Rampal of Hissar, Haryana, has been in news lately for all wrong reasons. So is Karnataka’s Raghaveshwara Bharati. The two personages once enjoyed the unquestioned loyalty of their followers and are now down in dumps. Rampal surpassed the now disgraced Bapu Asa Ram in cocking a snuck at the judiciary, the might of the state and the society at large. He disregarded court’s summons in a murder case in which he stands accused. Barricaded behind the walls of a fort-like ashram, his followers and the black-clad private army of commandoes fought a pitched battle with thousands of policemen and paramilitary personnel till the Baba was persuaded by some politicos to surrender. Surrender he did, but at the cost of crores of rupees to the state, six innocent lives and his own
Kaga Bhushundi SpeakEth
Suman K Sharma
babadom. Compared to Rampal’s grand misadventure, Bharati’s fiasco is more of a personal nature. The 38-year old venerable has been charged of sexual assault by a woman devotee of his. Police is investigating the case, even though Bharati has made a counter-allegation that the woman and her husband had tried to extort three crore rupees from him by making a false accusation. How do some gurus, avowedly dispensers of wisdom of this world and beyond, become guru-ghantaals, the lowest of charlatans?
‘A little grit spoils the best of dishes, son,’ said Kaga Bhushundi Ji. ‘One small failing in a man’s character is enough to undo all he has achieved in life.’
‘How’s that, Kaga Ji.’
‘See, neither Rampal nor Bharati – or Bapu Asa Ram for that matter – could have attained their erstwhile stature without demonstrating to the world their spirituality and a strong desire to serve humanity. I see you smirking. But can you deny that Rampal ran a competent organization providing shelter, food, medical care; above all mental and spiritual respite to his numberless followers regardless of their standing in the society? And would Bharati have got the title of ‘Shree Shree Shankaracharya’ if he too had not shown a spark of spirituality and zeal to serve humanity?’
‘Lofty men falling low!’
‘Indeed. For all their eminence, they too, like most men, fell prey – as the Shastras say – to lust, anger, delusion, greed and arrogance. ‘
‘Kaga Ji, I hate your habit of falling back on time-worn notions to make any point you wish to make. Wake up to the 21st century.’
‘Do you mean that man today has overcome the five passions? Nothing could be farther from truth. The present-day lifestyles only add fuel to such passions rather than diminish them. You have witnessed the arrogance and avidity of Rampal who thought of himself as nothing less than an avatar. The lust of numberless babas has pulled them down to dust. The anger of self-styled khalifas is dragging the whole world to the brink of destruction. ‘
‘But who gives these men power over lakhs and lakhs of men?’
‘You do. Instead of taking charge of your life, you entrust yourself in someone else’s care. You make him a god, forgetting that he too is of the same clay as you are. Your blind faith beguiles such charismatic persons to the dizzy heights of delusion. And when they fall, you too are crushed under the weight of your own faith.’
‘Do you mean to say we should not follow gurus?’
‘Gurus down the ages have illumined the right path for their followers in this murky world of yours. Do follow them. Take benefit of their advice. Emulate their nobler ways. Learn from them the mysteries of the world. Let your spirituality grow under their abler guidance. But remember. In the end, your life is your responsibility, no one else’s. So keep your eyes open lest the man you have chosen your guru turns out a guru ghantaal.
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