In India, the term “godman” refers to a type of charismatic guru. It is worth asking why so many people – numbering in the millions – become followers of these charlatans. Is it the need for guiding light and spiritual healing, or is it a combination of poverty, ignorance, superstition, insecurity and caste hierarchies, all of which are too common in India?
The recent high-profile trial and conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh makes one wonder how people like him manage to get away with what they do for so long. Praised by none other than current Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his social-welfare efforts, this messenger of God has just been given a 20-year sentence by a Central Bureau of Investigation judge for raping two of his followers. Two who have dared to speak up – we don’t know how many have not spoken. The cult leader with reportedly billions of followers is also accused of two murders and 400 forced castrations.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, though, is neither the first nor will he be the last godman to be called out for what they truly are, despite their proximity to top political leaders. Here are 10 other infamous “holy men” – and one woman – who have thrived in India.
- Swami Premananda: Escaping the civil war in Sri Lanka, this controversial godman moved to India in 1984 and set up an ashram for women and orphans in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. But in 1994, Arul Jyothi, a young girl who escaped from the ashram, reported that she had become pregnant after being raped repeatedly by him. In August 1997, Premananda, along with six accomplices, was convicted of raping 13 minor girls. He was also convicted of murdering a disciple who had tried to expose his illicit activities. He died in prison in 2011.
- Asaram Bapu: This extremely popular religious leader was arrested in 2013 after a 16-year-old girl accused him of sexually assaulting her at his ashram in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Since then, there have been numerous attacks against various witnesses in the case. Amrut Prajapati, one of Asaram Bapu’s personal aides, was killed on May 23, 2014, an another associate, Akhil Gupta, was shot dead on January 11, 2015. Asaram Bapu, along with his son Narayan Sai, has also been accused of being involved in the mysterious deaths of two boys who were studying in his ashram. There are also allegations of illegal land grabs in the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. He reportedly had 400 ashrams in India and abroad at the time of his conviction.
- Sant Rampal: On November 18, 2014, police in Haryana state found the bodies of five women and an 18-month-old child at Sant Rampal’s Satlok ashram in Hisar, where they had gone to arrest him in regard to another case. Thousands of his followers fought a pitched battle with the police, and it took 20,000 security personnel finally to capture him the next day. Sant Rampal had earlier been jailed for 22 months after he was charged with the murder of a man who died when his followers clashed with those of the Arya Samaj on July 12, 2006. He has since been cleared of illegally confining thousands of followers and obstructing officials in 2014 when they stormed his 5-hectare ashram, but the murder charges against him remain.
- Chandraswami: This powerful godman is alleged to have been involved in the 1991 assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. An income-tax raid on Chandraswami’s ashram reportedly uncovered drafts of payments, totaling US$11 million, paid to arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. In 1996, he was arrested on charges of defrauding a London-based businessman of $100,000, and in June 2011, the Indian Supreme Court fined him 900 million rupees ($14 million) for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. He died on May 23, 2017.
- Paramhamsa Nithyananda: He was arrested and spent 52 days in jail in 2010 after a leaked video showed him engaged in sexual activities with Tamil actress Ranjitha. Both Nithyananda and Ranjitha insisted that the video was morphed, a claim that was later proved by a confession by the ex-chief operating officer of Sun TV. However, in 2012, Indian-born US citizen Arthi Rao claimed that he had raped her for several years.
- Swami Amrita Chaitanya: Santhosh Madhavan alias Swami Amrita Chaitanya was sentenced to 16 years of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty of 210,000 rupees in 2009. A year earlier, he had been charged with the rapes of three under-age girls and a 22-year-old woman, making pornographic videos, financial fraud and possession of narcotics. He had also been arrested by Interpol in March 2008 for duping a non-resident Indian woman of 4.5 million rupees.
- Jayendra Saraswathi: In 2002, the 69th Shankaracharya (head) of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, a Hindu monastic institution in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, was accused of a murderous assault on Radhakrishnan, an auditor who was investigating where 83 kilograms of gold meant for the Kamakshi temple had disappeared to. Two years later, another case was filed against him as the prime accused in the murder of temple manager Sankararaman. But on November 27, 2013, the Shankracharya, along with 22 other accused, was acquitted by the court because all the witnesses failed to identify the accused.
- Swami Bhimanand: This self-styled holy man reportedly ran a sex racket and was arrested twice in Delhi and later in Mumbai. He was backed by around 2,000 followers when investigators tried to enter his ashram. He was finally arrested in 1997 for running a sex racket and in 1998 for receiving stolen property.
- Radhe Maa: One of the most controversial self-proclaimed godwomen, Radhe Maa was recently in the news after a Mumbai woman filed a complaint against her under the Dowry Protection Act. The 32-year-old woman alleged that she had been mentally and physically tortured by her husband’s family at the instance of Radhe Maa. After several pictures of her in a red miniskirt surfaced on social media, cases of obscenity and cheating in the name of religion were also filed against her. Several complaints have been filed against the self-proclaimed godwoman at different places. She has been accused of cheating, spreading superstition, hurting religious sentiments and buying a car with fake documents.
- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: The guru of The Beatles, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi enthralled the band with his antics and his preaching. The musicians visited India in the 1960s and stayed at his ashram in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, an experience that they later claimed influenced their music for years. They parted ways with him, however, as there were reports that the Yogi engaged in perverse actions and made sexual advances toward Mia Farrow. Their relationship soured, with John Lennon later saying, “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.” The Yogi died in the Netherlands in 2008.
THUGS, HOW PEOPLES BELIVE THEM DON NOT UNDERSTAND?
