Are Godmen Really Doing Any Good?

As a normal daily routine, I switched on the television to browse through the day’s news. Watching CNN-IBN has become a ritual and I usually prefer going through the news on that channel. Today I saw the news about the so called ‘Babas’, ‘Sadhus’ or the ‘Godmen’ involved in money laundering and other such scams. These saffron clad and heavy beard grown personalities were actually criminals in disguise. While the sting operation is still to be authenticated, the thoughts about the need for such ‘Babas’ to come into existence stormed my mind. The sudden uprising of these ‘Godmen’ and their acceptance into the society is a big quandary.

I have always wondered what makes people flock to such babas whom they fondly call gurus. I don’t completely disagree with the idea of having a guru. However, it is difficult for me to understand why these babas need to be worshipped, they can just remain content with the respect they receive incase they feel that they are doing some good. I have seen many people having photo framed such gurus and placing them next to their deities – weird but true. There are special gatherings to worship these babas, chant prayers, and if the photos are not available anything related to that baba is acceptable, even baba’s relatives and friends at times. The prayers that take place are actually a shouting exercise where the followers scream hymns. Also, the recitations are sometimes bollywood songs with adequately and appropriately replaced text. And then ofcourse there are some intelligent morphing techniques adopted to replace the deity’s face with baba’s face – we are surely into a technological revolution when it comes to spirituality too. The prime motive of spirituality is put aside and the gurujis keep their followers busy in all kinds of other acts like worshipping sandals, buying their products, making them read their newspapers, illogically donate money, and so on. They get obsessed with their fame and kind of get high on it when they see people standing in long queues to get baba’s glimpse, while that baba walks in and out of air-conditioned cars and auditoriums. However, what needs to be understood is never taught. I am sure if we ask these followers if they have mental peace, 95% of the answers will be ‘NO’. I have witnessed talks where how one follower is cursing the other in front of third person, how one is getting jealous of the other, and all kinds of such gossips. In the end what have they earned – nothing really, nothing has got any better.

A guru, as Swami Vivekananda rightly puts it, must be a person who is modest, humble and teaches about good and bad, shows a path of righteousness. Godmen, these days are busy with looking important, acquiring fame, establishing political connections, and exploiting people for their own good. Though they like to call themselves ‘Godmen’, is any of them talking about God?