The Art of Seduction (24 page)

manner irritating.) He won charisma when he was seen as the man who 1 9 0 5 , QUOTED IN RONALD W.

CLARK,
LENIN:THE MAN

could save the country. Charisma is not a mysterious quality that inhabits
BEHIND THE MASK

you outside your control; it is an illusion in the eyes of those who see you as having what they lack. Particularly in times of trouble, you can enhance that illusion through calmness, resolution, and clear-minded practicality. It also helps to have a seductively simple message. Call it the Savior Syn-
The Charismatic
•
109

drome: once people imagine you can save them from chaos, they will fall in
Tirst and foremost there
love with you, like a person who melts in the arms of his or her rescuer.
can be no prestige without
mystery, for familiarity

And mass love equals charisma. How else to explain the love ordinary Rus-
breeds contempt.
.
. . I n
sians felt for a man as emotionless and unexciting as Vladimir Lenin.
the design, the demeanor

and the mental operations

of a leader there must

always be a "something"

The guru.
According to the beliefs of the Theosophical Society, every two
which others cannot
thousand years or so the spirit of the World Teacher, Lord Maitreya, inhab-
altogether fathom, which
its the body of a human. First there was Sri Krishna, born two thousand
puzzles them, stirs them,
and rivets their

years before Christ; then there was Jesus himself; and at the start of the
attention . . . to hold in
twentieth century another incarnation was due. One day in 1909, the
reserve some piece of secret
theosophist Charles Leadbeater saw a boy on an Indian beach and had an
knowledge which may any
moment intervene, and the

epiphany: this fourteen-year-old lad, Jiddu Krishnamurti, would be the
more effectively from being
World Teacher's next vehicle. Leadbeater was struck by the simplicity of
in the nature of a surprise.
the boy, who seemed to lack the slightest trace of selfishness. The members
The latent faith of the

of the Theosophical Society agreed with his assessment and adopted this
masses will do the rest.
Once the leader has been

scraggly underfed youth, whose teachers had repeatedly beaten him for stu-
fudged capable of adding
pidity. They fed and clothed him and began his spiritual instruction. The
the weight of his
scruffy urchin turned into a devilishly handsome young man.

personality to the known

factors of any situation, the

In 1911, the theosophists formed the Order of the Star in the East, a
ensuing hope and
group intended to prepare the way for the coming of the World Teacher.
confidence will add
Krishnamurti was made head of the order. He was taken to England, where
immensely to the faith
reposed in him.

his education continued, and everywhere he went he was pampered and revered. His air of simplicity and contentment could not help but impress.

—CHARLES DE GAULLE,
THE

E D G E
OF THE SWORD,
IN DAVID

Soon Krishnamurti began to have visions. In 1922 he declared, "I have SCHOENBRUN,
THE THREE

drunk at the fountain of Joy and eternal Beauty. I am God-intoxicated."
LIVES OF CHARLES DE GAULLE

Over the next few years he had psychic experiences that the theosophists interpreted as visits from the World Teacher. But Krishnamurti had actually had a different kind of revelation: the truth of the universe came from within. No god, no guru, no dogma could ever make one realize it. He himself was no god or messiah, but just another man. The reverence that he was treated with disgusted him. In 1929, much to his followers' shock, he disbanded the Order of the Star and resigned from the Theosophical Society.

And so Krishnamurti became a philosopher, determined to spread the

truth he had discovered: you must be simple, removing the screen of language and past experience. Through these means anyone could attain contentment of the kind that radiated from Krishnamurti. The theosophists abandoned him but his following grew larger than ever. In California, where he spent much of his time, the interest in him verged on cultic adoration. The poet Robinson Jeffers said that whenever Krishnamurti entered a room you could feel a brightness filling the space. The writer Aldous Huxley met him in Los Angeles and fell under his spell. Hearing him speak, he wrote: "It was like listening to the discourse of the Buddha—

such power, such intrinsic authority." The man radiated enlightenment. The actor John Barrymore asked him to play the role of Buddha in a film.
110
•
The Art of Seduction

Only a month after Evita's

(Krishnamurti politely declined.) When he visited India, hands would
death, the newspaper

reach out from the crowd to try to touch him through the open car win
vendors' union put forward
dow. People prostrated themselves before him.

her name for canonization,

and although this gesture

Repulsed by all this adoration, Krishnamurti grew more and more de
was an isolated one and
tached. He even talked about himself in the third person. In fact, the ability
was never taken seriously

to disengage from one's past and view the world anew was part of his phi
by the Vatican, the idea of
losophy, yet once again the effect was the opposite of what he expected:
Evita's holiness remained

with many people and was

the affection and reverence people felt for him only grew. His followers
reinforced by the
fought jealously for signs of his favor. Women in particular fell deeply in
publication of devotional

love with him, although he was a lifelong celibate.

literature subsidized by

the government; by the

renaming of cities, schools,

Krishnamurti had no desire to be a guru or a Charismatic, but he inadver
and subway stations; and
tently discovered a law of human psychology that disturbed him. People do
by the stamping of

medallions, the casting

not want to hear that your power comes from years of effort or discipline.
of busts, and the issuing of
They prefer to think that it comes from your personality, your character,
ceremonial stamps. The

something you were born with. They also hope that proximity to the guru
time of the evening news

broadcast was changed from

or Charismatic will make some of that power rub off on them. They did
8:30 P.M. to 8:25 P.M.,

not want to have to read Krishnamurti's books, or to spend years practicing
the time when Evita had

his lessons—they simply wanted to be near him, soak up his aura, hear him

"passed into immortality,"

speak, feel the light that entered the room with him. Krishnamurti advo
and each month there were
torch-lit processions on the

cated simplicity as a way of opening up to the truth, but his own simplicity
twenty-sixth of the month,
just allowed people to see what they wanted in him, attributing powers to
the day of her death. On

him that he not only denied but ridiculed.

