Gods and Godmen of India (19 page)
“Just a few days ago, he was back in Delhi with all his disciples. One of his former bosses, who is a lover of me, passed by. He saw him sitting on the lawn of the Taj Mahal Hotel with his disciples. He could not recognize him, he had changed so much. He thought, A great mahatma.’
“But Yogi Bhajan is a simple man in that way, far simpler than Muktananda or Nirmala Devi. He sent a disciple to the boss to tell him, ‘Come to my room. I have something to say to you.’
“The boss could not understand why the great yogi was calling him; he was thrilled, excited. He went into the room, Yogi Bhajan came in and he said, ‘Boss don’t you recognize me? I am just that poor Sardar Harbhajan Singh, your porter. Have you forgotten me completely?’
“Then he could recognize the face. He said, ‘But what has happened? You have become such a great yogi with so many disciples!’
“Then he told the story … that it is due to Muktananda. The whole credit goes to Muktananda!”
18/4/93
I
n a recently published biography of Rajiv Gandhi, the author writes that Rajiv was persuaded by N.D. Tiwari to seek the blessings of Deoraha Baba three days before the foundation-stone of the Hindu temple was to be laid in Ayodhya. We are not told what transpired at the meeting but, undoubtedly, Rajiv received the Baba’s blessings by having his forehead touched by the big toe of the holy man perched on a tree. However, we do know that Rajiv made no move to forbid the foundation-stone laying ceremony. The author goes on to state that Home Minister Buta Singh had suggested that Rajiv himself start the process of building the temple, a suggestion that Rajiv very wisely turned down.
We know that apart from N.D. Tiwari, Balram Jakhar and Buta Singh were also devotees of the tree-top Baba: their photographs showing them bowing reverently to have their heads touched by the Baba’s foot were published in many papers. It is significant that despite the blessings all three men lost at the polls that followed and Rajiv Gandhi had to step down from his prime ministership.
This kind of public display of reverence for holy men is a post-Pandit Nehru phenomenon. As long as he was alive, even his daughter Indira Gandhi did not dare to go paying homage to sadhus or praying in temples. She occasionally called on Anandamayi Ma but always explained away her visits as something she did to keep up the friendship that had existed between her mother and Anandamayi. But no sooner she became Prime Minister, sadhus, swamis,
brahmacharis,
tantrics, astrologers and their likes began to visit her residence.
Havans
and other kind of religious rites began to be performed regularly. It was evident that she felt insecure and sought assurance from these men and performed whatever rites they prescribed. At the same time, she felt that it would reduce her image as a forward-looking woman and stoutly denied having had anything to do with such people or carrying out their prescriptions. I had hoped that Rajiv Gandhi would not succumb to pressure from his superstition-ridden advisers, and like his grandfather, have nothing to do with these archaic practices. They don’t fit a man who promises to lead us into the 21st century.
It continues to amaze me how men and women, otherwise with high intelligence quotients (e.g. Nani Palkhivala, a disciple of Sai Baba) continue to indulge in sadhu worship and believing in astrology. However futile the blessings they receive and however wrong the predictions made prove to be, nothing seems to shake their faith in the irrational.
I have had long associations with holy men, some of whom became quite friendly with me. Amongst those whose affection I enjoyed were Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri (guru of Nargis Dutt) and Shri Dattabal of Sholapur, who spent a long evening with me drinking my Scotch. I had great respect for Acharya Rajneesh as a scholar and read whatever I can of his writings. I continue to enjoy the affection of Dadaji and make it a point to call on him whenever, he is in Delhi. However, none of this has shaken my agnosticism. My chief interest in there is to find out what their disciples get from them that eludes me.
I have come to the conclusion that gurus and godmen are meant for people who are unsure of themselves, troubled in mind and faced with problems which they are unable to solve on their own efforts.
Why gurus flourish in India more than in any other country has been explained by Peter Brent in his classic study of the subject
Godmen of India.
He writes: “In. the west we are free to work for the approval of those we love and respect. Not so in India … for Indians of the middle class, there are only two directions they can go to prove that they can love, and be loved. One is towards homosexuality, the other towards the guru – the two not being mutually exclusive.”
According to Brent, Indians cultivate intimate relations with gurus because there have traditional inhibitions against mingling of sexes and the tyranny of fathers. The young Indian male may not indulge in love “or even look at girls of his own class, but can form the most passionate friendship and express it with caresses with his guru”. Furthermore, the guru-disciple relationship “is in some ways an ideal version of that which should exist between father and son but does not”. The guru, though the father figure, is the rescuer from the real father’s dominance. “He is the father who has been chosen; in this way, the disciple remains free in his bondage, bound in his freedom.”
