simply IS. We always have a choice. And always with a price. Lose your profit. Or lose your honour when found out. Cronje and his four team mates made theirs. A remorseless consequence now stares impassively at them. For just two verses down from `Of the deceivers, I am the gambling’, the Lord says, Dando damyataa-m asmi. Of those who chastise, I am the rod.