God save us from these 'godmen'

So Baba Ram Rahim is behind bars. The wily, self-proclaimed godman tried every trick, fair and foul – mostly foul - in his bag to scuttle fair investigations and trial. But thanks to upright CBI officials and above all, the gritty, incorruptible judge Mr Justice Jagdeep Singh, the long arm of the law did finally catch up with the ‘rapist’. And now we are being served an overfill of the spine chilling stories of alleged murders and sexual exploitation of young, gullible Sadhvis including the ‘witness no. 10’ who stood firm and didn’t buckle under threats, intimidation and blackmail. Hats off to this brave woman! We must also salute the intrepid journalist Ram Chander Chattarpati who dared to expose the dirty shenanigans in the ‘gufa’ and publish victim Sadhvi’s anonymous letter in his evening newspaper that cost him his life allegedly at the hands of Baba’s goons. His heroic son Anshul Chattarpati is equally deserving of admiration and applause for fighting the case in a law court putting his own life at grave risk. But for these bravehearts Baba Ram Rahim ‘Insan’ would easily have escaped the clutches of law and continued to enjoy the luxuries, comforts and the (filthy)  good life in his den, with  a battery of young Sadhvis at his command to satiate his sexual lust. Obviously his was a life of depraved luxury that in some ways even the Rajas and Maharajas of yore would be jealous of! (Doesn't in some vague, eerie way his story remind us of the panchtantra tale where the lion in the habit of having an animal a day for his meal is led to the 'well of death' by the clever hare?)

Looking back at this ‘Baba’ saga, I feel that what makes the society a healthy one, what makes the country robust and great, is not the high and mighty, the rich and the powerful. It is such common people from our midst imbued with idealism, courage, spirit of sacrifice, heroism, daring, fortitude, character and  sense of duty that do us proud. For me these men and women are more deserving of worship and reverence than even the very gods. With all my heart, I bow to them and salute them with undiluted admiration. Mr Justice Jagdeep Singh, the Chatterpatis, the investigating team of CBI officials, the prosecution lawyer, the two Sadhvis, brother of one of the Sadhvi victims, her in-laws and other family members: We are proud of you and salute you all. You are the role models for us. You are the torchbearers for us. You are our source of undying inspiration. May your tribe increase! 

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Having said this, I must also hasten to say that not all sects and maths are bad. Some of them are doing outstanding work for public good. Ramakrishna Mission and Mother Teresa’s Nirmal Hriday for instance. But problems arise when under the veneer of public good, driven by hubris and over-ambition, greed and lust, and a sense of invincibility, the presiding deities of some organisations practice a vicious agenda of exploitation and crime. When conmen masquerade as godmen and are able to build a massive cult following by hoodwinking gullible masses. Then, in order to expand their power and sweep, they  start bedding politicians. And the politicians in turn use their huge mass following for electoral gains. Baba Ram Rahim is a telling example of this unholy wedlock. Tell me which party politician has not prostrated before him or  has not desired so? Nearer home, our own state’s political bigwigs have paid him obeisance during his visits to Himachal. Some of them openly attend the congregations of the Babas visiting the state, make public show of it and take pride in getting photographed with them. (I personally know of a Vice-Chancellor of a well-known university taking pains to have  a holy word, a sacred mantra breathed into his ears by a 'holy man' – which doesn’t come free - for prosperity and to ward off evil! And as we all know, Baba Ram Rahim has been feted, pampered and even paid huge sums of taxpayers’ money by several politicians as reported in the media. What a shame! What callous disregard to our hard earned money!

Therefore, to conclude, I would sincerely urge my dear fellow countrymen, the youth in particular, to come out of this goddam godman fixation. We are living in the 21^st century and not in a stone age. Let us shed this medieval mind-set. It is the age of science. Let’s draw a line between superstitious beliefs and blind faith on the one hand, and a spiritual but rational and a scientific temper on the other. Let’s not fall prey to these fake fakirs.  Religion and spirituality are wonderful when followed and practised in private. But things get bad when driven by herd mentality we surrender ourselves unthinkingly before the conmen.

It is only when we shed this old baggage of superstition and gullibility that we could move forward and stand tall and proud in the comity of nations.

                                          

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