Clockwise from top Swami Nityanand, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Asaram Bapu. Image Source – India TV
“If you really want to make big money, you should start a religion”, said Ron Hubbard in an interview. Evidently, he transformed his idea into action and came up with a religion, we know it as ‘Church of Scientology’.
History of India is replete with examples of gurus who were generous, compassionate and of great ascetics. Leaders who at gargantuan personal cost, gave aid to the masses in times of peril. From Buddha to Tukaram, from Meerabai to Kabirdas. From that golden era to the present 21st century, there seems to be a very polarised difference. The saints of this century have outmoded the connotation of sanctity. To substantiate, they have self styled themselves into ‘Godmen’ so as to reach a wider audience and garner more followers. The formula to become a saint and then to show the entrepreneurial skills, appears to be in vogue presently.
The gaudy, jewellery-bedecked, godman-turned movie star, director, producer, singer and the holder of 10 to 15 more such portfolios all rolled into one, Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Insan was in news when his movies where to release, and he made headlines a couple of weeks ago too, for all the wrong reasons. He was found guilty for raping two of his sadhvis, a crime he committed in the year 2002, Judge Jagdeep Singh pronounced two sentences of 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment to Gurmeet in each of the two rapes. Amounting to 20 years of imprisonment.
However, shocking was to see the support the self proclaimed Godmen amassed from his followers, who travelled from far off places to stand behind him, claiming that their beloved ‘Pitaji’ (what the Ḍera followers address Gurmeet as) has been framed. Gurmeet’s conviction followed riots and destruction, in which 38 people were killed, dozens of vehicles burned, several buildings (including two new hotels) set ablaze, train carriages wrecked, and roads blocked, immobilising life across an important swath of northern India for several days. It is further interesting to learn from the brouhaha that majority of these followers are dalits, people from lower social and economical standing in the Indian society. “A lost man doesn’t care if a rapist gives him direction. A hungry man will take food from a murderer’s hand.”, commented a person on Facebook. Which puts things in perspective, the Ḍera sect accommodated thousands of the followers, gave them shelter and food, and also employment in the factories under the Ḍera.
Gurmeet was always a peculiar godman, giving a wide berth to spiritual austerity for glittering showmanship and pompous living. The way he portrayed himself in his movies welded his followers belief in him, as they believed(or were made to believe) their saviour was capable of accomplishing every stunt he performed on the big screen. What the Dera followers failed to answer was why a small town journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati was crusaded for reporting the rape complaint against Gurmeet, in the year 2002.
The Ram Rahim incident isn’t new to the people of India, as in the year 2014, a similar case had happened when Rampal was found guilty. Back in 2010, Swami Nityanand was arrested while he was in hiding, for molesting an actor, the clip of which was aired on television news channels. Upon inquiry Nityanand replied saying that as he is a saint, which makes him impotent and to indulge in any kind of sexual activity is not possible, nevertheless he was found guilty and arrested. Radhe Maa has a dowry case slapped against her. Nirmal Baba on the other hand show-cased different hues, calling people for the Satsangs and advising them to eat ‘samosa’ with a particular kind of sauce, to buy clothes in a specific colour. All this to let the ‘kripa’ (blessing) flow in the devotees direction. There was even a case where he had asked a diabetic patient to eat gulab jamuns to summon blessing. These self styled Godmen and Godwomen have made a parody of faith.
All the above examples and incidents only make us wonder as to why do these Godmen have strong following? Why do they flourish in India?
It is natural for people to look for short cuts to liberate them from agonies and afflictions. When they come across any person who offers them remedies for their maladies, they become sitting ducks for these unscrupulous individuals. It is natural for people of less privileged backgrounds to become disillusioned. Their feelings of displeasure and incapability, compounded by below par education and soaring unemployment, often drives them towards alcohol and drugs. Refugee in such deras and ashrams appears to them like an oasis in the desert of lost hope. It becomes easier for these godmen to manipulate the masses if they are less educated, or better illiterate, as it makes them gullible. Khushwant Singh writes: “India has been in the Godmen business longer and produce more of them than anywhere else in the world” in his book ‘Gods and Godmen of India’. He observes the one thing which is common with anyone of the powerful guru-teachers in India is that, they are all fantastically wealthy. “Our godmen are not committed to poverty.” he says.
Like Abhimanyu, we have entered the chakravyuh without having the erudition of how to get out of it. This only shows that the government has failed since the last seven decades. It has failed to caste equality and social justice. It has failed to give the citizens education and employment. A baba going behind the bars doesn’t necessarily mean ṭhaṭ the masses will come out of the dock. For a country with 1.4 Billion Population, people turning for shelter towards Godmen of such ethos, will only mean to call for a doomsday way before its natural arrival.
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