New Delhi: He glides through the air dressed in pink robes in his promotional videos and in real life is known to ride powerful, souped up bikes to congregations, the persona as flashy as the vehicle itself.

The 50-year-old is known as the “guru in bling” for his penchant for bejewelled costumes, although the source of his apparently vast wealth is unclear.

Following the verdict, some of that tinsel aura may fade for Singh, who is not the regular spiritual guru in saffron but a curious amalgam of reel and real defying easy description.

His Twitter profile describes him as “Spiritual Saint/Philanthropist/Versatile Singer/Allrounder Sportsperson/Film Director/Actor/Art Director/Music Director/ Writer/Lyricist/Autobiographer/DOP”.

He was born in Sri Gurusar Modia village in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district on August 15, 1967, to a landlord father. An only child, Singh helped his father on the farm in his early years.

Singh, it is said, was always spiritual. When he was seven, he was picked out by Shah Satnam Singh, then head of the Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa, who anointed him Ram Rahim.

Sixteen years later, in 1990, Satnam Singh invited his disciples from all over the country for a grand satsang where 23-year-old Singh was chosen as his successor.

The Dera chief, who completed his high school, is married to Harjeet Kaur. They have two daughters, Charanpreet and Amanpreet, both of whom are married, and a son Jasmeet. He also adopted a girl.

The story also goes that he loved butter and ghee and took part in several sport activities.

Combining entrepreneurial skills with his job as the spiritual head of the sect, he launched the ‘MSG’ range of “Swadeshi and organic” products about two years ago.

The business is looked after by the Dera chief’s children, who live inside the Dera in Sirsa, about 260km from here.

MSG is perhaps a reference to his first film “Messenger of God”, which he made In 2014 when he underwent an image makeover. Since then, he has made three more films, playing the lead role in each and performing ostentatious, dangerous stunts, quite like any other tinsel town superhero.

Dera functionaries claim their chief has contributed in motivating millions of people to perform selfless services while the sect itself has devoted itself to humanitarian tasks such as blood donation and organ donation drives and educating the poor.

The bejewelled head of the Sirsa headquartered sect holds sway over millions in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.

Such sects have huge followings in India. It’s not unusual for leaders to have small, heavily armed private militias protecting them.

India has been rocked by numerous scandals involving popular ascetics claiming to possess mystical powers, and Singh is no stranger to controversy.

In 2015 he was accused of encouraging 400 followers to undergo castration at his ashram so they could get closer to god.

He also stood trial for conspiracy over the murder of a journalist in 2002.

He describes his sect as a social welfare and spiritual organisation.

Singh’s work has angered mainstream religious leaders in India, particularly Sikhs who say he insults and belittles their faith.

There were protests in the Sikh-dominated state of Punjab over Singh’s 2015 appearance in a film entitled “MSG: The Messenger of God”, which showed him performing miracles, preaching to thousands and beating up gangsters while singing and dancing.