CultNEWS101 Articles: 4/10-11/2021

Little Pebble, Australia, Legal, Religious Freedom, Sai Baba, Disorganized Attachment

ABC: Hundreds petition to stop cult leader and paedophile 'Little Pebble' from returning to live on NSW South Coast

"Hundreds of residents on the New South Wales South Coast are calling for a convicted paedophile and cult leader to be prevented from returning to live in the region. William Costellia-Kamm – also known as "Little Pebble" – is the founder of a sect he calls the Order of Saint Charbel and claims to be a prophet who speaks directly to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

The 70-year-old was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers he referred to as his "spiritual wives" in the 1990s and had been living in Sydney since he was paroled in 2014 having served more than nine years of his 10-year prison sentence.

Late last week he was granted permission by the NSW Supreme Court to return to his commune at Cambewarra, in the Shoalhaven region.

"The risk which the conditions need to manage is the risk of further serious sex offending," Justice Stephen Campbell said."

Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs claims of workplace religious bias

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a chance to further expand religious rights, turning away two cases in which employees accused companies of violating federal anti-discrimination law by insufficiently accommodating requests for time off to meet religious obligations.

The justices declined to hear appeals by two men of different Christian denominations - a Jehovah's Witness from Tennessee and a Seventh-day Adventist from Florida - of lower court rulings that rejected their claims of illegal religious bias. Lower courts found that the accommodations the men sought would have placed too much hardship on the employers.

In a dissent, conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito said the court should have taken up the case from Tennessee. The Supreme Court has taken an expansive view of religious liberties in a number of important cases in recent years.

At issue in the cases was the allowances companies must make for employees for religious reasons to comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on religion as well as race, color, sex and national origin.

Gorsuch wrote that religious rights under the employment law are "the odd man out" because they do not receive as much protection as other rights guaranteed under federal law, such as those that apply to the disabled."

Scroll: Labelled 'jihadi', Sai Baba's idol demolished in Delhi. Hindu hardliner exults. Devotees despair

"He is no god, he died in 1918," the middle-aged man declares, looking into the camera. "He was Muslim."

Attacking members of religious minorities and taking a hammer to an idol in a Hindu temple are acts inspired by the same ideology that promotes a pure, militant version of Hinduism, say sociologists.

The demolition "seeks to produce the 'others' of Hindus that may not actually exist in real life," said Sanjay Srivastava, a professor of sociology at Delhi University. "Those who say that such and such person should not be worshipped within the premises of a temple because he was Muslim (which may or not be true, but that is not important) want a version of Hinduism which has a single origin and a clear history."

Matthew Remski: Reggie Ray Spiritualizes The Terror of Disorganized Attachment in Relation to Trungpa

A textbook example of how the terror of disorganized attachment – as analyzed by cult survivor and researcher Alexandra Stein – can be framed as a spiritual necessity.

" ... Ray succinctly provides a perfect vignette of the terror-euphoria cycle that characterizes the trauma bonding that Stein argues is central to cultic coherence. Of course this is not his framework. He's telling the story as a kind of hero's journey that has the secondary advantage of justifying a continuation of these dynamics within his own circle."

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Forget Charles Manson: Why Indian Gurus are a Cult Above the West

India’s godmen make billions, sway political fortunes, and hold entire cities to ransom – as the aftermath of Ram Rahim’s jailing shows. So what’s behind their unholy hold on the public imagination?

scmp.com
September 2, 2017

MORE THAN 250 people were injured and 38 died when violence broke out in parts of North India a week ago after a court found a popular guru called Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of rape. The guru’s followers ran amok, the local administration failed to control the violence (which had been widely predicted) and three days later,when Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the verdict was not delivered in any court.

Instead, the judge and his entourage flew to Rohtak jail to announce the sentence. It was considered too dangerous to have any more proceedings in a courtroom because the threat of violence from Ram Rahim’s supporters was so great.

Why should a convicted rapist who claims to be a guru command such fanatical loyalty from his followers that they are willing to run riot in his name? Well, partly, it is the age-old global phenomenon of cults and their leaders. The followers of Charles Manson, Jim Jones and many other Western cult leaders have done much worse. All over the United States, violent cults dedicated to hatred (which they often cloak in the language of peace) have mushroomed over the past two decades.

But there is something specifically Indian about Ram Rahim and the phenomenon he has engendered. For a start, there’s the man himself. Loud, hairy and bombastic, he favours a blingy wardrobe that would make even the most flamboyant rapper blush. Nor is he an ascetic of any sort. He has produced movies starring himself in which he beats up villains and jiggles his mighty hips to Bollywood-type music. He chose the names of his movies himself. His most famous picture was modestly titled Messenger of God.

For most of India, Ram Rahim is a bizarre joke. And yet nobody can deny his influence or the loyalty he evokes in his followers. It was said a single directive from Ram Rahim could make his followers vote en masse to defeat a hostile candidate. So politicians have always flocked to him, seeking his blessing.

Even as the rape case was in court, regional ministers were reluctant to act against Ram Rahim’s supporters. This was one reason the violence that followed the judgment was so devastating: politicians had been too frightened to take preventive action against the thousands of Ram Rahim’s followers who had camped near the courthouse. And now the guru is in jail, each political party is busy leaking photos of its rivals supplicating before Ram Rahim in happier days.

There are few other countries where cult leaders command the same kind of influence as India’s gurus. Some of this can be attributed to the global cult phenomenon. But it also has its roots in the Indian tradition of the guru-shishya relationship. Unlike many religions, Hinduism has no clergy, no Vatican-like centre and no pope figure. Instead, the religion requires its followers only to look inward to find peace.

But there is also a tradition that gurus, or men (and it is nearly always men) who have reached advanced stages of consciousness or intellectual evolution can take disciples to whom they impart wisdom. And these disciples are required to blindly and obediently follow whatever the guru says.

The modern Indian guru phenomenon takes the most unpleasant elements of the Western cultist mentality and the Hindu tradition of total supplication before the teacher and gives it a pseudo-religious sanction. Though Hinduism makes it clear that no man can be a prophet, let alone a god, many of these gurus pervert that tradition and pass themselves off as semi-divine figures.

