The Biggest Scam: Spiritualism

CONTROVERSIAL GODMEN OF INDIA: A LIST OF SELF-STYLED ‘GURUS’ AND THEIR CONTROVERSIES

                       The golden rule for every business is this: “Put yourself in your customer’s place.”

                                                                                                                                            – Orison Swett Marden

But these days, the aforementioned adage has taken the shape of, “The golden rule for every business is this: Put yourself in God’s place.” Exploiting spirituality and squeezing out respect and money from the blindfolded superstitious followers has become not only a trend, also it is a fine piece of artwork which requires shrewd guesswork and nimble convincing skills. Making a fool out of multitudes of people in broad daylight is not a small feat. It is a proud achievement of great magnitude, at least that’s how those counterfeiting chameleons surmise their deeds to be.

India is a holy land. Oh, I mean India used to be a holy land. Now it is, by and large, a land of myriad miracles. Miracles of the nature of grand scams, cheat funds, corporate thefts and corruption are as frequent as day and night. Amidst all these is the most widely accepted and perhaps the most respected form of burglary: sainthood or guruism.  

SPIRITUALITY- A GAME OF THRONES

The so-called godmen rule upon the hearts and the minds of the people of our country. It is a matter of grave concern and bashful disgrace that these mortals are raised to the supremacy of spiritual leaders and even revered as God by some. Such insolent arrogance and unworthiness let them loose on the throne made out of the faith of lakhs of innocent people. Below is a list depicting the real face of these self-proclaimed godmen:-

1. Asaram Bapu

Born in Sind in undivided India, today Asaram Bapu has over 425 ashrams and more than 50 gurukuls all over, and a tremendous following both in India and aboard. 73-year-old Asaram is lodged in a jail in Jodhpur following his arrest in September 2013 for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl in one of his ashrams.
There are charges of rape, criminal conspiracy and other offenses framed against Asaram by a Jodhpur court in connection with the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor girl in his ashram in Jodhpur.

2. Sarathi Baba
A case of sexual abuse has been filed against arrested self-proclaimed godman Sarathi Baba alias Santosh Roul. Sarathi Baba has also been booked for several charges of cheating, forgery, and fraud, Roul is currently lodged in Choudwar circle jail in Cuttack, Odisha.

3. Swami Nithyananda
In 2010 self-proclaimed godman Nithyananda faced huge problems after some TV channels telecast purported video footage of the self-styled godman in a compromising position with an actress.

4. Radhe Maa
Radhe Maa claims to be a self-confessed fan of the actor and former adult movie star Sunny Leone. Her pictures in short dresses, gyrating to Bollywood tunes with her devotees during satsangs (religious discourses) have gone viral on the social media networks.
The controversial 'god-woman' Radhe Maa has been accused in a dowry harassment case. Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa is also accused of instigating several people to commit suicide.

5. Narayan Sai
Self-styled godman Asaram's son Narayan Sai has been charged under IPC sections for rape, unnatural sex, molestation, wrongful confinement, unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy.Sai, 43, was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting the victim repeatedly during her stay as an inmate at his ashram here between 2002 and 2005.

6. Gurmeet Ram Rahim
The leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda, a socio-spiritual organization, Gurmeet Ram Rahim has led his organization to several Guinness World Records. The Dera Sacha Sauda head was in the news for announcing that that nearly 1,500 followers of the sect were ready to marry the Uttarakhand women who lost their husbands in the flash floods and landslides that struck the hill state.
A Tehelka investigation alleged that the Dera Sacha Sauda is a den of vice and accused Baba Gurmeet Singh of rape and murder. The Punjab and Haryana high court issued a notice of motion to the Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh of Sirsa seeking an explanation for the allegations made against him by his follower for sexually exploiting his wife.

7. Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi was probably the most famous guru with millions of followers across 126 countries. However, his life and times were also marked by several serious controversies involving allegations of faking ‘miracles’, sexual abuse and even pedophilia -- all of them vociferously refuted by his followers.
8. Some other special mentions without whom the list is incomplete are Sant Rampal, Chandraswami, Jayendra Saraswati, Rajneesh, Swami Agnivesh, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and several others.

I, ME and MYSELF
All mortals are the same. No one is above or beneath his fellow counterparts. It is our folly to fall into the hands of such fake spiritual entrepreneurs. Lastly, I would like to quote John Lennon’s words from past- “There is no guru. You have to believe in yourself. You’ve got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It’s all down to you, mate.”