The sermon vendors

You can call them the ‘die-hard custodians of moral law’, or ‘stalwarts of moral brigade’, or even the ‘apostles of moral enterprise’. These are an unique breed of people—the celebrated ‘sermon-vendors’, who go about sanctimoniously pontificating on various aspects of human vices and virtues in life. But the big glitch here is that they don’t follow even an infinitesimal amount of what is sermonised by them. Their mantra is, ‘only preaching is our inalienable right, and it’s for others to practice the prized ‘gyan’ provided by us.’

For instance, you have people, talking pompously on greatness of being altruistic and generous. Interestingly, they themselves would be such niggardly skinflints, who wouldn’t part with even a penny of theirs. Then there are folks ladling out sermons on cultivating the habit of being helpful to humans around. Never mind their own aged and ailing parents would have been left in the lurch, after being deserted by these perfection-personified, sermon-vendors. Next, you have people sermonising on being highly enterprising, and how one ought to possess that alacrity to take initiative, in doing many innovative things.

Yes, you guessed it right! These are the lazy-bones, who are incredibly slothful, and for whom hard-work is anathema. Apparently, for these folks it’s easy to be followers, than being the trail-blazers.

Even at workplaces you find these sermon-vendors, doling out sermons on the importance of being sincere and punctilious at one’s work. Well, these are the ones, known for their tardiness and slapdash working ways. At times, you even find them shuffling off their official duties, and saddling others with their work. And then you have some of the high-ranking big-wigs, holding forth on moral rectitude and propriety of moral behaviour. It’s little surprise if they themselves are corrupt officials, who indulge in everything unethical, with not a scintilla of honesty or integrity in their DNA. This is as farcical as those conceited lots, giving copious, unsolicited sermons on modesty!

And in the families too, you have some self-righteous womenfolk, who buttonhole you, sermonising on donning of right apparels at right places. Never mind their own girls come attired in revealing, ill-advised dresses at many social events.

And then there are people, the self-confessed animal lovers, expatiating on mortal sins behind harming animals. And you see them, merrily cramming down all non-veg delicacies. Wish you could gift all these sermon-vendors a king-sized mirror, so that they could have a dekko at their own ‘reflections’ (read short-comings), if at all they care to do.