Why Indians go gaga over godmen

Now that Baba Rampal Dass is safely behind bars after a day's-long police siege of his Hisar fortress, it’s now time to ask: What is it with us Indians and godmen?

This has become a truly hackneyed story. Every some months, a godman who you and I may never have heard of, but who has thousands (if not lakhs) of fanatical devotees, is charged with crimes ranging from financial fraud to sexual molestation to outright murder. The guru goes into hiding, his followers scream conspiracy and sometimes are even ready to take up arms against the state. Finally, the guru surrenders, and disappears into prison. But the faith of his followers remains unshaken.

Hypocrisy

This show of faith reached its acme in 1993 when Balak Brahmachari, head of a sect called Santan Dal, was declared dead in a Calcutta clinic. But no, said his devotees, the baba has only entered samadhi and would soon rise again. They kept his body on ice in his ashram, refusing to cremate it, despite pleas from the government that the body might become a health hazard. After a 55-day stand-off, policemen managed to break into the ashram, retrieve the rotting corpse, and send the baba on the way of all flesh. The young handsome Swami Nithyananda, whose "holy"empire extends to the US, has been facing charges of financial crime and sexual molestation. But do his fans care? In 2012, Watkins, the renowned London bookshop specializing in mysticism and occultism, declared him one of the world’s 100 most influential spiritual leaders.

There was a time when one couldn’t travel in Delhi without encountering the bearded visage of Asaram Bapu on billboards. But he caught my interest for the first time with his comments, which came after the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapist in Delhi in December 2012. He imputed the victim was partly responsible for the tragedy and said she could have avoided her fate by addressing her assailants as "bhaiyyas"and reciting the Saraswati mantra.

Thus it as no surprise when a few months later, babaji was arrested for sexual abuse of young devotees. There were also charges of extensive land grab, but that is a charge that almost every prominent Indian godman faces. Including our current rogue, Rampal Dass, who is also charged with murder. (It’s interesting that when the police breached Rampal’s fortress, they caught the daughter of the ashram’s second-in-command trying to sneak out with a laptop, 10 hard disks, many CDs and six mobile phones. Clearly, God’s revelations to Rampal came in digital form.)

Fascination

Let me not get into well-known cases like Baba Ramdev who claims that he can cure cancer, AIDS and homosexuality (which he considers a disease) with his special yoga and breathing techniques. Or the great late Sathya Sai Baba, who performed miracles which street magicians can trump, who was plagued with accusations of sexual abuse (never proved, I must add), and whose stash of cash, gold and silver, discovered after his death, they are still possibly counting. Dhirendra Brahmachari, Chandra Swami...the list is endless.

It’s not that this godman fascination is limited only to Hindus. Many Indian godmen have fervent followers from every faith.

The Shahi Imams of Delhi Jama Masjid retain their hold on large numbers of Muslims who fail to see they are essentially rentiers. And the desperate scramble to find an event that could be passed off as a "miracle" wrought by Mother Teresa so that she could be beatified should have embarrassed many rational Catholics. Some years ago, visiting Fatehpur Sikri, I saw a group of villagers being exhorted by the tour guide to pray to the central pillar in Emperor Akbar’s Diwan-i-Khaas since it was a sacred structure. Some touched their heads to the pillar, some lay down on the ground, and prayed, and doubtless asked for a way out of poverty and a better life.

Responsibility

The guide knew his business well. For the underprivileged Indian, tourism is satisfying only when it is a pilgrimage. But as far as godmen go, the wealthy and the powerful are as susceptible as the rest of us. Godmen rely on the masses for getting the numbers and the rich for moolah and the influence. Why do these big shots succumb to godmen’s charms? They have reached where they are because they can read people, are difficult to hoodwink, and are tough negotiators. Essentially, tough nuts. But the toughness goes all gooey before the "right" godman, and returns as soon the disciples go back into the world to pursue their commercial and political ambitions.

In a Douglas Adams novel, the world’s largest-selling software is one where a business executive can input a decision and the software generates a justification for taking that decision. To the wealthy, godmen provide that service. Guilt for the vilest acts is washed away through the quoting of some pseudo-scriptural mumbo-jumbo (Anyway, lines from the scriptures of most religions lend themselves to multiple interpretations, especially if quoted out of context), and Mr Fatcat leaves, ravenous for his next kill. Not only does he feel OK, even his afterlife seems assured.

To the poor too, the godman offers justification— for all the problems and injustices they live with, the casual unfairness of the universe. Whether it’s karma or some other logic of God’s will, there is always a justification available, and the hope that it’ll get better, be it in this life or the next, or on Judgement Day. In both cases — the rich and the poor, the godman offers a smooth path to the shirking of personal responsibility. That is an extremely valuable gift, granting us an ability to pass the blame any which way—upwards, downwards, sideways — that is, any way that does not bring us in front of a mirror. Whereas it is only a mirror that all of us need to get in touch with the universe, even perhaps to feel free.