How A Social Media Influencer Became “The Blue Jackal”

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2 mins September, 2026
How A Social Media Influencer Became “The Blue Jackal”
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For today’s young generation raised on a diet of social media offerings, the fall from grace of a YouTube influencer is disheartening news indeed. It’s almost as if you have lost a close relation or a friend. The clout that these personalities have is phenomenal. Of course, it takes “two to tango.” These persons give the youngsters what they crave for and in return they earn their pound of flesh in the form of blind allegiance.



But when does it become “too much”? One such star discovered that for all the claims of being “sanskari” (modern Indian slang for being attached to ancient Vedic cultural norms) fame can be detrimental. His show had all the accoutrements of calling experts on ancient epics, philosophy, etc. When asked about these influencers, most youngsters say that either they look “cool” or dish out content which they crave. And knowing the current generation’s weakness or craving, these influencers have started investing massive amounts of cash in their presentations in exchange for the clicks and the promise of massive audiences.



And, inevitably so, many (or sadly, most) of these influencers were found to be desperately lacking the very qualities which they profess (at least on air).



Believe it or not, this was foretold at least two thousand years ago in a series of tales of ancient India (Bharat).



This is the story of a Blue Jackal: A jackal, who had fallen into a vat of indigo dye, decided to exploit his eye-catching new appearance, and declared himself king of the forest. He declared the lions and other animals as his slaves, but took the precaution of having all his fellow jackals driven into exile.



(Here, the blue jackal stands for the social media influencer who just crashed.)



The jackal called all the animals and said, “My subjects, have no fear. God has sent me in this form to protect you. I am your king. Bring me food every day. Drive all the jackals away from this jungle first.” The blue jackal was having the time of his life.



(Read here as to how influencers get juicy cuts from ad revenues, promo gifts like Plasma TV’s, Hotel stays, Resort picnics, etc).



When the other animals in the jungle saw this blue-colored jackal, they ran away in terror. They said to themselves, “This is an unknown animal, and we don’t know the strength of this new animal. It is better to run away.” When the jackal realized that all the animals were running away he knew that he is invincible and going to stay that way. 



One day, when he was sitting surrounded by all the other animals, he heard a pack of jackals howling in the distance. Having been away from others of his kind for so long, he was overcome with joy at hearing other jackals. He raised his head and howled in response. Hearing him, all the other animals realized that they had been fooled by an ordinary jackal. They all attacked him and tore him to pieces.



Moral of the story: Forgive these influencers if you can. But do not expect them to be what they appear on your mobile phone’s screen.



—Syamananda Dasa

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How A Social Media Influencer Became “The Blue Jackal”

How A Social Media Influencer Became “The Blue Jackal”
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For today’s young generation raised on a diet of social media offerings, the fall from grace of a YouTube influencer is disheartening news indeed. It’s almost as if you have lost a close relation or a friend. The clout that these personalities have is phenomenal. Of course, it takes “two to tango.” These persons give the youngsters what they crave for and in return they earn their pound of flesh in the form of blind allegiance.



But when does it become “too much”? One such star discovered that for all the claims of being “sanskari” (modern Indian slang for being attached to ancient Vedic cultural norms) fame can be detrimental. His show had all the accoutrements of calling experts on ancient epics, philosophy, etc. When asked about these influencers, most youngsters say that either they look “cool” or dish out content which they crave. And knowing the current generation’s weakness or craving, these influencers have started investing massive amounts of cash in their presentations in exchange for the clicks and the promise of massive audiences.



And, inevitably so, many (or sadly, most) of these influencers were found to be desperately lacking the very qualities which they profess (at least on air).



Believe it or not, this was foretold at least two thousand years ago in a series of tales of ancient India (Bharat).



This is the story of a Blue Jackal: A jackal, who had fallen into a vat of indigo dye, decided to exploit his eye-catching new appearance, and declared himself king of the forest. He declared the lions and other animals as his slaves, but took the precaution of having all his fellow jackals driven into exile.



(Here, the blue jackal stands for the social media influencer who just crashed.)



The jackal called all the animals and said, “My subjects, have no fear. God has sent me in this form to protect you. I am your king. Bring me food every day. Drive all the jackals away from this jungle first.” The blue jackal was having the time of his life.



(Read here as to how influencers get juicy cuts from ad revenues, promo gifts like Plasma TV’s, Hotel stays, Resort picnics, etc).



When the other animals in the jungle saw this blue-colored jackal, they ran away in terror. They said to themselves, “This is an unknown animal, and we don’t know the strength of this new animal. It is better to run away.” When the jackal realized that all the animals were running away he knew that he is invincible and going to stay that way. 



One day, when he was sitting surrounded by all the other animals, he heard a pack of jackals howling in the distance. Having been away from others of his kind for so long, he was overcome with joy at hearing other jackals. He raised his head and howled in response. Hearing him, all the other animals realized that they had been fooled by an ordinary jackal. They all attacked him and tore him to pieces.



Moral of the story: Forgive these influencers if you can. But do not expect them to be what they appear on your mobile phone’s screen.



—Syamananda Dasa