New Delhi: Ranging from the benign to the bogus, spiritual to the sleazy, and magical to the mafia, godmen of all kind exist in India.
The business of blind faith, which mushroomed across the country like an epidemic in the last 20 years, has now turned into a full-fledged industry peddling false hopes to gullible millions.
The self-appointed godmen in India can typically be recognised wearing a special dress, generally a saffron robe, adorning a string of rudraksh beads round their necks, long beard and at times carrying a short T-shaped wooden staff on which to rest their arms.
Double life
But invariably these godmen live a double life which involves the dark world of free sex romps and unimaginable amount of unaccounted money stashed in their ashrams (spiritual centres) and unknown destinations.
What is even more worrying is the fact that many such swamis and godmen enjoy patronage of almost all political parties who try to use their clout to mould public opinion in their favour.
The eccentricities of these godmen are at times amusing. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been accused of mocking Sikh and Hindu religious figures by dressing like them.
He has also been accused of rape, murder and ordering forced castrations. On August 25, 2017, he was convicted of rape by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court.
His conviction led to widespread rioting, which left 38 people dead and over 300 injured. On August 28, 2017, Singh was sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape.
Spiritual leader Swami Nithyananda’s amorous acts with a Tamil actress were even captured on camera.
Nithyananda, who claims to be a celibate, runs the Nithyananda Mission which is part of a world-wide movement for meditation and peace.
Racket
Similarly, Shiv Murat Dwivedi alias Ichchadhari Baba, arrested recently in New Delhi, used the guise of spirituality as well as the offer of money, expensive gifts and cars to lure young women into a prostitution racket, from which he made millions of bucks.
He ran a multi-crore sex racket involving air-hostesses, college students and housewives.
Later investigators found that Dwivedi had built cave-like structures in a temple he built in South Delhi’s Khanpur. Starting with a small Sai Baba temple in Badarpur, he gradually started a flesh trade racket on the premises.
Likewise, another godman from Gujarat Asaram Bapu is believed to have a “hypnotic” personality which has “attracted” millions of devotees from all corners of the globe, transcending social barriers.
Gujarat government recently admitted in the Assembly that Asaram’s ashram has encroached upon 67,099 square metres of land in Ahmedabad and the Collectorate is dealing with the issue.
For the record, there are about 225 ashrams and more than 1500 Yoga Vedanta Seva Samitis (various committees) across the world run by Asaram and company. So much in the name of religion!
This tells a lot about the Indian society. Indians seem so insecure about their lives that they end up seeking reassurances of the charlatans.
“Religion and politics make a heady cocktail, but the mix of religion and sex is a real shocker, particularly to believers. It is for a fact that spiritualism has become a holy cover for unholy deeds.
"More and more Indian godmen, with worldwide followers running into millions, are now being accused of rape, sexual exploitation and immoral acts in the garb of religious and spiritual practices.
"But gullible people continue to fall at their feet. Later, they recount their worst fears,” says another spiritual leader, believer of Sufism, Arvind Guruji from Gujarat.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
Rape, murder
Rahim Singh has been accused of mocking Sikh and Hindu revered figures. He has also been accused of rape, murder and ordering forced male castrations. In May 2007, he was accused of hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikhs by wearing an attire resembling the tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, by using a turban with a ‘kalgi’ (egret feather). Rahim Singh was attacked by a Sikh mob on July 16, 2007, but escaped unhurt. His religious organisation, Dera Sacha Sauda, tendered multiple apologies, regretting confusion over the outfit, and said it had high regard for all Sikh gurus, Sikhism and humankind. On June 20, 2008, a group of Sikhs shouted anti-Dera slogans during Rahim Singh’s visit to a mall in Mumbai. The situation developed into an altercation between the protesters and the Dera followers, and one of the Sikh protesters was killed. On September 27, 2015, the Akal Takht (the highest spiritual seat of Sikhs) accepted his apology and pardoned him, but, on observing widespread resentment and protest among Sikhs regarding his pardon, the organisation revoked the pardon on October 16.
In 2002, a former Dera sadhvi (female disciple) wrote a letter accusing Rahim Singh of rape and addressed it to the respective Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana, and to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) took cognisance of the letter and sought a report from the District and Sessions Judge of Sirsa, post which, judge MS Sular conducted an inquiry and submitted a report recommending a probe by a central agency.
On August 25, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula, Haryana, completed proceedings in the rape case and convicted Ram Rahim. Following the conviction, 38 people were killed and another 100 injured in violent protests in parts of India with reports of widespread vandalism. On August 28, 2017, the CBI court sentenced him to 20 years in jail.