Some perform conjuring tricks, claim these are miracles and encourage their followers to believe they have god-like supernatural powers. This has led to the popularity of a peculiarly Indian term – the godman – to describe a guru whose followers believe he has divine powers.

The idea of a guru regarded as a saint by his followers is not new. But, as the author Arun Shourie points out in his recent book Two Saints, gurus who were venerated in an earlier era were respected for their goodness and simplicity. Most were ascetics who had turned their backs on material possessions and dedicated themselves to charity or social service.

By the 1960s however, a new kind of guru emerged: the sort of godman who, far from abjuring material possessions, actually used them to impress his followers. The late Sathya Sai Baba, the most influential godman of the 20th century would conjure up Omega watches out of thin air. His followers regarded this as a miracle.

While Sai Baba was a controversial figure, his followers included top scientists, intellectuals and even presidents of India. And whatever one thought of his miracles, he did encourage his followers to donate generously to the hospitals, colleges and other charitable ventures he established.

But the world of godmen can be competitive. In 1966, when Sai Baba first came to prominence, he was denounced as a fake by Hatha Yogi, another guru/yogi. Hatha Yogi declared only he was the real deal. He could even walk on water, he boasted. A large tank was constructed by public subscription and television crews from all over the world arrived to watch the Yogi match Jesus’ water-walk. Sadly, he sunk to the bottom of the tank with his very first step. Later, Hatha Yogi said Sai Baba had cursed him.

Another of Sai Baba’s contemporaries, Muktananda, attracted celebrity followers from the West and the Indian film industry. But when he died, having chosen a brother and sister as his joint successors, a fierce row broke out at the ashram. The sister’s camp accused the brother of sleeping with American devotees. The brother said his sister’s followers had abducted and assaulted him. Eventually the sister won. She is the guru referred to in the memoir of American author Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love.

The Muktanandas and Sai Babas eventually made way for another kind of guru: the political wheeler-dealer.

The trend was started by then-prime minister Indira Gandhi in the 1970s when she promoted Dhirendra Brahmchari, who was, apparently, her yoga teacher. The state-run TV network (at the time, the only one in India) broadcast the yogi’s lessons every week (from all accounts, he knew his yoga) and the Brahmchari (a term which also implies celibacy, which may have been a bit of a stretch in this case) became India’s most famous yogi. He was such an important figure in Gandhi’s court he was nicknamed the “Rasputin of Delhi” and became a fully fledged political fixer, making use of his proximity to the prime minister.

All gurus have one major advantage: because they are supposed to be holy men, people are reluctant to treat them with obvious disrespect. The pushier ones use this “holy” status to gain access to the mighty and the wealthy. For two decades, India’s most notorious godman/guru was a racketeer with no real mass following, who did not even pretend to understand Hindu philosophy.

Born Nemi Chand Jain and arrested on fraud charges, he quickly changed his name to Chandra Swami, began wearing saffron and gained access to some of the world’s richest people. For many years, he was close to the Muslim Sultan of Brunei, one of the world’s richest men, and the centre of a dispute between two billionaires, Tiny Rowland and Mohamed al-Fayed, for control of Harrods, the famous London store. Chandra Swami later went into business with Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi arms dealer, and mingled with US congressmen.

When his global ambitions faded, he returned to India, becoming extremely close to two successive Indian prime ministers: Chandra Shekhar and Narasimha Rao. Through it all, he was regularly denounced and exposed in the press across three continents. Yet it made no difference to his hold on political leaders. Eventually though, his luck ran out and he was arrested by the Indian police.

Less global in scope but no less extraordinary is the saga of Asaram Bapu, a millionaire godman with a dedicated (not to say, fanatical) following. Such was Asaram’s importance and wealth at his peak that he could film himself dancing with an Indian prime minister and grant audiences to top politicians. But the law caught up with him. He is now in jail on rape charges. His wealth may be intact, though. His followers routinely organise expensive social media blitzes during which they allege his arrest is part of a “campaign against Hindu saints”.

Most extraordinary of all is the saga of Baba Ramdev. He first came to prominence on a cable TV channel dedicated to “devotional content”. Like Dhirendra Brahmachari before him, he knew his yoga and within a few years became a national figure, rubbing shoulders with top politicians.

His first instincts were to go into politics himself. But when his attempts to run an anti-corruption campaign did not go as planned, Ramdev decided to go into business instead. He had already sold a successful line of organic and yoga-related products. But he was daring enough to enter the fast-moving consumer goods sector, taking on such a global giants as Unilever, Colgate and Nestle.

At first, when he talked big (“they will wet their pants,” he declared, in his usual not-very-holy rhetorical style) the multinational corporations laughed. But to their horror, Ramdev’s products became hugely successful, seriously threatening their market shares. His revenues seem to double every year and although Ramdev says he is much too holy to hold any assets in his own name, his partner/companion/friend Balkrishna (who owns everything, at least on paper) is worth US$3.8 billion, making him one of India’s richest businessmen.

So forget about Jim Jones and Charles Manson. India’s gurus are no mere cult leaders. They sway the electoral fortunes of political parties. They hold entire cities to ransom. And they can become billionaires in a few short years. None of it has anything to do with Hinduism, one of the world’s greatest religions, its traditions abused by these men. It’s just business. And, by God, it works!

http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2109392/forget-charles-manson-why-indian-gurus-are-cult-above-west

Despite crime allegations, gurus in India hold sway

Muneeza Naqvi
August 27, 2017

NEW DELHI: A flamboyant and hugely popular spiritual guru who was convicted of rape, triggering a deadly rampage by angry supporters, is not the only Indian sect leader to find himself on the wrong side of the law.

Like the guru who calls himself Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan, tens of thousands of others run religious empires across the 1.3 billion-strong deeply spiritual country. A look at some of them:

ASARAM BAPU: The 76-year-old, white-bearded guru preaches chastity and worshipping one’s parents. The guru who once declared that Valentine’s Day was a form of western cultural invasion in India was arrested in 2013 after a teenage devotee accused him of raping her at a religious retreat. Another female follower later also accused him of rape.

He has been in jail since 2013 on charges of rape and criminal intimidation. His son Narayan Sai, who was a senior functionary in his spiritual empire, is also in prison on rape charges.

