Mr.X is a rich and powerful man in his village. By catering to the weaknesses of the people, he was able to keep everybody under his control. However Mr.Y is an incorruptible person and wanted to sway the people away from the bad influences of X. He sought to inculcate independent thinking in people. This implied giving up short term pleasures and disciplined practice of the prescriptions of Y.
How can Y accomplish the difficult task?
Note: A good and practical solution can help in weaning people away from unprincipled and corrupt politicians.
Before taking up any solution, we have to ask "why?". Why should x want to control people? Why should y want to sway people? Why should y want independent thinking in people? Why should people listen to x or y?