T
he recent attempt on the life of Sai Baba in his ashram at Puttaparthi must give us reason to ponder over this uniquely Indian phenomenon of mortals claiming to be Gods. It is estimated that any time there have been upwards of 500 men and women who were accorded the status of gods on earth. Some like Sai Baba have enormous following running into millions: amongst his admirers are the President, the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and jurists like Nani Palkhivala and P.N. Bhagwati. Others like Chandraswamy, a totally different kettle of fish, boast of
chelas
including heads of States, armament dealers like Adnan Khashoggi and ladies like Pamela Bordes to further his designs. Of the same ilk is Dhirendra Brahmachari who at one time had free access to the Nehru-Gandhi household, owned his own aeroplane, imported cars, a herd of Jersey cows and a gun factory. The one thing that they have in common is enormous wealth. The basic principle of the
guru-chela
relationship is that the
chela
or
cheli
surrenders his or her
tan, man, dhan
– body, mind and worldly wealth – to the guru. Akbar Allahabadi put it succinctly when he asked a guruji
Shughal hai kya
– what is your pastime? The guruji replies:
Bas, Ram nam japna/paraya maal apna.
(Only to take the name of God/And the wealth of my disciples.)
The one thing that most of us associate with people who have renounced the world and taken sanyas is total detachment from wealth and worldly affairs. This does not apply to Indian godmen or godwomen. All of them are wealthy. We read reports of scores of so-called sadhus, swamis and rishis turn up at Ayodhya in air-conditioned cars and loaded with gold and precious stones. Our godmen are not committed to poverty. Many of them like Chandraswamy, and in his heyday of power Dhirendra Brahmachari, spend more of their time and energy manipulating politicians and millionaires than in prayer or meditation.
It can’t be denied that godmen and women have also done a lot of good work and brought mental comfort in the minds of their followers. Sai Baba has set up schools, colleges and hospitals. He could not have done so if he did not give his followers something in return. Fortunately, he has given up performing magical tricks like regurgitating
Shivalingas
and producing
vibhuti
– holy ash from his hands, many magicians can do the same. And yet he continues to be the focus of adoration for all his followers. Why then should anyone wait to kill him? It is for the police to discover the motives. But I am entitled to make my own guess. About ten years ago, a book entitled
Lord of the Air
was published by Vikas. It was written by a young American disciple who had taught in one of Sai Baba’s institutions. It had many unpleasant things to say about him and the affairs in Puttaparthi. Within a few days of its publication the book disappeared from the market – all copies were presumably bought and destroyed. Why?
19/6/1993
Anyone familiar with Khushwant Singh’s writing will probably think of the word ‘agnostic’, if asked about his religious beliefs. Yet in this vibrant volume, Khushwant, in his inimitable style, tackles all issues related to religion, organised religion, faith, blind faith, new cults, and new movements – in other words, he charges like a raging bull to attack the epidemic of gods and godmen that has swept the nation in recent years.
Well versed in all the scriptures pertaining to every religion he talks about – ranging from Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism to Judaism, Christianity and Islam – Khushwant Singh quotes liberally, and with perfect ease, from the Adi Granth, Adi Sankaracharya, Upanishads, Koran, Bible and other holy books to buttress his arguments.
He questions each issue with the sharpness of a double-edged sword, but not once does he let his cogency overwhelm his readers. He simply places his observations before the reader, allowing him or her to draw his or her own conclusions. However, by the time the book comes to an end, Khushwant – the visionary – charts the way for one and all to steer away from dogmatism, Puritanism and head straight for secularism. This book is a definitive guide to distinguish frauds from gods and con men from godmen.
Khushwant Singh is easily the most widely read author in India today. His weekly columns are reproduced by over fifty journals in all the regional languages of the country. He has done different things at different times: practised law, diplomacy and politics; taught comparative religion at Princeton and Swarthmore; and edited
The Illustrated Weekly of India
and
The Hindustan Times.
He has written regularly for several European and American journals including
The New York Times.
He has also edited and translated a number of literary works.
Author of eighty-nine books, Khushwant Singh is best known for his work of fiction,
Train to Pakistan,
and his two-volume
History of the Sikhs,
which is still considered the most authoritative writing on the subject. His acerbic pen, his wit and humour, and, most of all, his ability to laugh at himself, have ensured him immense popularity over the years.
He was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1986. Among other honours, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 by the president of India (he returned the decoration in 1984 in protest against the Union government’s siege of the Golden Temple, Amritsar).
He lives in New Delhi.
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Cover Design:
Dushyant Parasher
Copyright © Khushwant Singh 2003
Khushwant Singh asserts the moral
right to be identified as the author of this work.
Published in paperback in 2006
4
th
impression, 2011
ISBN 13: 978-81-7223-658-8
Epub Edition © March 2012 ISBN: 9789350292440
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Table of Contents
The Believer and the Agnostic: their Religion for Them, Our Doubts to Us