Yet the guru continues to inspire devotion and thousands of supporters flock to court when he appears for hearings. He may be in more trouble still after several local newspapers reported on the mysterious killings of three witnesses in the criminal cases he faces.

GURU RAMPAL: In 2014, six people were killed when followers of guru Rampal fought pitched battles with police who were attempting to arrest him after he repeatedly failed to appear in court in connection with a murder trial.

The standoff between police and thousands of guru’s followers camped inside his sprawling ashram lasted for over two weeks as supporters fought government troops with petrol bombs, guns and sticks.

News report said that the guru, who claimed be a reincarnation of a medieval mystic poet, was bathed in milk, which was then used to make “kheer,” a sweet rice pudding. The pudding was distributed among his followers who believed it had healing powers.

SATHYA SAI BABA: The saffron-robed Sathya Sai Baba, who died in 2011, had millions of followers and ashrams in over 126 countries. In India, his devotees included senior politicians, movie stars, world-class athletes and industrialists.

He was said to perform miracles, conjuring jewellery, Rolex watches and “vibhuti” a sacred ash that his followers applied to their foreheads from his halo of wild, frizzy hair.

But rationalist critics led campaigns against him, calling him a charlatan and his miracles fake. Several news reports alleged that he sexually abused devotees accusations he denied as vilification campaigns.

A 2004 BBC television programme called the Secret Swami featured interviews with at least two American male devotees who claimed the guru had fondled their genitals and exposed himself to them while claiming it was part of a healing ritual.

The guru denied all accusations and never faced any charges.—AP

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2017

https://www.dawn.com/news/1354137/despite-crime-allegations-gurus-in-india-hold-sway

Fine slapped on Sai Baba Trust in Shirdi over payment default

Shoumojit Banerjee
The Hindu
MARCH 13, 2017

Revenue dues on a portion of land date back to British Raj

The Revenue department has slapped a whopping ₹4 crore as fine on the Shri Saibaba Sansthan (Trust) for allegedly defaulting on revenue dues on a portion of land dating back to the British Raj.

Speaking to The Hindu, Shirdi Sub-Divisional Officer Kundan Sonawane said that the disputed land of 27 gunthas (less than one acre) was acquired by some of the devotees on rent near the temple complex premises during colonial times.

While the land belonged to the State, the devotees either gave it away to the trust or sold it off a few years after Sai Baba died in 1918.

Put on notice

Speaking to The Hindu, Shirdi Sub-Divisional Officer Kundan Sonawane confirmed that his office had sent a notice to the Saibaba Sansthan Trust.

“A few years after Sai Baba’s ‘Mahasamadhi’ in 1918, these devotees either donated or sold it (the land) off without due permission from the State. The land in question encompasses the iconic Dikshit wada, the Lendi Baug [the garden created and watered by Sai Baba himself] and the museum. So, we have sent the notice to the Sai Baba trust to legalise the possession of this land by paying back the revenue due to the government,” Mr. Sonawane said.

He informed that the nebulous ownership of the disputed land was unearthed by local journalist Pramod Aher while the latter was researching his book Shirdi Gazeteer: untold stories. Mr. Aher then brought the matter to the attention of Revenue department authorities.

Mr. Sonawane further said that if the Trust failed to clarify the matter within a week, a legal probe would be initiated into the affair.

Officials at the trust could not be reached for comment.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/fine-slapped-on-sai-baba-trust-in-shirdi-over-payment-default/article17453452.ece

Supreme Court directs Maharashtra government to appoint CEO of Shree Sai Baba Trust

The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra government to appoint an IAS officer as the chief executive officer of Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust ahead of its centenary year celebrations at Shirdi.

PTI
February 19, 2017

Shirdi Saibaba, Saibaba Trust, Maharashtra Ministry, Saibaba trust money, Maharashtra Government A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar asked the counsel appearing for the state government as to why it is not appointing an IAS officer as the CEO to look after the affairs of the Sai Baba Sansthan Trust. (PTI)

The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra government to appoint an IAS officer as the chief executive officer of Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust ahead of its centenary year celebrations at Shirdi. A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar asked the counsel appearing for the state government as to why it is not appointing an IAS officer as the CEO to look after the affairs of the trust. Advocate Nishant Ramakantrao Katneshwarkar, appearing for the state, said that the government has agreed to appoint an IAS officer for the post to look after the affairs of the trust ahead of the centenary year celebrations starting this year. He also sought permission to withdraw the petition filed by the previous Congress government in Maharashtra against a Bombay High Court which said that an IAS officer not below the rank of a deputy collector be appointed as the CEO. The direction had been given by the high court’s Aurangabad bench on May 2, 2014.

The bench, also comprising Justices N V Ramana, D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul, granted permission to withdraw the plea but directed that an IAS officer be appointed as the CEO by March 15 this year. As per section 13 (2) of the Shree Sai Baba Sansthan Trust (Shridi) Act, 2004, the CEO may be selected from amongst officers not below the rank of a deputy collector. Then Congress government had challenged the said order of high court and the apex court had granted stay on the interim order.

http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/supreme-courtc-directs-maharashtra-government-to-appoint-ceo-of-shree-sai-baba-trust/557595/

CIA files: 'Alleged miracle worker' Sathya Sai Baba could start world religion

Rezaul H Laskar
Hindustan Times, New Delhi

January 23, 2017 

Unlike the movies, not all the work done by spies is cloak-and-dagger or dangerous snooping in exotic locations. Some of it can be very mundane, such as checking the backgrounds of key personalities in a country and preparing a dossier to be sent higher up the chain.

Like the Central Intelligence Agency’s rather fanciful report from the 1990s on Sathya Sai Baba, which hailed the late spiritual guru with the distinctive Afro hairdo as a man who could “counterbalance the appeal of Hindu chauvinists and ethnic separatists”.

The 16-page report, titled Cultural Trends Study: India’s Sai Baba Movement, is among some 13 million declassified documents from the CIA that have been released online. The report was marked “Secret”, the agency’s second highest classification, and was not meant to be released to any foreign nationals.

The author of the report, whose name has been redacted, began with some key judgements, including the growth of a “worldwide mass religious movement” around the “alleged miracle worker” and the belief that Sai Baba’s “well-organised and financed movement…may even become another worldwide religion”.

