Since times immemorial (quite literally) relevance of the Gurus has been immense in the Indian society. Not particular to any specific religion, this tribe has been assigned different names across different sects.
The present day self-styled godmen have taken failure of the concept of “guru-chela” to just another level. Right from Asaram- the pyaare bapuji to engineer-turned-religious-terrorist Rampal, they have failed not only their followers but caused a dent on the very idea of the religious and spiritual guidance.
The drama that unfolded in Barwala was nothing short of a war zone. It was hard to believe that the massive Satram ashram was earlier used for religious purposes (read Satsangs). This Kabirpanthi Sect head Rampal managed to captivate people when he is a murder accused. Right under the nose of the government, he built his own equipped-private army. It has also been alleged that the godman owns not just land but also luxury cars-Mercs and BMW’s.
Its not rocket science to understand the real role of a guru- show the right path and lead by example. If one takes in consideration the violent scenes outside the ashram on Tuesday, it talks a lot about the character of this baba. According to police, telephonic complaints were registered by people inside the ashram who alleged they were being used as shields to protect Rampal by his commandos.
If I take Joginder’s word (private security guard) who said and I quote, “Our Guruji had instructed us not to resort to violence, so I stood with folded hands when a police team approached us,” will he explain the gunfire, Molotov cocktails, stones, use of acid and presence of LPG dump on the policemen? Or, maybe the television was lying.
This devotion when you shut your brain and close your eyes is nothing less than lunacy. As we have complicated our lives, problems have increased, and so we go to such mad men who call them God to seek solace. Two words of mythology, two of spirituality and boom people are swept off their feet. With monetary gifts, they also give away their ability to reason and differentiate between good and bad. What follows is what I think is nothing short of a dictator-sort of rule.
The media also needs to share the blame for an increase in this religious-dictatorship. These self-styled godmen were given crucial space and time. Nirmal Baba was once a hit on some News channels, not too long ago. As a result with questionable credentials, these religious heads become the hypodermic needles and influence the people in a negative manner-we have all seen how.
The present day self-styled godmen have taken failure of the concept of “guru-chela” to just another level. Right from Asaram- the pyaare bapuji to engineer-turned-religious-terrorist Rampal, they have failed not only their followers but caused a dent on the very idea of the religious and spiritual guidance.
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| Controversial guru Rampal |
The drama that unfolded in Barwala was nothing short of a war zone. It was hard to believe that the massive Satram ashram was earlier used for religious purposes (read Satsangs). This Kabirpanthi Sect head Rampal managed to captivate people when he is a murder accused. Right under the nose of the government, he built his own equipped-private army. It has also been alleged that the godman owns not just land but also luxury cars-Mercs and BMW’s.
Its not rocket science to understand the real role of a guru- show the right path and lead by example. If one takes in consideration the violent scenes outside the ashram on Tuesday, it talks a lot about the character of this baba. According to police, telephonic complaints were registered by people inside the ashram who alleged they were being used as shields to protect Rampal by his commandos.
If I take Joginder’s word (private security guard) who said and I quote, “Our Guruji had instructed us not to resort to violence, so I stood with folded hands when a police team approached us,” will he explain the gunfire, Molotov cocktails, stones, use of acid and presence of LPG dump on the policemen? Or, maybe the television was lying.
This devotion when you shut your brain and close your eyes is nothing less than lunacy. As we have complicated our lives, problems have increased, and so we go to such mad men who call them God to seek solace. Two words of mythology, two of spirituality and boom people are swept off their feet. With monetary gifts, they also give away their ability to reason and differentiate between good and bad. What follows is what I think is nothing short of a dictator-sort of rule.
The media also needs to share the blame for an increase in this religious-dictatorship. These self-styled godmen were given crucial space and time. Nirmal Baba was once a hit on some News channels, not too long ago. As a result with questionable credentials, these religious heads become the hypodermic needles and influence the people in a negative manner-we have all seen how.
