Controversial and self proclaimed Indian godmen:
In a country of 330 million deities, and the age old tradition of spiritual gurus, it is no surprise that Indians have looked up to godmen and revered them, no matter what--fraud, torture, crime, rape, castration, pedophilia…..nothing deters their fanatical fans. The godmen seem to get away with anything….
We bring you some of the most controversial of the godmen India has seen:
1.Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, probably the most famous guru with millions of followers. often regarded as ‘Bhagwan. Cricket super hero Sachin Tendulkar was amongst his most devout fans.
Besides the good work carried out by his Sathya Sai Trust, the Baba’s life was marked by controversy regarding the veracity of his ‘miracles’ viz. producing holy ash or vibhuti, gold ornaments and rings from thin air. There have also been allegations of sexual abuse and pedophilia against him. In 1993 there was a shootout in his ashram leaving four persons dead. There also have been allegations of misappropriation of funds in running the very wealthy Rs 40,000 crore Sathya Sai Baba trust.
2. Chandraswami: Chandraswami shot into the limelight for his proximity to the then Prime Minister Shri Narsimha Rao. He also dispensed spiritual advice to the rich and famous-the Sultan of Brunei, Sheikh Khalifa of Bahrain, actress Elizabeth Taylor, British PM Margaret Thatcher, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, Kingpin Dawood Ibrahim et. Chandraswami studied tantra at a young age and lived in the jungles of Bihar for four years, and claimed to possess spiritual powers thereafter leaving his devotees impressed.
He was raided under the FERA for foreign exchange violations and illegal payments to Adnan Kashoggi. The Enforcement Directorate was investigating him on charges of his involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. However Chandraswami’s fortunes changed with the changes in political power and he died recently in May 2017 from multiple organ failure.
3. The ‘sex’ gurus—Sex is the common ground binding these godmen and have been clubbed together.
Osho/ Rajneesh: Rajneesh or Osho to his followers was a viewed as a mystic, spiritual teacher and ‘ sex guru’ as he advocated a free and open attitude towards human sexuality and was a vocal critic of Hindu religious orthodoxy. He had numerous followers, most of them being big celebrities; Actor Vinod Khanna, Parveen Babi and Mahesh Bhat being the prominent ones. In 1974, he set up his Ashram in Pune. Because of differences with the Morarji Desai Govt. he focused his activities abroad, in Oregon,United States. In 1985 charges were levied against him for a bio-terror attack and an assassination attempt on a US Attorney, for which he held his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela responsible. He was deported and returned to India to his ashram in Pune, where he died in 1990.
Swami Nithyananda of the powerful founder of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam is facing trial in a rape case and is also involved in a sex scandal with Tamil film actress Ranjitha. Swami Nithyananda was named as one of the 100 most spiritually influential living people in the world.
Asaram Bapu: Self-tyled godman Asaram was accused and arrested for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old minor. He also made outrageous remarks on the Nirbhaya rape case where he is alleged to have blamed the victim instead and even suggested that the girl should have addressed her rapists as ‘ brothers’ and begged them to stop.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: The powerful Dera Sacha Sauda chief has been convicted of rape of sadhvis in his ashram under the guise of granting them ‘maafi’ (pardon) from their sins.
4. Sant Rampal: is the religious leader of the Kabir Panth and the rich Satlok Ashram in Haryana’s Hisar district,. He made news for criticizing the Arya Samaj. Sant Ramal has been charged for murder, but just like Gurmeet Ram Rahim , nearly 15,000 of his followers formed a human chain around his ashram leaving five people dead and many injured in Hisar in violent clashes with security forces in 2014.
5. Radhe Maa: Not be left behind in the game dominated by men, we have Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa a godwoman. The goddess of ‘bling’ known for her flashy and garish dress sense was trending on social media a few years ago for posing in red mini skirt. Radhe Maa is married and has children and grandchildren as well. Her devotees consider her to be a reincarnation of Goddess Durga. She was arrested by the police under complaints of dowry harrassment.
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/india-controversial-messengers-of-god/20150813.htm