After an exposition on cultural trends, the Hindu religion and the ‘sadhus’ and ‘sannyassins’ of India running into almost three pages, the report refers to Sai Baba’s claim to be the “Kalki Avatar”, whom the CIA operative likens to the return of Jesus Christ or the Muslim Mahdi who is expected to “create a new world of peace and justice”.

“In fact, he says he is the Biblical second coming. While such claims may be incredible, most of his devotees believe him,” the report states.

The report refers in a serious tone to the many “miracles” linked to Sai Baba, such as his ability to change his shape, read minds, and materialise objects such as jewellery, hot food and live animals with a wave of his hand, as well as ‘vibhuti’ (holy ash) and ‘amritha’ (nectar) exuding from the guru’s photos.

“Such claims have not been scientifically verified in a laboratory, although a team of western parapsychologists observed some of these events in a field study. While the scientific paradigm may reject the possibility of such capabilities, traditional Hindus accept them as entirely plausible,” the report states.

Sai Baba, who died at the age of 84 in 2011, was accused by detractors of resorting to conjuring tricks and sleight of hand. A 2004 BBC documentary, The Secret Swami, added to the controversies swirling around the guru with accusations sexual abuse.

The guru always denied these charges, describing them as “false allegations” by the “Judases of today”. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a follower, once issued an official letter that described the allegations as “wild, reckless and concocted”.

The CIA report acknowledged this darker side, but stated that his “doctrine does have potential widespread appeal in a society riven by communal violence”. It referred to Sai Baba telling devotees that all faiths are equally valid and stated: “Since Sai Baba’s message supports the concept of a harmonious, multi-religious and multi-ethnic India, it has the potential to counterbalance the appeal of Hindu chauvinists and ethnic separatists”.

The report also referred to Sai Baba’s influence with “many Indian leaders”, including politicians who possibly saw the guru’s devotees as a large vote bank. “Nevertheless, Indian Prime Minister (PV Narasimha) Rao may be a devotee. He attended Sai Baba’s November 1991 combination birthday celebration, inauguration of the new hospital, and educational convocation,” it stated.

The report concluded, again fancifully, that the Sai Baba movement is “likely to eventually become another worldwide religion”, with its ample wealth, free healthcare and political influence allowing it to expand even after the guru’s death.

However, the author of the report was also hedging his bets – the last paragraph stated: “There is always the possibility, too, that the movement will collapse if Sai Baba is convincingly demonstrated to be a fraud.”

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cia-thought-sai-baba-s-movement-would-become-a-worldwide-religion/story-HSkb4izaItHFlTkXS6cUBP.html

10 Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis

Wonderslist

You must have heard of those long-bearded spiritual gurus who promises you an advance ticket to heaven if you pay him some big fat dollars. Here’s a trivia, in my mother-tongue Bengali the term ‘swami’ means husband. Anyway, every Indian swami has one time or the other been related to intimate contact with opposite gender in one way or the other. As they say sex and spirit go hand in hand! This is how ­­­­­­­­­; Here below are 10 Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis – The Curious Cases of Indian Swamis;

10. Caught in the act – Swami Nithyananda

On the day of March 10, 2010 this godman was tainted and painted red by Sun TV (news channel). For even a godman needs a hot full body massage with occasional dips of kisses followed by other such acts (though the video here has deleted most of the racy stuffs). Swami was rather lucky getting it done by a popular actresses. I can hear the sighs.

Nithyananda later said in an interview that he was in a state of ‘samadhi’ i.e. trance while being unrobed & massaged (anyone would be, right?). With the pressure mounting swami made a startling revelation that he was actually impotent. The man has some nerve, we got to give him that!

And this ain’t all, condom, drugs and more secrets told the story of why this ‘playboy’ was in real trouble. When Arathi Rao, a former devotee alleged rape, swami went into hiding digging and further extending the ditch he was in. Because when the police went to nab the man in his ashram they were goggle-eyed to find a heap of condom and ganja (drugs) inside the premise. And then came the answer to the cryptic question, it was Arathi Rao who had secretly recorded the swami’s exceptionally hot moments. Naughty girl!

9. Lets Play Brother-Sister – Asharam Bapu

He’s our current favourite in India. This controversial godman hit the nerve of every rational Indian when making a remark on the2012 Delhi gangrape saying that the girl raped was also to be blamed. He further added that the girl “should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop… This could have saved her dignity and life.” To exemplify his hideous theory he said “Can one hand clap? I don’t think so.”

We don’t think so either swami, especially since he has been arrested for paedophilic behaviour recently. This is what is generally called tit-for-tat.

This January, 7 more girls have poured out their tales of horror (which includes forced oral) to the police who have collected the statement of around 100 people, enough to build up a case against this self-styled godman.

8. Like Father, Like Son – Narayan Sai

Asaram Bapu’s has proven that the pull of blood relations is quiet thick. Two sisters had lodged complaints against Sai and his father Asaram of rape, sexual assault and illegal confinement. Grilled in police interrogation and under the hawk-eyed presence of his estranged wife, Sai had revealed physical relationships with eight of his female disciples, and in an OMG moment confessed of even fathering a child with one of his sevikas (disciple).

7. Oiled All Over – Sathya Sai Baba

Sai Baba was no novice to controversy (yes, he is dead). Death couldn’t stop him from featuring in this list though. Plunge into Wikipedia, you’ll find a full 1000 words collection of accused misdeeds under the‘criticism and controversy’ section.

In 2002 a documentary produced by Denmark’s national television and radio broadcast company, Danmarks Radio (DR), named “Seduced By Sai Baba”, presented interviews with Alaya Rahm who alleged sexual abuse by this swami. Again in a BBC documentary titled The Secret Swami, one of Swami’s critics had claimed that an ex-devotee had confined to him about the repellent swami’s sexual behaviour when once he had “put the oil on his hands, told me to drop my pants and rubbed my genitals with the oil”. Even Sai Baba’s multi-millionaire devotee clearly believes in these rumours; see here.

