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Shobhaa De is an established writer, columnist, opinion shaper and social commentator, who is considered an authority on popular culture.)
My earliest encounter with a self-styled 'Godman' was in Delhi many, many moons ago. A female relative was told she had a 'mangal' in her marriage house, and her horoscope needed fixing. A robed 'tantrik' was located and asked to 'do the needful'.
Mind you, all this was happening inside the home of a highly educated, very urbane professional. " Some things go beyond logic..." the man mumbled, as he coerced his nubile, good-looking daughter to go through some bizarre rituals, while the 'tantrik' went into a trance and recited mumbo jumbo mantras to change the young woman's destiny. Several thousand rupees and a lavish banquet later, he was gone. The traumatized young woman rushed to her room to cry her eyes out. She had now been declared a 'manglik' in public! Whatever chances she may have had to find a suitable boy and get married, appeared doomed forever. But her autocratic father was busy patting himself on the back for having done the 'right thing' for his unfortunate daughter.
This was more than thirty years ago.
Has anything changed?
Nada.
My own encounters of the 'Godly' kind were more amusing. An immensely successful God-woman, who ran an international 'Enlightenment' empire till she passed away a few years ago, tried to get my obstinate kundali to rise by passing on her magical vibrations to my reluctant spine. When nothing worked, she tried to manipulate the disobedient spinal discs manually, making me giggle uncontrollably ( damn it... that tickled!). Her ardent devotee (and my friend), was deeply embarrassed by me and swore he would never take me to his 'Mataji' ever again. He was a highly influential, ridiculously rich industrialist who had parted with vast sums of his personal wealth to keep the lady (and her large family) in style.
One more time : Has anything changed???
You know the answer.
Godmen and God-women the world over are exactly the same: they prey on our insecurities; they thrive on our weaknesses; they exploit our vulnerabilities.
We need them as much as they need us.
The recent Rampal episode is different. This man is a criminal. His Satlok Ashram is not a 'spiritual abode' for seekers, but a well-fortified battleground which thinks nothing of using helpless women and children as human shields when the action gets tough. Any spiritual leader who requires Molotov cocktails, acid bombs, grenades and chilli powder to protect himself from the law is no better than a garden-variety gangster.
But who created this monster?
We did.
What next?
Well, the 63-year-old former junior engineer from the Irrigation Department of the Haryana Government is presently cooling his heels in a lock-up and playing victim! He claims he was being held hostage inside his own ashram even though he was ill. So ill, in fact, that he couldn't make it to court despite 43 summons! Now that the law has finally caught up with the crook, we can all relax and see what happens next.
How serious is the government in getting to the bottom of this scandal? Will authorities go all the way and find out what exactly was going on behind the 20-foot high walls of the 12-acre ashram? Does anybody have the guts to probe further and nail the politicians involved in the unholy nexus between Rampal's goons and notorious power brokers?
Rampal's sordid case could be the catalyst we need to clean up the dirt in other ashrams across India. It is commonly believed that most Gurus who head these Spiritual Spas operate an illegal business empire and cheat the gullible. They enjoy a 'hands off' status which makes them above and beyond the laws of the land. No scrutiny. No questions asked. No income tax returns filed, either. Who has the audacity to ask 'God' to fill tax forms like a mere mortal?
Rampal is not alone. And that's the scary part. He obviously ran out of political patronage with a change in government. And the vote bank he controlled was no longer required. What about the others? Rampal's game is up. Who's next?
Why not start by asking Baba Ramdev a few questions?
Itni himmat hai kisiki?
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