Impersonating Narcissus.

There was not anything unusual, even that day; we were walking past the same boulevard of the known part of the city. It was already long enough since my friend had started his talk; everything seemed perfect until I almost impetuaously exclaimed," Narcissus couldn’t have been more happier than to have himself reincarnated in you; friend, you relive him loyally."The twitching of his countenace was enough for me to discern his disagreement with the remark; irked he was. On the contrary to what I had expected, my friend, replied back with a modest smile.

The latter part of the conversation doesn’t bear any consequence to what I am going to say; so I take this liberty to omit it. However that small event which may look trifle, got me into deliberate contemplation.

Perhaps he had an exaggerated self-interest or perhaps it was extreme self-admiration; whatever it was, must have predisposed me to the remark I uttered. I wondered, given the fact of my friend’s uneasiness with the word; was that an offense? But the smile that followed gave me a chance to think of it as a compliment; perception difference perhaps, since we were viewing the world from two different windows.

Narcissus was a Greek god, for he was envied of his beauty and charm but above everything else he was known for his extreme self involvement.The myth says that he died enraptured by the beauty of his own reflection in a pool , pinning away while longing for his own image.His life was pervaded by fantasies of success and beauty.Since then , his name has become almost synonymous with severe self centeredness.

Why call somebody else a Narcissist when feeling of grandeur and greatness swamps our own life. We aspire to succeed and are always starving for attention and yet we vociferously label someone else as a Narcissist.

In fact, we all in someway or the other inherit the Greek god. A reserve we are; it’s just the appropriate circumstances, which surfaces it. Every man longs for appreciation and it would be a lie if otherwise is said. I believe no mortal can unheed his admirations. Even the monks and the hermits, who are supposed to have dissociated themselves with the worldly ‘Maya’, get unintentionally driven to it.

Lord Buddha had once said," One who cannot feel himself important; will never acknowledge someone else’s importance as well!" Acknowledging self-importance doesn’t implicate self-focusing .It however elucidates the notion of self-evaluation within the limits. Since every one of us is not an immaculate, things done within the communally acceptable parameters don’t look anomalous but when they go berserk crossing the barbed wire, it ostensibly becomes ugly.

A person excessively possessed with self fails to follow the normal patterns of the society, this excessive self-interest and self-engrossment, then, makes it impossible to lead a happy social life. At this point, his flagrant lack of empathy and disdain to the normal communal behavior make him a Narcissist.

Who impersonates Narcissus then?

He is the one who lives life enveloped with the mania of success, attention or remarkable talent. These people are so self focused that they look to other people just to further their own goals and are rarely attentive to others needs. The self-absorption of the Narcissist becomes apparent even when they pretend to be interested in others.

Despite their rosy vision, they can be carried away by worthlessness, easily wounded by criticism and envious of those who fare better than they, some may be driven enough to achieve but others are bogged down in depression.

While this trait remains insidious in some, it is embellished in others. Researchers hypothesize that it is founded in excessive, unconditional, parental valuation of the child. This could account for the unjustified sense of self worth, hatred for social conduct and expansive sense of self-importance. Similarly parental overindulgence and failure to set limits could account for the lack of self-respect for others and excessive fondness of self.


Although I could so easily comprehend the trespassing of the limit in the peer of mine, of whom I mentioned earlier and said that Narcissus is on the loose; I’m still not sure of my own self….

…….I wonder , on which side of the line I am?