6. Believe It or Not, It’s The ‘Guru’ – Rajneesh

This one was a mash up (yes, he is dead too) and had quiet an international reputation. Popularly known as Osho since 1989, he was a break from the mainstream conventional hoodoo swamis. They even have a cool international website of an Osho Meditation Resort [http://www.osho.com/].

Coming to the point, this singular swami was actually known as the ‘sx guru’ and was quiet a news maker owing to his provocative lectures in his ashrams. And you thought swamis are conservative huh?

Initially, in his Pune Ashram (which is flourishing like never before) some groups were allowed intimated relationship between the participants’. Osho argued, unlike other religious advocators that psychological repression leads to suppression of significant feeling that later raises their ugly heads in some other guise (like rape); he added that sexual repression results in societies becoming obsessed with sex. Osho’s ideas on sex, marriage, family and relationships contradicted traditional views, arousing anger and opposition around the world.

Though being a candid supporter of homos.xuality at the beginning, he later retracted this views and said “homosxuals…. were perverted, created the disease AIDS.” And just when you thought you were beginning to like this sex-swami. Alas!

5. Exposed – Kripalu Maharaj

He died in November 2013 at the age of 91 not before being exposed by an American follower Karen Johnson in her book “Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus: How I Was Conned by a Dangerous Cult” And Why I Will Not Keep Their Secrets.”

The book is concentrated on the swami’s bed room rituals. In an interview Karen said “Because he is considered to be an avatar of Krishna, his intimated touch and so on are supposed to be a gift of divine love, or prema dan. He gives private audiences to women he can manipulate and blesses them by intimated touch. He invites women to give him ‘charan seva’, a kind of massaging ritual which usually incorporates sexual touching.”

Karen had a very bad experience in past 15 years in his ashram. She told that she was a member of ‘Jagadguru Kripalu Council’ and had spend 15 years of her life in his JKP ashram situated in Austin city. Wonder what took her so long to come out?

Back in 2002 Kripalu was alleged to have raped and molested a 22-year-old Guyanese woman in a prayer-room, at a house in which he was staying in San Fernando, when she visited him in May of that year.

4. Intensive Swami – Ichadhari Baba Bheemanand

This self-styled swami apparently while teaching spirituality ran a prostitute racket, or so it was alleged back in 2010. It was said to be a business worth Rs 500 crore (5 billion USD). He used to supply women, including air hostesses, students and house wives, to high end clients all across Delhi and earned approximately Rs 2.5 lakh (4000 USD) everyday. Ichadhari baba collected a mind-boggling amount of Rs. 25000 crores (25 billion USD) by his s..x racket.

The 39-year-old Swamin Bhimanand, whose real name is Shreemurath Dwivedi, started working in Delhi as a security guard in 1988 until in 1997 when he was arrested for managing a prostitution ring. When he got out of jail, he took up religion simply as a front to his sleazy dealings. Police had claimed to have recovered five diaries from him which have the names, phone numbers and even rates of certain prostitutes. Bulls-eye, another swami down.

If you have a tremendous wish to see this swami going intimated in a dance, watch above video.

3. Mafia Style Swami – Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis

Alleged malpractices at the Dera first came to light in 2002 when an anonymous letter reached to then Prime Minister of India, accusing this swami of rape and mass-scale sexual exploitation.

“There are 35 to 40 girls here who have compromised themselves at the Dera. We appear to be devis, but are treated like prostitutes,” the woman wrote in her letter, adding: “My life is in danger, so I will not reveal my name.”

Since then, Ram Rahim’s name has figured in many criminal cases, including the murder of a journalist in July 2002. This guy seems grave!

The police had caught hold of his former driver who said that sexual exploitation was rampant, and that several male followers had been forcibly castrated on Rahim’s orders. This guy is gross as well.

2. When The Beatles Turned to a Swami – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis

John Lennon of The Beatles had, during his visit to India written a song ‘Sexy Sadie’ which he had wanted to actually name ‘Maharishi’ as it was based on the swami himself. Yogi made to the limelight by becoming ‘spiritual advisors to The Beatles’ in 1968. During their stay, the Beatles heard that the Maharishi had made sexual advances towards Mia Farrow; though Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Cynthia Lennon later said that they felt the story was fabricated. The original title was changed on George Harrison’s request.

Lennon once said of the song: “That was inspired by Maharishi. I wrote it when we had our bags packed and were leaving. It was the last piece I wrote before I left India. I just called him, ‘Sexy Sadie,’ instead of (sings) ‘Maharishi what have you done, you made a fool…’ I was leaving the Maharishi with a bad taste.” He told Rolling Stone that when the Maharishi asked why he was leaving, he replied, “Well, if you’re so cosmic, you’ll know why.”

Later the band dumped the swami.

John had subsequently said after many years, “There is no guru. You have to believe in yourself. You’ve got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It’s all down to you, mate.” I say, good advice mate.

1. The This One Makes Sense Swami – Ravishankar

The man which topped the list of 10 curious scandals of Indian swamis is none other than Ravi Shankar. Last December, when the Supreme Court of India overturned the 2009 landmark adjudication of decriminalizing homosxuality, spiritual swami Ravi Shankar wrote on Twitter – “Homosexuality has never been considered a crime in Hindu culture. In fact, Lord Ayyappa was born of Hari-Hara (Vishnu and Shiva).”

He later tweeted – “Homosexuality, not a crime in any Smriti. Everyone has male and female elements. According to their dominance, tendencies show up and may change.” In another post Sri Sri wrote – “Nobody should face discrimination because of their sexual preferences. To be branded a criminal for this is absurd.”

During the 2012 Delhi gang rape, instead of giving a preposterous gut-revolting comment like the other swamis Sri Sri Ravi Shankar through his social initiative VFABI protested against such barbarism.

For the record, this swami has been honoured by several countries for his humanitarian work and had even been the honorary citizen and Goodwill Ambassador of the city of Houston, USA back in 2008.

http://www.wonderslist.com/10-curious-scandals-of-indian-swamis/

Maharashtra drought result of 'unworthy' Sai Baba worship: Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati

Z News
April 11, 2016

Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati

Haridwar: Dwaraka-Sharda Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati has held the worship of the "unworthy" Shirdi Sai Baba by his followers responsible for a drought-like situation in Maharashtra.

