Fake godmen & the gullible devotees

Recently, a prominent, self-styled religious guru from Punjab was released on parole, which justifiably triggered considerable consternation and outrage in civil society. The swami is currently serving a life sentence in jail for the rape of his two female disciples since 2017. This godman is powerful and wield considerable influence among his lakhs of devotees. Despite being a rapist, his aura hasn’t faded a bit. We all know that these godmen act as a conduit between politicians and authorities.

Almost a decade ago, the media went after a religious imposter and exposed his sexual shenanigans and fraudulent business deals. After he was arrested for the rape of an underage girl in his ashram, his incredulous followers and devotees, for whom their guru is always infallible and above suspicion like Caesar’s wife, went to the extent of attacking journalists and had the temerity to say that their guruji was a victim of media slander and that he would come down on the side of truth and justice. This pretentious godman couldn’t prove his innocence, and his gullible followers’ lofty claims lay deflated like a balloon. There was dirty work at the crossroads. His cupboards were rattling with skeletons. Instances of fake godmen living in clover and casting a spell on their followers with erudite spiritual discourses are a dime a dozen.

These conmen masquerading as godmen are like French playwright Molière’s character Tartuffe, a total phony-baloney who can accurately analyse the weaknesses of his victims and then exploit these flaws for his own selfish gains. An unctuous swami is no simple or ignorant charlatan; instead, he is an incorrigible hypocrite who uses every means to brainwash his devotees into treating him as a god-like figure.

They preach the values of simplicity, renunciation, and contentment to their devotees and practice just the opposite. When they make claims that they possess supernatural powers, devotees are drawn to them like a psychotropic magnet.

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In recent times, there have been several cases of fraudulent godmen who thrived on the superstitions of simple-minded followers. These godmen have leadership qualities and the gift of the gab to peddle the happiness potion that purportedly looks within reach. Being part of a jamat, cult, dera, dargah, or congregation lends a sense of purpose and hope to the confused masses looking for an emotional anchor.

Famous American author Ron Hubbard once remarked sarcastically, "If you want to get rich, you start a religion." A few years later Hubbard started a religion of his own ‘Church of Scientology’ which had lakhs of followers including evangelists Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

In India, the Machiavellian gurus manipulate the emotions of the masses and play them false by amassing wealth, grabbing public land, and deflowering young girls in their ashrams. In the majority of these cases, these godmen strap religion into the Procrustean folding bed of their commerce. In this materialistic world, people are isolated from their near and dear ones. So, they derive solace and comfort from attending such congregations. Unfortunately, these conmen exploit their fears and insecurities to fill their coffers.

Perhaps it won’t be wrong to suggest that, at times, blind faith in these spurious godmen eclipses human reason and rationality. In distressing and straitened circumstances, people often turn to godmen for spiritual solace. In this period, they suffer from "blank mind syndrome," as they experience no thoughts or have no inner monologues. As a result, listening to these hedonistic godmen makes their brains release dopamine, and without questioning, they happily submit themselves to the exploitation and extortion of these swamis, be it giving them money or some other offerings so that the angry god can be appeased. It needs no mention that these naïve and gullible believers surrender their brains and consciences to their gurus.

Here, in this context, the brilliant English movie The Wonder (2022), released on OTT platform, deserves a mention. The story pits science against faith. Set in Ireland, the story revolves around an eleven-year-old girl who is said to have survived without food for four months. Elizabeth, the nurse, who is employed to look after her, is not ready to treat this as a miracle, as her family members would have her believe. While the church and the medical fraternity have their own ideas, Elizabeth, the nurse, asserts her individuality by debunking this religious mumbo-jumbo and superstitious folderol and saving the girl from imminent death.

We must work on ridding our nation of superstition and blind faith and instead help inculcate a scientific temper among people from an early age. If that happens, it won’t be easy for politicians to exploit their proximity to these fake godmen by gathering votes and deceiving the masses. It is high time the vicious nexus between politicians and godmen was broken.

(The writer is a Delhi-based journalist.)