Spiritual Frauds

Please see the following news item and video from BBC

I request members to bring in more of their experiences of spiritual frauds.

I feel these type of fraudulent people do more harm to our religion than rationalists.

By bringing these frauds to the public forum, we are saving innocent public from getting cheated.

It is purely in the public interest, we have to do this service.

All the best

venkat,

not sure how many responses you are going to get for this one

personally, i have kept huge distances from any god men, and it has worked for me.

but there appear to be a lot of people, in need of 'something' - a solace, comfort, faith, need to belong or whatever..

these godmen appear to have no problem attracting a large number of people. is that not an indication, that they are satisfying a market need for such folks?

i can understand that sever physical and mental afflictions are another reason that people turn to faith for cure.

there are folks in my family with cancers and so far they appear to deal with it on a physical level ie medicine, treatment and cures.

not sure, if at times of desperation, if these would give way to faith driven initiatives. it is at such times, i think, that godmen enter the picture.

my grandmother used to have a pix of saibaba in her prayer room, along with about 50 other pictures. she is on record saying that on certain days, she received viboothi and kungumam out of the saibaba photo.

being young, i kept quiet. being cynical, i kept quiet. scared of my father's heavy hand, i kept quiet. 50 years ago. i would probably keep quiet now too, for different reasons.

i am just thankful that my wife has not sneaked in any of these godmen into my house.

Though Hinduism was initially a way of living ( Sanathana Dharmam) . WIth the advent of other religions we have seen many from Hinduism have been attracted or forced into other religions . The main reason for this is the caste system in Hinduism . Even today , we still are using this for gains ( individual / group ).

IF we look at the God men from this background , I have a feeling that because these people ( like Sai baba , kalki Bhagawan ) have been able to attract many people , there is some unity among that group of followers ( who are from various castes and class and mostly Hindus ) . Else may be these people would have slowly whithered into other religions .

Personally I do not follow any god men .

Regards

NS

This is a very sensitive subject.I also hold views like Mr Kunjuppu.Taking a moderate view there are so many nowadays it is becoming difficult to find who is genuine.Gullible people fall prey at the wrong place expecting miracles to happen.We should use our wisdom and discretion properly.
My Friend Geetha Ramakrishnan would like to react on this.Ramki has been writing on this topic at length.Ramki to respond.....

I don't know why it is being treated as a `sensitive subject'.

எப்பொருள் யார் யார் வாய் கேட்பினும் அப்பொருள் மெய்பொருள் காண்பது அறிவு

Let us try to find out truth irrespective of whoever talks from the other side.

There are two things.

Faith on our religion, rituals and customs - We are discussing it at length in our forum. Both for and against views are liberally published. Thanks to the moderators.

There are few astrologers in our forum but still it is criticised by few others. Both are published.

Black magic incidents involving our religion - We feel it is sensitive.

People who are doing black magic are amazing wealth in the name of our religion. They are cheating innocent public. Is it not our responsibility to counter it?

These people are not spreading or uniting our religion. On the contrary, a world renowned TV channel like `BBC' is exposing them globally. Both our country and our religion will be viewed poorly by intellectual community of the entire world. Other religions will make use of these exposures to their advantage.

Our way of life has no origin. I am sure there will not be an end also.

Azhwars/Nayanmars have countered other religions and brought people back to our faith. (7th to 9th Century AD)

Adhi Sankarar, Ramanujar, Madhvar have all done great service to keep our faith going strong. (9th Century AD -12 th Century AD)

Saint Arunagirinathar has done enormous work (14th century AD)

Guru Raghavendrar, Sadavisiva Brahmendrar, Sreedhara Ayyaval, Bhagavathnama Bodhendrar, Abhirami Battar have all enlightened people in our faith in 17th centurty AD

Thiagayya, Muthusamy Deekshidar, Shyama Sastry, Ramakrishna Paramahamsar, Swami Vivekananda have all done excellent work during 19th century.

Seshadri Swamigal, Ramana Maharishi, Vallimalai Sachidanda Swamigal, Paramacharyal have all done immense service during last century.

I earnestly feel few black magicians like Edtd - KRS, Pandrimalai, Bangaru Adigal and the so called Kalki bagavan are all trying to undo the good work done by the above.

It is our duty to expose and isolate them. If we are not doing it, we are failing in our duty.

Let us face it and do the needful.

All the needful.