The seer, who is known for his bitter opposition to Hindus worshipping Shirdi's Sai Baba, has made this remark on Sunday during a fortnight-long visit to Haridwar.

According to the Dwaraka seer, worshipping Sai Baba, a 'fakir', as if he were a god was 'inauspicious'.

"Calamity strikes where those unworthy of worship are worshipped," the Shankaracharya was quoted as saying in a report by Times of India.

In support of his claim, the Dwaraka-Sharda Peeth Shankaracharya also quoted scriptures to emphasise that "such places suffer drought, flood, death or fear"

Maharashtra is facing all of these, he concluded.

The 94-year-old seer also expressed his opinion on the Shani temple row and said that women should not have entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Shani Shingnapur temple as "it will bring bad luck to them".

"Shani is a planet of sins. Worshipping him will lead to a rise in crime against women," he added.

Women entered Shani temple inner sanctum, due to this, incidents of rapes will increase further, Shankaracharya Swaroopanand was quoted as saying by ANI.

The Dwaraka seer had on many occasions in past disapproved worshipping Sai Baba.

In 2014, he had said the "mystic who was no god" should not be worshipped, and asked his devotees to remove his photographs and idols from temples where "Sai Baba gets pride of place with Hindu deities".

Sai Baba of Shirdi, also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master who is regarded by his devotees as a saint.

He is revered by both his Hindu and Muslim devotees. But most of the devotees treat him as an incarnation of God and worship him.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/maharashtra/drought-in-maharashtra-due-to-unworthy-sai-worship-shankaracharya_1874766.html

Shankaracharya releases poster against Sai Baba

Hindustan Times, Bhopal
October 30, 2015

Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati 

Sharpening his attack on Sai Baba, Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati in Bhopal on Friday released a poster in which Lord Hanuman is shown ‘driving out’ the revered spiritual master with a tree trunk.

In what is being built as the most virulent attack on Sai Baba, Swami Swarupanand Saraswati and his disciples, who are currently in Bhopal said “Sai Baba will be driven out of India to Pakistan in the next three years by the grace of lord Hanuman,” said Ramanand, a disciple of Swami Swaroopanand.

Talking to HT, Swami Swarupanand said the trust formed on the name of Sai was responsible to spoil Hindu dharma in the country. He said Sai Baba was projected superior to lord Hanuman and other Hindu Gods by the trust, which was unacceptable.

“Sai Baba’s real name was Chand Miya who is dead and we treat him as a ghost and not God,” said Swami Swaroopanand.

He also claimed that there were no followers of Sai Baba in the country. People visit Shirdi as they are mean, selfish and only want their wishes to come true.

“I visited several places in the past two months. During this period, not a single follower of Sai came to me to raise objections about my perception about Sai,” he added.

Ramanand said the poster was made on the basis of a dream of a disciple in Nanded district. The disciple dreamt that Lord Hanuman was ‘driving out’ Sai Baba with the help of a tree trunk, he 
He added that Lord Hanuman has also instructed to build temples near every temple of Sai Baba in India, so that the spirit of Sai Baba can be ‘driven out’ from the country.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/mp-shankaracharya-releases-poster-against-sai-baba/story-n6PuqdoEJovkQ8Hah6QPPO.html

After Shankaracharya, Ramdev stokes controversy, says Sai Baba was no God

Reetu Sharma
OneIndia News
November 3, 2015


New Delhi, Nov 3: The controversy over worshipping Sai Baba is yet not over and Yoga guru Ramdev on Monday joined the bandwagon and claimed that Sai Baba was not a God. 

According to an IBN7 report, "Supporting Dwarkapeeth seer Sankaracharya Swaroopan and Saraswati's ideology that Sai Baba should not be worshipped as God, Ramdev said that he was a great saint but not God." 

Earlier, Dwarkapeeth seer Sankaracharya Swaroopan and Saraswati had said that Sai Baba should not be worshipped as God. 

Talking about the issue RSS recently said that Sai Baba of Shirdi never claimed he was God and that "no issue" should be made over whether he should be worshipped. 

"Even Sai Baba never said he was a God. Sai Baba served the society. This should not be made an issue," RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said. 

RSS spokesman Manmohan Vaidya said in Hindu society every individual has the right to decide whom to worship. "Every individual in Hindu society has freedom to decide and worship God. There are many swayamsevaks in RSS who are Sai devotees," he said. 

Puja is offered to even trees and mountains, he said. 

The RSS leaders were responding to the statement made by Dwarkapeeth seer Sankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati made some time ago that Sai Baba of Shirdi should not be worshipped as God.

Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/india/ramdev-stokes-controversy-says-sai-baba-was-no-god-1917324.html

Importing And Marketing Culture

Prem Khatry

The Rising Nepal

October 4, 2015

There is a feeling in Nepal – we are one small but important market for Indian products – and these products are coming to Nepal in different forms, shapes and denominations. An open Nepali mind is fundamental and more receptive than our open borders. This is the main reason why such products make an easy entry and stay here. The flow of many products discussed here as cultural products has a long and steady history in Nepal whereas some have made recent but successful inroads. They have survived, thrived and sustained in the hands and purses of the highly receptive Nepalis.

Let us begin with the producers and go on to production. Nepal has old and strong cultural links with India through various aspects of the Vedic culture – polity, law, faiths, sacraments, education, arts, health and economy, to name the most important aspects. In historical times, beginning from the Maurya-Kirata to the modern times, great teachers, their missions and visions, the court regalia and the like have always left their mark in the process of urbanisation, political development and culture.

The Buddha and Emperor Ashoka took the opportunity to send their men and mission to Kathmandu for the propagation of Buddha's timeless teachings. Nepalis not only gave the visitors a green signal to do so, they also promoted Buddhist thoughts and practices at times when they had difficulty in India.

Big names in Nepal

History says from another angle Shankaracharya was doing his best to stop the popularity of Buddhism in Nepal and asserting on the establishment of the Vaishnava school of thought. He is said to have created a spiritual wave against Buddhism. This wave, it is said, was felt very seriously by the Buddhist monks and laity in Kathmandu. It took a long time for the Buddhist faith and practices to raise their heads and steer their right paths. And, in less than one hundred years, Nepal was recognised as the home of Tantric Buddhism after the fall of the faith in the north and east Indian plains.