Radhe Maa
Obscenity charges
In July 2015, Nikki Gupta, from Mumbai, filed a police case accusing Radhe Maa of inciting her in-laws to demand dowry, and of forcing her to work at the ashram, where she was physically assaulted. In August 2015, videos of Radhe Maa’s devotees carrying her on their shoulders during satsangs (congregations) went viral online. Activist-lawyer Falguni Brahmbhatt lodged a police complaint against her for obscenity, running a business disguised as religion, fraud and cheating. However, she dismissed these videos as doctored, and denied allegations of obscene acts at her satsangs. Politician and reality TV entertainer Rahul Mahajan also posted pictures of her dressed in a short dress, which was considered inappropriate for her position. This led to further controversy. Again, Radhe Maa dismissed those as morphed. This year, actor Rishi Kapoor lashed out at Radhe Maa and other self-styled spiritual gurus in India.
Swami Nithyananda
Sex video scandal
Nithyananda claims to possess powers of levitation. In 2010, five women accused Swami Nithyananda of abusing them in his ashram. In the same year, he was in jail for 53 days after a sex video scandal. He has been under investigation since television stations aired video purportedly showing him fondling two unidentified women in bed. His Dhyanapeetam ashram has insisted the footage is fake, but in a video statement on its website, Nithyananda said he felt an obligation to step down as the ashram’s spiritual leader. Arathi Rao, a former follower of Nithyananda, gave a detailed account of her five-year experience with the guru. She alleged that Nithyananda repeatedly raped her and threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed it to anybody. Rao also claimed that it was she who had secretly filmed Nithyananda with a Tamil actress. In June 2012, a leading Indian news magazine reported that Nithyananda “heads 20 foreign trusts and nine Indian trusts that ... pay no taxes”.
Asaram Bapu
Sexual assault
In January 2013, while addressing a gathering of his followers, Asaram reportedly said that the victim of the infamous 2012 Delhi gang rape was as guilty as her rapists. He is reported to have said, “She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop. This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don’t think so.” He received widespread condemnation for his statement. Besides this, a complaint was filed against Asaram in 2010 for allegedly attempting to murder a former follower in Ahmedabad. Recently, Gujarat’s state government also admitted in the Legislative Assembly that Asaram’s ashram has encroached upon 67,099 square metres of land in Ahmedabad. In August 2013, Asaram was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year old girl at his ashram in Jodhpur on the pretext of exorcising her from evil spirits. Two days after the alleged assault, the girl’s parents filed a complaint with the police in Delhi and a medical examination confirmed that she had been assaulted. When Asaram did not appear for interrogation, Delhi police booked him under the Indian Penal Code. He has been in jail in Jodhpur since September 2013.
Rampal Maharaj
Violent clashes
In 2006, Rampal criticised Hindu sect Arya Samaj. A case was registered against him in Punjab and Haryana High Court. From 2010-14, he skipped court hearings 42 times. He was given ‘exemption from appearance’ by the court to maintain law and order; his followers posed a problem. But in 2014, the court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against him. This resulted in violent clashes between his followers and those of Arya Samaj, in which an Arya Samaj follower was killed. Rampal was charged with murder and arrested. After spending several months in jail, he was released on bail. In November 2014, after he failed to appear in the court multiple times, the court ordered his arrest again. However, the presence of thousands of followers, allegedly confined by his aides, prevented the police from arresting him for a few days. He was arrested on November 19, 2014, along with 492 of his followers, on charges including sedition, murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, hoarding illegal weapons and aiding and abetting suicide-mongers. On August 29, Rampal was found not guilty of illegally confining followers and obstructing police officials in 2014 when they stormed his ashram. — K. M
'Solid faith'
When interviewed, a disciple of Nithyanandha, even when confronted with solid proof of his sex romps, said she had full faith in her guru and that these were just rumours.
That is the extent to which the followers are brainwashed.
Abject poverty, superstition and illiteracy have all transformed India into a breeding ground of all sorts of godmen.
Rationalists believe that all godmen should be brought under some sort of public scrutiny.
Expressing the need to keep a check on fraud religious gurus, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has prescribed a minimum qualification to prevent everyone from becoming a baba.
“These godmen are openly pampered and patronised by men in power like presidents and prime ministers that enables them to enrich and build their own private empires.
Conmen
"Also money is the ultimate drive for the guru who projects himself as the peace trader. The godman receives huge donations and the follower gets illusionary peace of mind in lieu.
"In the final analysis, both the godmen and the followers feed on each other to achieve their own respective glory,” Arvind adds.
Most of such babas in India are basically conmen whose real powers emerge when it comes to converting black money into white.
“We as a society are so insecure because of the miserable situation of our lives that we sometimes end up seeking reassurances of the charlatans.
"At the same time, a few people exploiting the society in the garb of godmen do not represent the religious gurus of India rendering spiritual guidance to the masses,” said Ram Janmabhoomi Trust President Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.