[FONT=&quot]1.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]That the fraudsters and tricksters choose the religion and spiritualism to promote their self interests is very bad and it is to be condemned in the strongest terms.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I have always laughed on seeing those who quit their homes, leaving their relatives, personal belongings and native place, going to a different place, acquiring a new name (self-christened) and identity, starting a totally different life, attracting a number of followers, in the process amassing wealth, developing contacts with influential sections of the society and finally establishing an empire of their own. Thus, a so called sanyasin (thuravi) becomes a emperor (chakravarthi). [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I find it very strange that these self-styled godmen live in palatial buildings with all modern amenities and state of the art communication facilities.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]4.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Still more mysterious, sometimes atrocious, is the fact that they attract women of all ages and counseling is arranged for them in a private and secluded setting.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]5.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]They somehow manage to win the confidence (!) of the media and receive wider publicity and coverage for all their actions, movements and thoughts and speeches. This is the most potent weapon they use against the gullible masses.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]6.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]In the garb of doing social work, they move with the weaker sections who are illiterates and very innocent by nature. This helps these godmen to show big crowds, wherever they go.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]7.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Their nexus with the politicians, police and the administrators and financial professionals helps each other to further their self interests and afford protection to each other.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]8.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Those who openly challenge the godmen meet some inexplicable tragedy and this accentuates the fear in the minds of others, so that they don’t dare to open their mouth, even if they happen to get some sensitive information in their possession about these godmen.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]9.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Many youngsters ruin their personal lives and promising careers, because of their association with these godmen, at the lowest levels. In other words, these smart and intelligent youth are utilized by the godmen for their selfishness, but such youth receive nothing in return. How pathetic![/FONT]

I think Shri Pannvalan ji has answered Mr.Swamiramji's question.

The purpose of this thread is to expose all the frauds happened in the past so that atleast it doesn't happen in the future.

By doing this, we are saving our religion and country from being viewed in the international media in poor light.

Please bring all the spiritual frauds encountered each one of us at various times to this forum so that atleast those who view this forum threads are not cheated in future.

Let us enlighten our readers, so that they don't be victims in the future.

Let us cleanse our religion of these bogus Godmen, Gurus etc.

All the best

venkat,

the bottom line, is a grass root movement, that each of us, take upon the responsibility to protect our own family and friends, right from the start.

on one front, there is this fraudsters, against whom, we have little or no weapon. these guys are fully funded to tackle critics like us.

if we leave them alone, they don't bother us. otherwise, they have the resources of muscle and propaganda power.

there is an amma with immense u.s. following. my girl cousin's in-laws are devottees. my cousin tolerates it, for it is a distraction for the old folks.

also, to remember, these fraudsters may be funded by folks not wishing hinduism well. what better way to belittle a faith, than to encourage fraud and dissent.

i have no valid proof behind this assumption, but if i were to carry on a planned pro longed attack on an institution, i would look upon this as an heaven sent opportunity.

to give you a parallel, the catholic church in the u.s.a is weakened very much due to a few bad apple homosexual pedophelic priests.

it has been rumoured that the funding to take on the church has come from various sources who do not wish the roman church well.

such is the pathetic fight for human souls.

thank you.

pann,

i do disagree with you only on one small point..

In the garb of doing social work, they move with the weaker sections who are illiterates and very innocent by nature

you would be surprised at examining a cross section of the followers... quite some educated lot included there.

my neighbour in madras, one day, a devout iyengar, next day converted to a saamiyar. these could be seen in the 60s in chennai, with a saffron turban, with a half moon logo in front.

never found out what sect that was.

needless to say it collapsed the family. the wife committed suicide.

They are called 'Ananda Margis' which movement has its roots in a small, nondescript village in Pudukottai district. During emergency period (1975-1976), their ashram was raided and heaps of human skeletons as well as a huge haul of gold, currency notes and other valuables were recovered.

Today, this movement/cult continues to exist with a very small group of followers. They also believe in lot of supernatural events and still await the reincarnation of their departed guru.

But, joining of brahmins in this group/cult is a news to me.

thanks pann.

ananda margis, were they not prone to violence and underhanded activities?

if i remember correctly, they were indulging in violent activities against indira gandhi rule, including bomb bursting and assassinations.

wow! i cannot believe my mild mannered neighbour, father of 5 sons and 1 daughter, how he got trapped with this diabolical gang.

maybe it just show, that it is not illiterates who get caught in the web of deceit.. this guy was a department editor to one of the leading dailies of madras.

As I have been repeatedly saying, many bright technocrats and professionals somehow land up in such closed institutions. But for numbers, these institutions, headed by one single person, who acts like a military dictator, have to depend on poor and ordinary middle class families only.

It has deeply pained me also, on seeing the pathetic plight of such families, especially when they have only one breadwinner, who is sacrificed at the altar of those self-styled godmen.

Our social and legal systems are weak, agreed. But how come hordes of foreigners from different countries - including well developed ones with near 100% literacy - get attracted to these cults/sects? I am at a loss to find a convincing answer.

Probably the struggles within one's mind must be the catalyst or motivating factor for all such happenings.

May God save the humanity.

Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar founder of Ananda Marga has developed a home grown economic theory which is neither capitalism nor communism. This theory is self regulating in the sense -economic disparities should not exceed 10 : 1. If a person accumulates more than ten times the wealth of others, he should spend his time for charitable purposes so that the community as a whole can develop together.

Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



One of the renowned economists Dr.Ravi Batra, Professor of Economics- SMU, USA, is an ardent follower of Prout Theory.