Whether it is Hindu or Buddhist, the spiritual waves from the south have always been influential and strong on the soils of Nepal. During the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of Bengal and Goswami Tulsidas of the northern region, and afterwards the Vaishnava faith and practices became almost a household culture and conduct in Hindu Nepal. Pilgrimages in India became common and regular routine work of Nepali devotees. Sanskrit language and literature also influenced the courts and middle class society of Nepal.

In more recent times, saints, gurus and their missions have been creating visible and lasting impression on the culture of recent Nepal. From Sai Baba to controversial figures like Asaram to Nirmal Baba, they have their strong followings here. The most famous Vaishnava saint Jagatguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj and/or Shree Shree Ravi Shankar have the largest number of followers in Nepal. Similarly, the healer-yoga teachers like Ramadeva or Pilot Baba or Mantra teacher Kumaraswami of Prabhukripa Nivaran family have been raising their following in more recent years.

There is a rumour building strongly in Nepal that even the ruling government of India is planning to work closely with the Hindu fundamentalists of Nepal to restore Hinduism as the state religion that was in pre-2007 Nepal. But these are unsubstantiated statements.
The promotion of Hindu faith and practices through several cult figures and their preachers has been mostly one-way traffic as our own saints like Bhikshu Amritananda, Shree Khaptad Baba, Dr. Swami Prapannacharya, Kamalnayanacharya Dr. Ramananda Giri and several others have very little or no following in India.

It is now strongly felt in Nepal that the south-north traffic of faiths and practices is not only limited to holy men, their missions and the goods that accompany them. Now there are other commercial items, too. Like the faiths travelling north as spiritual commodities, there are actually different forms of commodities coming to Nepal and creating small to medium to big dents in the body-culture of Nepal. Just a few items would be sufficient to substantiate the writer's analysis.

Take Mehendi (a herbal paste with long lasting designs painted on hands) for example. Until some years ago, this colourful paint was shown on the hands of the Marwari and other upper class ladies of the plains during some festivals and ceremonies at home. Today it has hit the market. From the Terai, this colour has been making its entry into cities like Kathmandu, attracting females of all castes and ages. Even elementary level female students want to have this paint on their tiny hands to mark the coming of a festival at home and the community.

One can only guess, as the Mehendi cone goes to many hands at a fast rate, its business could be rated into millions per week, if not per day. Such a business certainly brings the entrepreneurs as business promoters and add to the already saturating population statistics. And, this is just an example of a new addition in popular culture.

Take another example from Janai Purnima and Rakshyabandhan. The traditional Nepali belief held that the holy thread is to be renewed every year on this auspicious day by the thread holder castes. Similarly, the colourful thread is to go to the wrist through the family (in cities the temple) priests as marks of 'protection', hence the name. This is fine and good. But lo and behold! A 'Rakhi culture' has now come all the way from the plains through Hindi serials and migrants.

Now a sister is taught to tie this colourful, expensive and laboriously made thread around her brother's hand as another kind of protection and welfare of her sibling/s. Now almost every corner of the city has this temporary stall with hundreds of varieties of this thread. Earlier it catered for the migrant Terai-Indian population, but now it has infected the Pahadi and valley population of youngsters.

Flourishing business

Finally, one writer suggested rather jokingly how our 'Fagu' has been 'Holi' and added new features and soon the wife could be 'bibi ji'. It is not just a change of a name; it has also changed the earlier character and added new paraphernalia. A business is flourishing in these names and taking a big amount of money out of the country just for the sake of imitation of a neighbourhood culture. One must say – Nepalis are very innovative and change-seekers but have no or little thought about how new inventions can come heavy on our own traditions that are simple, inexpensive and carry history as well as meaning.

http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/6290

The Hold

The psychology of how godmen come to contol the minds of millions of devotees
DEBARSHI DASGUPTA
OUTLOOK INDIA
September 16, 2013

• How Devotees Are Brainwashed Into Fandom
• Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in the person
• Control the physical and social environment; control the devotee’s time
• Keep the person unaware of what’s going on & how he is being changed step by step
• Manipulate rewards, punishments and experiences to check the expression of the person’s former identity
• Manipulate rewards, punishments and experiences to promote conformity
• Set a closed system of logic, a hierarchy permitting no feedback, with top-down orders

If you for some reason decide to surrender in devotion to Swami Nithyananda, the following anecdote is likely to be part of your initial lessons. It’s one he keeps recounting to the multitudes at his ashram in Bidadi, near Bangalore, curious and eager to have his wisdom rub off on them: A professor happens to visit a Zen master. While the master quietly serves tea, the professor blabbers on about Zen. The master keeps filling the visitor’s cup till it started overflowing. The professor blurts out, “It’s full! No more will go in!” “This is you,” the master says. “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Become empty first. This is one of Nit­hya­nanda’s first commandments. It’s also probably one of the most essential. As devotees drop their critical defences, he fills them with his worldview, his aura to transform them into loyal followers. This model of indoctrination is not unique to Nithyananda. Across India, for that matter elsewhere, one of the first sermons that godmen will drill into devotees is, outsource the thinking to the guru while devotees free their minds in pursuit of the blissful feeling of spirituality. As Bhargavi Hemmige, a research scholar at Mysore University who spent some time at Nithyananda’s ashram out of academic curiosity, recollects, “He kept telling us not to use our minds. It’s a monkey that misleads, he told us.”

What else but complete control over the mind can explain the ineluctable hold India’s godmen have over their devotees? So much so, grievous accusations of colossal financial transgressions, rape and child abuse, even murder do not seem to diminish their faith. On the contrary, in the case of Asaram Bapu, a godman mired in controversy and recently arrested by Rajasthan police on charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, they seem to shore up their belief in defiance.

As Asaram evaded imminent arrest, throngs of his followers gathered at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to push for his release and sounded the battle-cry from a makeshift stage. “Our fight will go on until the conspiracists give up trying to tarnish Bapu’s image. We should send a clear message by amassing at the next satsang in such large numbers that there should be no place left for us to sit,” said one, to loud roars of approval from the crowd. “Our victory is certain. Only then will we leave,” exclaimed another devotee. “I have not eaten a thing in 48 hours, but gurudev is giving me the strength to go on and I can for another five days.” At Jantar Mantar, they spend most of their time chanting ‘Hari Om’; in other places, Asaram’s devotees have blocked roads and railway tracks and even assaulted media personnel.

