Hundreds died in a preventable incident when the disciples of one Bhole Baba (religious Guru) thronged to touch his so called lotus feet after end of a long PRAVACHAN (sermon) session which went grievously wrong, causing a stampede resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. This tragic incident took place in the Hathras district in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, popularly known as UP.
This reminds me of another Baba, a charlatan in the guise of a saint who once lived in Bhubaneswar, Odisha during the 1990s. He proclaimed himself as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, His 11th Avatar. On the auspicious day of JANMASTAMI (Birthday of Sri Krishna) it was rumored that the Baba himself turned into BAL GOPAL (Baby Krishna). He would come crawling towards his women devotees would cuddle him and take turns feeding him milk. The Baba who preaching others about avoiding fatty food, himself was not so averse towards it, as it was said that the pervert Baba had a preferential fetish for full fat milk over semi fat ones.
Well, he imbibed so much milk in his "DUGDHA PAAN" (Milk drinking) session that he could not digest any more and so also the local populace could digest his weird escapades. One fine morning his ASHRAM (abode) was stoned and Baba fled away to his safety before the public could get hold of him. Don't know what happened to this self proclaimed 11th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but he is now rumored to have resurfaced elsewhere to preach sermon to a different audience on a different day.
In Punjab the controversial Baba Ram Rahim Singh was in news not long ago. The Baba had been convicted of rape charges and his followers had taken to the street, taking the tri state of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi into hostage for a few days as violence reigned. The Baba had patronage of all political parties. Now we have examples of fake Babas from East (Odisha) and North (Punjab), South (Tamil Nadu) in the form of the controversial Nityananda Swami and in West (Gujarat) in Asharam Bapu, to complete the pan-India affliction of Baba franchise.
I am not against Godmen or Godwomen. They and their followers have every right to their belief and peaceful assembly to preach and sooth the tired souls as long as they stay within the framework of law. But some Babas and Matas (Godwomen who are fewer in number compared to Godmen) are known to take law for granted and into their own hands. They also indulge in obnoxious activities, often involving women and children. The myth surrounding them gets shattered, replaced with controversies and eventual free fall from grace.
What's the secret potion that enables these Babas to sustain, survive and elude the authorities of any misdeed ? Many of those nefarious Gurus have equally unscrupulous folks as disciples which includes but not limited to corrupt politician, bureaucrats and businessmen. The Baba often acts as a conduit, a wheeler and dealer for those in power, a backroom boy who knows their secrets and use them an his insurance for future.
The vast majority of the disciples are not illiterate, poor folks as we would think - they are rather from the middle class and upper strata of society. Many, especially women suffering from insecurities and bored with their bland daily drudgery of suburban, small city life become the SHISYAS (Female devotees) of these charlatans to get some kick out of their mundane lives. But disillusionment kicks in for some in some way or others when they discovere how uncouth and fake are these Babas are. Their Guru's misdeeds get exposed over time.
But they might be in the minority, for come what may, still a vast number of brainwashed BHAKTs (disciples) chose to virulently defend their Babas. This doesn't come as a surprise to me. When I posted earlier about the milk loving Baba of Odisha, a friend of mine apparently got pisses off and started trolling me. If this was the reaction from my smart friend, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, forget about the rest.
Gladly, law and their own Karma takes its own course and their Karma like a bitch sucks up the milk loving Baba. I hope they rot in jail, excelling in CHAKKI PEESING ... PEESING...PEESING (A Hindi allegory describing jail time).
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