Guru Gobind dono khade; kaake lagoon paya, Balihari guru aapne Gobind diyo milaya’ is a famous Doha (couplet) from Kabir which says that when I see the guru (spiritual guide) and God in front of me, whose feet should I touchIJ
I should obviously touch my guru’s feet first because he is the one who has helped me recognise God. The guru is the medium to realise God; therefore we should clasp his feet first. From this ancient couplet, we know the status of Godmen in India.
Due to past conditioning, our heads automatically bow in respect when we see a Godman, be it of any religion. In these modern times, it’s a rarity that most people are trying to meet God; rather they are trying to solve their day-to-day problems with the help of spiritual guides.
I am referring to spiritual guides as many Godmen do not qualify to be gurus because they deal with millions of devotees at a time and are not in a position to help them at a personal level to realise God.
But they still qualify to be guides and have an mlm (multi-level marketing) chain where we have a sub-guide in our local area who helps us solve problems in our regular lives. The word marketing should not be interpreted in a negative sense as the Godmen try to maximise their reach and generate funds to carry on their messages.
Once, I had a strange experience with a Godman from Kolkata. He was giving ‘darshan’ at an important person’s house; so there were about a hundred people present there. It was more of a question-answer session. I was sitting in the front row about six feet from the Godman.
He was attired in a white dhoti and kurta and had piercing eyes. I thought that he knew hypnotism. He called me by his gesture and I went close to him. A red rose suddenly appeared from his palm and he gave it to me. I was convinced that he was a hypnotist and as if he read my mind he suddenly pulled out a bottle of honey from nowhere and handed it to me. Then, he gestured me to take those inventions and go back in my place.
Rest of the session I kept silent and took the items home when the gathering broke up. I thought that the objects would disappear over a day, but they remained intact, and others could see them and I could taste the honey too by opening the bottle.
All this deepened my curiosity, and I decided to go the next day. I was again in the front row and got a chance to ask a question. His discourse and even the way he answered were very spiritual yet applicable to modern living.
I asked him as to why he was doing all this magic stuff when people anyway loved his talk. Was there a needIJ
He said that he would answer me after visitors left. This deepened my curiosity even more. I started imagining many more answers. There was fear mixed too as he knew magic and anything could happen to me. Then, I reassured myself that there was no reason that he would harm me. After an hour, he and I were by ourselves in the room.
He asked me whether I had watched Saraswati Puja and Ganesh Puja pandals put in different areas of the city and how small fairs were put up and pop music literarily blared at each pandal. Why was this done when the purpose was spiritualIJ
I said that it would attract people. He said that my answer was right, and he added that this would cause an atmosphere of celebration too. He added that if you don’t use these magical tools and miracles, people would not be attracted. Most people come to see the magic and then get attracted to attend a discourse.
If you request people to just come and discuss something serious, they would stay away. The people don’t think of this as magic; rather they feel that the Godman has mysterious powers and can solve their problems.
Sometimes, Godmen actually have healing powers, which they use for attracting people. It is well-known that Satyasai Baba was full of miracles and healing powers, for which thousands thronged his Putaparti ashram all the time.
Shirdi Saibaba was a fakir or mendicant and a true guru, who became dear to crores of people after his Samadhi or demise. We will differentiate between Godmen and gurus in another article, but in this we only refer to Godmen who are professionals and have huge organisations flush with funds. Religion is the biggest business today.
Though every month or quarter we have exposures in the media about Godmen and their fake activities, we find that people are least affected and continue their affiliation to them. Rather, the number and types of Godmen are increasing day by day at all levels, the highest being at the national level and the lowest at our city or village level. What could be the causeIJ
This article identifies a few important causes why they are like opium to the people.
Counselling: In the Western world if there is a conflict between husband and wife, they would approach a counsellor or psychiatrist in the worst stage. But here in India, we have a taboo against approaching such professionals as we would easily be termed as ‘mad’ because the society looks down upon such efforts.
Earlier, people lived in joint families; so there was access to elders who could be approached for negotiation. Now, this is rare. Other peer groups like neighbours, office colleagues, chub members do not want to get involved for fear of being dragged into litigation.
So, there is no other way but to approach an astrologer or the local Godman or both who are respected by the couple and their advise seriously followed. The Godmen also put their followers into certain spiritual disciplines like yoga, meditation, which help in maintaining peace at home.
Every Godman has a different package. Of course, nothing comes free and the followers willingly donate as they get the benefit. They also buy products manufactured by the organisation and, thus, contribute to their sustenance.
The other causes why people still dote on Godmen will be discussed in the subsequent article.