the guru in harry potter

As Potter mania grips the world again with the release of the Halfblood Prince,and as young and old all alike immerse themselves in the fabled world of wizardry,scepticism has raised its head again,with the pope himself denouncing the books as creating a wrong impression on children.After all,critics ask,what is so special about potter that he is being given cult status,eclipsing other child characters say,Tom sawyer?The pope says Potter is giving a wrong notion of good and evil by referring to pagan symbolism.some others say Potter is just being overhyped.
But is Potter really not that great as it seems he is?Is potter really giving a wrong notion of good and evil?Before delving into the topic,we have to first realise that what Potter represents has to be seen in context of today's world.
In today's world the fine difference between good and evil has become redundant.while others rant about the pagan symbolism as a threat,they seem to forget that evil has undergone mutation.Terrorism,racism,murder,though prime evils,are not the only evils.evil ideals have so blended with our lives that it is within our soul;we today do not know whether our best friend is our best pal or worst enemy-just as in the reign of lord voldemort,where it was difficult to know between a true death eater and one working under imperius curse.remember,all the racist rantings of voldemort as to purebloods are hogwash.the underlying emotions behind all these evils is greed;the greed to get more and more power,the greed to be great.voldemort doesnt care for the ideology which he perpetrates to achieve his ends;it is the end itself that is supremely important for him and he is ready to go to any level to get it.Dont we see examples of all these in our real world?all these extremism,apartheid,subjugation,betrayal,terrorism have the same underlying principle;the greed to be powerful,the greed to be successful.it is that greed that dictates the foreign policy of US or Al-Qaida;or of ur next door neighbour plotting ur downfall.
What is special about Harry Potter?the cleverly scripted zig-saw of a storyline,or the goodness that he represents,or that he is the'chosen one?'It is a mixture of all these,but in my opinion why harry is a superstar is ,ironically because he is not a superstar!for harry is neither brilliant like hermione,nor is he good-looking;nor is he powerful like voldemort.then how come he escaped voldemort so many times,and thwarted his plans?how come hermione herself admits that harry is a far better wizard,when in academics harry is only a pale shadow of her?JK rowling shows in the caharacter of harry and his friends and enemies that you dont have to be exceptionally knowledgable or brilliant or talented to be special;harry is special because everybody on this planet is born special,with a purpose in his/her life.JKR shows that other things matter too-courage,ur resourcefulness,wisdom,and ,as dumbledore told harry,ur ability to love.thats why harry is even greater than hermione,or even voldemort,for not only he can love,but he can sacrifice his love for the greater good.Harry shows that these subtle things of life matter more than all the knowledge,all the technology and all the power of the world.
Harry-Hermione comparision is analogous to Dumbledore-Voldemort comparision.dumbledore and voldemort are equally talented-equallly powerful.but still dumbledore is greater because he has wisdom,voldemort has not.voldemort-dumbledore tussle shows that what determines ur greatness and success is not ur reaction at situations where u know ,but ur reaction to situations where u do now know.For millions of kids all over the world burdened by expectations-expectation to play like Federer,look like Tom cruise\Aishwariya Rai and think like Einstein,Harry comes as a beacon of hope-symbolising that speciality lies in ur heart-but ur mind;that you are a wonderful creation in this beautiful world,and that you will achieve greatness only by showing love,compassion and understanding the fine distinction between good and evil,not by emulating someone.harry shows us that if we understand our limitations but realise our strengths,we can scale even the loftiest mountains.so harry potter is not just a superstar;he is a symbol of hope for this world;he is a new age guru-showing us light in the darkness of evil that so engulfs the world today.