Godmen and controversies have been bedfellows for long in India but this poses no threat to their cult appeal (see box for some of our flourishing gurus and the controversies associated with them). At the Jantar Mantar demonstration, an Asaram devotee from Himachal Pradesh began to tell Outlook of his indebtedness. “Even if Lord Shiva himself appears and tells me not to believe in Bapu, I will tell him I cannot give up. I know what I have gained from him. He has saved me from committing suicide. So, even if he kills off the entire world, Bapu will still be god for me. It’s another matter that he will not do something like this,” he says, before he’s whisked away by other followers angry with the media. Asked what was so special about Asaram, Akanksha Bhatnagar, a 20-year-old mca student from Delhi, gushes with a twinkle in her eyes, “You will realise when you come to one of his sermons. I have no words to express.” For his devotees, Bapu is akin a body of water—you can thrash him as much as you want, there will be a few splashes, but nothing that will affect him. “I am sure he will come out shining even brighter after this episode,” Bhatnagar adds. Ask devotees of other godmen, like Sai Baba, Ramdev, Jayendra Saraswati or Nirankari Baba, and

How is it that godmen manage to win such unquestioning submission? Interviews with devotees, some of whom have fallen out with their gurus, detail an elaborate spiel that gurus have in place to control a devotee’s free thinking capabilities. The initial assault on independent thinking often comes with sleep deprivation: devotees are often allowed no more than four hours of sleep. What is thought of as a part of the frugal character of ashram life actually undercuts a devotee’s critical thinking. This is combined with a heavy work schedule and unreasonable deadlines that overwhelm a person’s routine. “This just doesn’t leave any time for you to sit and reflect. And the moment you do, you fall asleep,” says Anushka Gopal (name changed on request), a Bangalore-based woman who spent five years at the ashram of a popular south Indian guru but chose to walk out after his sexual misconduct was caught on tape.

Another cog in the brainwashing machinery is a pseudonym that goes on to become the ‘real’ identity of the person. The change is subtle but its long-term impact is drastic when it comes to erasing a devotee’s past. This is demonstrated effectively in the case of 35-year-old hotel management guru Santosh, now known as Shantimayananda after “great healing and transformation”. His parents unsuccessfully petitioned the Karnataka High Court to have him come back from Nithyananda’s ashram in Bidadi, where he has been living for six years now. “He has no concern for his mother and father, he simply thinks Nithyananda is god,” says Munnur Krishnamurthy, his distraught father.

The next stage is to have older devotees perpetuate the guru’s aura and suppress an acolyte’s individuality. What the group believes is what you should believe, they are told. Meanwhile, the guru does his bit by instilling the ideal of gurubhakti and the fear of gurudroha. “He kept brainwashing devotees by saying all sins can be forgiven—but not guru­droha,” says Hemmige. To add more enigma to their aura, several of them even take to dressing as gods—Nithyananda often pretends to be Shiva-like and Asaram and Kripaluji takes on a Krishna-like get-up. Prabir Ghosh, a noted rationalist from Calcutta who claims to have taken on several hundreds of godmen, says all of them inevitably make claims of possessing some supernatural power—another important component in their marketing strategy. Rationalists argue that what is merely a placebo effect is often touted as a miraculous cure. One devotee at Jantar Mantar said Asaram cured her mother of breast cancer. Devotees also seek to protect their belief (and thus self-interest) by perpetuating the guru’s cult and refusing to buy into accusations of wrongdoings. “For them it’s not an issue of right or wrong,” says Indira Sharma, president of the Indian Psychiatric Society. “It’s as basic as protecting the one who protects you. It’s all what matters to them.”

Many followers come from a religious background, exposed to a reverential following of gurus. Then there are some hapless souls who submit to faith afresh. But the well-oiled machinery at ashrams is powerful enough to work on the minds of those with advanced degrees in science (who often possess a fine streak of credulity) or even without any of the circumstantial or emotional baggage that makes some people prone to unquestioning submission to a strong guru figure. “To the more sceptical devotees, the guru would say don’t believe what he says. When we realised he was not trying to sell us his ideas, we became more receptive,” says Gopal, who studied at top engineering institutions in India and the US. “All this while, I had no idea I was being subjected to psychological slavery. It’s a kind of mind trickery,” she adds. It took her six months to realise her guru could be wrong. The revelation of the sex tapes was what finally led her to walk out of the ashram.

There is also the obvious influence that money power can bring for these gurus. Lenin Karuppan, who is now acknowledged as the whistleblower who leaked the sex tapes that allegedly feature Nithyananda and a Tamil film actress, recounts how he himself once helped snuff out dissent as the publications-in-charge for the guru. When Nakkeeran published an article that the guru deemed unfit for the public, he rushed to Tamil Nadu, and along with Nithyananda’s followers, he bought about a lakh copies and burnt them. But even he has words of praise for Nithyananda’s “mesmerising oratorical skills and knowledge of Hindu religious texts”.

Katharina Poggendorf-Kakar, a Goa-based scholar who has studied godmen in India, says devotees often attribute exaggerated positive qualities to their guru—unlike adults in a mature love relationship, who are in touch with their partner’s realistic qualities and failings­. “They deny unwanted characteristics that cause a ‘split’ in the mind. The disciple longs to merge into a good and powerful, wise and perfect self-object­—which is the guru. In other words, the guru is great, and thus, participating in his power, I am great too,” she elaborates. “The violent outbreaks by stern believers in support of their guru, as we have seen in Asaram’s case, are linked to this: accepting that the idealised self-object has failed means also accepting one’s own failure, which might lead to a disintegration of the self, which needs to be fought off by denying any (countering) facts and better knowledge.”

It’s not difficult to imagine that perhaps it is this systematic domination of the mind of the devotee that lay behind a poster at a Jantar Mantar that read, “Nigorey bhi kah rahey yeh baat, bapuji hai paak saaf (Even the most stubborn proclaim that Bapu (Asaram) is squeaky clean).”


http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?287714