Will Ram Rahim's imprisonment bring to an end the godman syndrome in India?

Godmen, even the fake ones, know what the sacred texts say - ‘You reap what you sow’. Dera Sacha Sauda chief, who goes by the name of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh— a farcical attempt to symbolise communal togetherness — has been convicted by a CBI court for rape and sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. It’s taken 15 years for justice to come, but as a popular line in Hindi films goes, “Kanoon ke hath bahut lambey hain” (the hands of the law are longer). Still, many would say that it’s too little as a punishment for a repeated crime of such heinous nature; he ought to have been given a life term.

The phenomenon of fake godmen did not begin with this baba nor will it will end with him.

Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is one among the many discredited so-called godmen the Indian society has grappled with and will continue to do so. This is because the phenomenon of fake godmen did not begin with this baba nor will it will end with him. But, how is it that a society which has been enlightened spiritually and shown the path to true devotion from the likes of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Ramanna Maharishi and Swami Vivekananda, from saints such as Tukaram and Namdev and Hazrat Nizamuddin, to Sri Aurobindo and J Krishnamurthy, and from devotees like Mirabai, should fall into the clutches of the likes of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Asaram Bapu and Nityananda — and preachers of the Zakir Naik kind?

Make no mistake, the Dera Sacha Sauda movement is not going to disappear with its leader secured behind bars. Asaram Bapu’s devotees are still out there in thousands across the country. Give these devotees all the evidence against their revered spiritual leader — even evidence of rape — but they will just refuse to buy it. They will see conspiracies behind the actions against their babas and swamis and will come out on the streets in violent protest. What makes the forgery tick and why?

Today’s devotee seeks instant nirvana and is attracted by glamorous displays of the path to salvation.

One reason is the mindset of contemporary society. Today’s devotee seeks instant nirvana and is attracted by glamorous displays of the path to salvation. It has no patience with the ascetic withdrawn from daily life, who lays down a long and difficult road to enlightenment. Such a follower sees nothing aberrant in a godman acting in films, dressing in a hilarious manner, and indulging in politics and immorality.

Of course, this is not enough for a godman to win over lakhs of supporters. He spins off various charitable activities, such as free schools and hospital to attract crowds and devotees. Some of them, such as the Dera chief, appeal to the conscience of marginalised sections of society who have been disappointed by the mainstream religious order and offer them an alternative. Once his charitable empire grows, so does his religious/spiritual domination. Soon, he begins to attract the attention of politicians who are ever on the prowl for vote-banks. That is how Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh grew in stature. And, this is the reason why Haryana Government dealt with the brewing crisis prior to his conviction with kid gloves.

It has been reported that the Dera chief had extended his support to the BJP during the last Assembly election in the State. He has also hobnobbed with senior Congress leaders. Similar was the case with Zakir Naik. His social activities and religious appeal led to many senior members of the Congress allowing him a free run while he spewed communal venom during the UPA rule. Thus, the religion-social work-political support nexus can make an imposter into a self-styled godman.

The religion-social work-political support nexus can make an imposter into a self-styled godman.

Today’s godmen don’t appear to trust God to protect them - they have their own private armies.

Three years ago, another one of this tribe, Sant Rampal of Haryana, had sought to cock a snook at the law of the land when the police had to move in to nab him. His private army, equipped to fight, kept vigil over his ashram in Hissar and robustly resisted the police.

Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s supporters were armed with petrol bombs and other such implements. It may be recalled that a year ago, so-called spiritual leader Ramvriksh Yadav, who claimed to be a follower of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, had, along with supporters, occupied a public park and turned it into his sect’s headquarters. It was doubtlessly done with the connivance of the some of the State’s then ruling party leaders. When the administration was compelled to act against Yadav on court orders, mayhem resulted. The so-called spiritual leader’s private army swung into action, leading to serious violence. There are those who believe that religion and spirituality shun violence, but sects run by the likes of Yadav and Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh certainly do not.

A journalist who had written a critical report on the Dera’s functioning and its leader’s notorious reputation, lost his life.

It can be argued that a majority of the followers of controversial godmen are naive, and they genuinely believe in the goodness of their leader. They have no opportunity to run away from this belief because that ‘goodness’ is amplified many times over through sustained propaganda — when this does not work in certain cases, other, strong-arm methods are covertly applied. Critics of such leaders are known to have disappeared or died in suspicious circumstances. It happened in Sathya Sai Baba’s case, and it happened in Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s case either — a journalist, who had written a critical report on the Dera’s functioning and its leader’s notorious reputation, lost his life.

The rising stock of fake godmen in Indian society has also to do with the sense of dissatisfaction and mental unrest that has come with materialism and consumerism. It can be argued that both these reasons prevail in Western society too, and perhaps in a more acute form, and yet the dubious godmen phenomenon is more strongly rooted in India. This is true, but there are two differences. The first is that the Indian mind, evolved through generations of a particular cultural ethos which seeks to place spiritualism on a higher pedestal than materialism, gets easily rebellious and is more susceptible to be drawn towards a spiritual/religious calling — even if it is to be satiated by questionable quarters.

The second reason has to do with the flexibility of Hinduism — the country’s majority religion. This flexibility has indeed been Hinduism’s strength, preventing it from becoming rigid, unchanging and exclusive. It has allowed the prosperity of other religions too, some new and others that spun off from Hinduism itself and evolved as independent entities. There has been no central institutionalised authority to guide the affairs of an ordinary Hindu. But this commendable feature also allowed space to all sorts of dubious elements to project themselves as spiritual or religious leaders, or even incarnations of God, who had the mandate to do anything.

And yet, despite the bleak present, there is hope for future through the exposure of the likes of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Indian society ought to be rattled enough to abandon the lure of false godmen and delve into the life and works of the country’s great spiritual leaders, such as the icons of the Bhakti movement, for a meaningful life.