Very revealing, and espected; but the Maharishi accusation has been shown utterly false. In fact Mia Farrow’s sister and others who were there ("Dear Prudence") said it was fabricated by someone who wanted he Beatles to leave – which they did. But since then Paul and Ringo to this day enjoy Maharishi’s memory, his meditation, and support his foundation efforts to help others. The song "Across the Universe" should sum up how the Beatles felt about Maharishi!
No, no! They should be further encouraged and allowed to flourish, afterall, didn’t all proud Indians never hesitate to proclaim that India is the largest democracy in the world?
‘Beatles are angels on earth, said Maharishi’
NEW DELHI: The souring of relations between the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has always been amystery for the world. There was a reconciliatory meeting between Maharishi and George Harrison, and TOI’s Guest Editor on Monday Deepak Chopra was the only other person present there. In September 1991, Harrison asked Chopra to set up a meeting with Maharishi, which he did. "We got on to a chartered plane, which had just dropped off Paul McCartney to Monte Carlo. George wrote a note to Paul, saying, "Guess whom we’re going to meet", and signed it ‘Jai Gurudev’. Then we flew to Vlodrop, in the Netherlands, where Maharishi was staying." It was an emotional meeting. As Chopra tells it, Harrison first presented Maharishi a rose. This was followed by a long silence. Then Maharishi asked, "How have you been?" George replied, "Some good things (have happened), some bad things." Then he added, "You must know about John being assassinated." Maharishi replied, "I was very sorry to hear about it." After some time, Harrison spoke. "I came to apologise," he said. "For what?" asked Maharishi. "You know for what," replied Harrison. "Tell Deepak the real story," said Maharishi. Harrison said, "I don’t know about it 100%, but here’s what I know transpired." And he narrated the incident about the Beatles being asked to leave. Chopra smiled. "Part of the Beatles lore is that when they made their first appearance on American TV, on the Ed Sullivan show, there was no crime in the US for that one hour. Maharishi told us, ‘When I heard this, I knew the Beatles were angels on earth. It doesn’t matter what John said or did, I could never be upset with angels’. On hearing that, George broke down and wept." There was another long silence. Then Harrison told Maharishi, "I love you" and Maharishi responded, "I love you too." The two left, and Harrison later phoned Chopra and told him, "A huge karmic baggage has been lifted from me, because I didn’t want to lie."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Beatles-are-angels-on-earth-said-Maharishi/articleshow/1415351.cms?
Edilbert Rooselaer
Beatles spiritual guru ‘never made a pass at Mia Farrow’
THE TELEGRAPH
By David Orr in New Delhi
12:01AM GMT 19 Feb 2006
The spat between the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968 became an instant pop legend as perhaps the most bitter bust-up in the era of Free Love. Now, after almost four decades of rumour and counter-rumour, a confidant of both sides has gone public with revelations that could upset many of the band’s fans. The spiritualist and author Deepak Chopra, a former maharishi disciple and a friend of the late George Harrison, has said that contrary to popular myth, the row was nothing to do with claims that the maharishi made sexual advances on Mia Farrow, the actress and friend of the band. Instead, he said, the maharishi had objected to the group taking drugs at his home in Rishikesh, northern India. Dr Chopra told the Sunday Telegraph: "What isn’t generally known is that the maharishi had got fed up with the Beatles taking drugs while they were at his ashram [spiritual home]. They were smoking ganja [cannabis] and taking LSD. He hadn’t come across anything like that before and he took a strong view." The group had gone to the ashram in search of spiritual enlightenment, meditating during the day and writing songs in the evening. According to reports, they consumed no alcohol or drugs when they first arrived and kept to a strict vegetarian diet. A few weeks into their much-publicised sojourn, however, relations soured between the guru and the band’s entourage. In a subsequent television interview, John Lennon and Paul McCartney said they had lost interest in the maharishi’s teachings. Dr Chopra said of the rumour that the guru had misbehaved with Farrow, who was part of the entourage: "There was never any truth to stories about the maharishi’s womanising. When he was sick in the UK, he wouldn’t even allow any female nurses near him. "As for the stuff about Mia Farrow, that was complete nonsense. I met her years later and she asked me to tell the maharishi that she still loved him," he said. Dr Chopra said Harrison later apologised to the maharishi during a visit to his meditation centre at Vlodrop in Holland where he now lives as a recluse. Nobody at the centre was available for comment.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/1510913/Beatles-spiritual-guru-never-made-a-pass-at-Mia-Farrow.html
Edilbert Rooselaer
I find this quite stupid – about Paramahamsa Nithyananda – Amrita you say the video was found to be morphed – then should you not be supporting Him and realize the truth that He has only been target of religious persecution? More details ranging from US courts, FBI approved experts, Indian court rulings, etc at nithyanandatruth.org
"Religion " is the opiate of people once said a political philosopher. Got it? India has its share of ignorance, superstition ,poverty of thoughts and all societies possess this weakness. Until modern era of enlightenment centuries, Christians killed other Christians in Inquistion, Muslims slaughtered otherMuslims – even today-, Hindus practised ghastly superstitious ritual etc.
Human kind has taken long long time to reach an age of maturity, reason etc. The battle still goes on and many societies are still backwards.
So let us not boast about superiority of one’s faith, please!
In Asaram Bapu and his son NarayanSai case- Without any proof false rape case was filed after 12 years, then how will it believe?
We expect from the judiciary that–
Such false cases should be dismissed immediately so that the court’s time is not wasted and justice should be given to innocent people !!
In Asaram Bapu and his son NarayanSai case- Without any proof false rape case was filed after 12 years, then how will it believe?
We expect from the judiciary that–
Such false cases should be dismissed immediately so that the court’s time is not wasted and justice should be given to innocent people !!