"Godmen/women do extraordinarily well in our country than in most others, and that is where the puzzle lies. Is our society more vulnerable? Or, does this show up so blatantly among us because of the way we practice democracy and secularism?
It is not just the illiterate and the uncouth who ask questions which have no real answers. Some of the best scientists too have been assailed by similar doubts, especially after their lab hours are over. In short, this line of inquisitiveness is a universal failing — a quest that has no real solution. It is in this empty space that the godman strikes, with nothing more than a prayer and a song."
"The problem isn’t Sri Swami Baba himself, but the System that he promotes and legitimizes. Because Baba is a ‘good’ man, and people perceive him to have a ‘positive’ impact on the society, God-men, Yoga Gurus, etc, in general gain legitimacy and are conceived to be good for the society by the people at large. Such gurus are welcomed into the daily lives of the bhakts, monetary donations are made possible and full unflinching trust by the followers is ensured. Blind, unquestioning faith is encouraged, and fiction gets masqueraded as fact. People are made to believe that there are ‘forces out there’ beyond the comprehension of science that for some peculiar reason these God-men understand very well. The society begins to accept that such God-men are a way to attain success and happiness."
It is not just the illiterate and the uncouth who ask questions which have no real answers. Some of the best scientists too have been assailed by similar doubts, especially after their lab hours are over. In short, this line of inquisitiveness is a universal failing — a quest that has no real solution. It is in this empty space that the godman strikes, with nothing more than a prayer and a song."
"The problem isn’t Sri Swami Baba himself, but the System that he promotes and legitimizes. Because Baba is a ‘good’ man, and people perceive him to have a ‘positive’ impact on the society, God-men, Yoga Gurus, etc, in general gain legitimacy and are conceived to be good for the society by the people at large. Such gurus are welcomed into the daily lives of the bhakts, monetary donations are made possible and full unflinching trust by the followers is ensured. Blind, unquestioning faith is encouraged, and fiction gets masqueraded as fact. People are made to believe that there are ‘forces out there’ beyond the comprehension of science that for some peculiar reason these God-men understand very well. The society begins to accept that such God-men are a way to attain success and happiness."
"If healthy skepticism was encouraged and no one was trusted blindly unless he or she made sense to the individual, such ‘bad’ people would never be able to make use of the society at large for their nefarious purposes to such an effect."
This has been seen in the case of several God-men, the most famous case being that of Puttaparthy Sai Baba.
Social change, however, can be lasting only when it is instigated by reason, science, empathy and humanism, and not because of inherent claims made in the name of religion or ‘God’.
Nobody likes to be told that their rightful place is way down, perhaps even as outcastes. At each level then, origin tales and fables multiply contesting actual rankings with imagined and aspirational ones.
" Within the walls of any “dera”, hermitage, or guru’s lair, devotees are hugely outnumbered by pay-as-you-go clients. None of these Hindu godmen has ever led a religious war, for those who visit them are not believers, but miracle-seekers. They have not come to die for a cause, but to get something out of it."
" While other religions frighten devotees with religious wrath, Hindu texts instead take the route of pleasing their gods who are always open to persuasion. Neither Shiva nor Kali is nearly as vengeful as Athena, Aphrodite or Yahweh."
Indira Gandhi’s choice of Bhindranwale is the best illustration of how a petty soothsayer can become a monster and cause enormous public damage. If Bhindranwale had been left alone in his “dera” he would probably be living today and so would thousands of innocent Sikhs who were caught in the crossfire.( how about Dheerendra brahmachari?
or PV narasimha rao and chandraswamy
" Within the walls of any “dera”, hermitage, or guru’s lair, devotees are hugely outnumbered by pay-as-you-go clients. None of these Hindu godmen has ever led a religious war, for those who visit them are not believers, but miracle-seekers. They have not come to die for a cause, but to get something out of it."
" While other religions frighten devotees with religious wrath, Hindu texts instead take the route of pleasing their gods who are always open to persuasion. Neither Shiva nor Kali is nearly as vengeful as Athena, Aphrodite or Yahweh."
Indira Gandhi’s choice of Bhindranwale is the best illustration of how a petty soothsayer can become a monster and cause enormous public damage. If Bhindranwale had been left alone in his “dera” he would probably be living today and so would thousands of innocent Sikhs who were caught in the crossfire.( how about Dheerendra brahmachari?
or PV narasimha rao and chandraswamy
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