Many of them had a dark belly also, but by and large that has been overlooked and shadowed by the large divinity surrounding them. Shakaracharya Jayendra Sarswathi was accused of murder of an ashram worker, Shankararaman. In Satya Sai Baba’s Prasanthi Nilayam also there was a murder case. Gurmeet Ram Rahim carried on with his activities, one journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati was killed for bringing forward his black deeds. Finally with difficulty law caught up with him and currently he is in jail, rather most of the time on parole. Asaram Bapu is another person who succeeded in escaping the clutches of law till a long time and is finally behind bars. Currently another one Bageshwar Dham Baba is having a roaring success with devotees. These are the tip of the iceberg, and around the country many such individuals are present who are mesmerising people in the trap of blind faith. The riches of most of these godmen are enviable.
There are two others who are worth mentioning Sri Sri Ravishankar, who rampaged the Yamuna for his gala event. He was also associated with Anna Hazare’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supported movement. He is in the news generally for subtly supporting Hindu nationalist politics.
by Ram Puniyani
10/04/2024