the first anniversary of her

death,
La P r e n s a
printed a

This is the guru effect, and it is surprisingly simple to create. The aura
story about one of its
you are after is not the fiery one of most Charismatics, but one of incan
readers seeing Evita's face
descence, enlightenment. An enlightened person has understood some
in the face of the moon,
and after this there were

thing that makes him or her content, and this contentment radiates outward.
many more such sightings

That is the appearance you want: you do not need anything or anyone, you
reported in the newspapers.

are fulfilled. People are naturally drawn to those who emit happiness;
For the most part, official

maybe they can catch it from you. The less obvious you are, the better: let
publications stopped short

of claiming sainthood for
people conclude that you are happy, rather than hearing it from you. Let
her, but their restraint was

them see it in your unhurried manner, your gentle smile, your ease and
not always convincing. . . .

comfort. Keep your words vague, letting people imagine what they will.
In the calendar for 1 9 5 3 of

the Buenos Aires

Remember: being aloof and distant only stimulates the effect. People
newspaper vendors, as in
will fight for the slightest sign of your interest. A guru is content and
other unofficial images,

detached—a deadly Charismatic combination.

she was depicted in the

traditional blue robes of the

Virgin, her hands crossed,

her sad head to one side

The drama saint.
It began on the radio. Throughout the late 1930s and
and surrounded by a halo.

early 1940s, Argentine women would hear the plaintive, musical voice of

— N I C H O L A S FRASER AND

Eva Duarte in one of the lavishly produced soap operas that were so popuMARYSA NAYARRO.
EVITA
lar at the time. She never made you laugh, but how often she could make you cry—with the complaints of a betrayed lover, or the last words of Marie Antoinette. The very thought of her voice made you shiver with emotion. And she was pretty, with her flowing blond hair and her serious face, which was often on the covers of the gossip magazines.

The Charismatic
•
111

In 1943, those magazines published a most exciting story: Eva had
As for me, I have the gift
begun an affair with one of the most dashing men in the new military
of electrifying men.
government, Colonel Juan Perón. Now Argentines heard her doing propa-—NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, IN

ganda spots for the government, lauding the "New Argentina" that glis-PIETER GEYL,
NAPOLEON: FOR

AND AGAINST

tened in the future. And finally, this fairy tale story reached its perfect conclusion: in 1945 Juan and Eva married, and the following year, the handsome colonel, after many trials and tribulations (including a spell in
I do not pretend to be a
prison, from which he was freed by the efforts of his devoted wife) was
divine man, but I do
elected president. He was a champion of the
descamisados
—the "shirtless
believe in divine guidance,
ones," the workers and the poor, just as his wife was. Only twenty-six at the
divine power, and divine
prophecy. I am not

time, she had grown up in poverty herself.

educated, nor am I an

Now that this star was the first lady of the republic, she seemed to
expert in any particular
change. She lost weight, most definitely; her outfits became less flamboy-
field
—b
ut I am sincere and
my sincerity is my

ant, even downright austere; and that beautiful flowing hair was now pulled
credentials.
back, rather severely. It was a shame—the young star had grown up. But as —MALCOLM X, QUOTED IN

Argentines saw more of the new Evita, as she was now known, her new EUGENE VICTORWOLFENSTEIN, look affected them more strongly. It was the look of a saintly, serious
THE VICTIMS OF DEMOCRACY:

woman, one who was indeed what her husband called the "Bridge of
MALCOLM X AND THIS BLACK

REVOLUTION

Love" between himself and his people. She was now on the radio all the time, and listening to her was as emotional as ever, but she also spoke magnificently in public. Her voice was lower and her delivery slower; she stabbed the air with her fingers, reached out as if to touch the audience. And her words pierced you to the core: "I left my dreams by the wayside in order to watch over the dreams of others. . . . I now place my soul at the side of the soul of my people. I offer them all my energies so that my body may be a bridge erected toward the happiness of all. Pass over it . . . toward the supreme destiny of the new fatherland."

It was no longer only through magazines and the radio that Evita made herself felt. Almost everyone was personally touched by her in some way. Everyone seemed to know someone who had met her, or who had visited her in her office, where a line of supplicants wound its way through the hallways to her door. Behind her desk she sat, so calm and full of love. Film crews recorded her acts of charity: to a woman who had lost everything, Evita would give a house; to one with a sick child, free care in the finest hospital. She worked so hard, no wonder rumor had it that she was ill. And everyone heard of her visits to the shanty towns and to hospitals for the poor, where, against the wishes of her staff, she would kiss people with all kinds of maladies (lepers, syphilitic men, etc.) on the cheek. Once an assistant appalled by this habit tried to dab Evita's lips with alcohol, to sterilize them. This saint of a woman grabbed the bottle and smashed it against the wall.

Yes, Evita was a saint, a living madonna. Her appearance alone could heal the sick. And when she died of cancer, in 1952, no outsider to Argentina could possibly understand the sense of grief and loss she left behind. For some, the country never recovered.

* * *

112
•
The Art of Seduction

Most of us live in a semi-somnambulistic state: we do our daily tasks and the days fly by. The two exceptions to this are childhood and those moments when we are in love. In both cases, our emotions are more engaged, more open and active. And we equate feeling emotional with feeling more alive. A public figure who can affect people's emotions, who can make them feel communal sadness, joy, or hope, has a similar effect. An appeal to the emotions is far more powerful than an appeal to reason.