Home Page of Dr. Ravi Batra

Ananda Margis principles may be correct but their practice of `Mandai Odu and Dynamite' is definitely wrong

All the best

Dear Venkatramaniji

R.Venkataramani said:

Please see the following news item and video from BBC

BBC NEWS | Programmes | This World | Secret Swami

YouTube - Sai Baba, A Shameless Fraud - Totally Exposed.

I request members to bring in more of their experiences of spiritual frauds.

I feel these type of fraudulent people do more harm to our religion than rationalists.

By bringing these frauds to the public forum, we are saving innocent public from getting cheated.

It is purely in the public interest, we have to do this service.

All the best

Click to expand...

This news is old and the video does not prove anything. I am not a devotee of Sai Baba in the true sense bit I don't think he is a fraud. My yardstick for a godman and I am not much into them, is he or she has to stand the test of time and the kind of social and charitable work they do and on both the scores he comes very high. And that is what differentiates a duplicate from the real one. To me the 3rd benchmark for Sai Baba is the weekly bhajan that happens at the Sai Centre. Among the toughest things in the world is to keep a ragtag group of Indians from various classes maintain silence before the bhajan starts because we love to chat anytime and every time. This is probably one of the few bhajans where people maintain absolute silence and it is not done by patronizing the audience. Unless there is some divinity, something very difficult to achieve.

To his credit, you should read about the hospital in Bangalore run by Puttaparthi where top surgeons from all over the world come and do operations for the poor free of cost. I had attended the Athi Rudra yagna in Chennai and very few men unless there is divinity in them could have conducted this in such a scale and atmosphere.

Kunjuppu,

I forgot to tell you one thing. In Tamilnadu, the Anand Margis are known as "Meivazhi Ananthargal" because their ashram is situated at a place called "meivazhichchalai" in a village in Pudukottai District.

Dear Anandb,

More than you, I know about Puttaparthi Sai Baba's social activities and philanthropy.
I was in Andhra Pradesh when his Super Speciality hospital was being constructed and completed. I add some more points for you. Puttaparthi Sai Baba runs several educational institutions, hospitals and orphanages at several places.

Moreover, he helped executing massive drinking water supply project in Anantapur district (where Puttaparthi is located) which is one of the dry belts of A.P.

To Telugu Ganga project too, he gave sizeable amount to link Srisailam-Kandaleru reservoir-Poondi reservoir-Chennai Puzhal/Chembarambakkam lakes that supply drinking water to Chennai city.

All these go to prove that he is a philanthropist. Agreed. But, answer these questions.

Edtd - KRS

(Please read Bharanidharan's book on Kanchi Mahaperiyava, wherein he has thrown enough hints about the arm-twisting tactics adopted by one self-styled godman. It was Bharanidharan's own experience and Mahaperiya only rescued him then from the clutches of that person).

to all: Due to people serch for peace and this selfstyle Godmens encash it. Every one should understand on thing that is which is the TRUTH, just learning Hadayoga and duing Magic show in front of the people and become Godmen, If our Moderrators permit I wanted to say most of this Godmens are from Telugu Naikers (mostly School Teachers) because they know the Pulse of the people, s.r.k.

pannvalan said:

Kunjuppu,

I forgot to tell you one thing. In Tamilnadu, the Anand Margis are known as "Meivazhi Ananthargal" because their ashram is situated at a place called "meivazhichchalai" in a village in Pudukottai District.

Click to expand...

Meivashichalai is near Trichy and the head (Premanandha if I am correct) was arrested long back. I think it is during 1991-96 Jayalalitha period.

They are not connected to Anandhamargis movement.

All the best

Anandb ji,

My replies are in blue

anandb said:

This news is old and the video does not prove anything.

Edtd - KRS

I am not a devotee of Sai Baba in the true sense bit I don't think he is a fraud. My yardstick for a godman and I am not much into them, is he or she has to stand the test of time and the kind of social and charitable work they do and on both the scores he comes very high. And that is what differentiates a duplicate from the real one. To me the 3rd benchmark for Sai Baba is the weekly bhajan that happens at the Sai Centre. Among the toughest things in the world is to keep a ragtag group of Indians from various classes maintain silence before the bhajan starts because we love to chat anytime and every time. This is probably one of the few bhajans where people maintain absolute silence and it is not done by patronizing the audience. Unless there is some divinity, something very difficult to achieve.

To his credit, you should read about the hospital in Bangalore run by Puttaparthi where top surgeons from all over the world come and do operations for the poor free of cost. I had attended the Athi Rudra yagna in Chennai and very few men unless there is divinity in them could have conducted this in such a scale and atmosphere.

Click to expand...

Edtd - KRS

[email protected] said:

to all: Due to people serch for peace and this selfstyle Godmens encash it. Every one should understand on thing that is which is the TRUTH, just learning Hadayoga and duing Magic show in front of the people and become Godmen, If our Moderrators permit I wanted to say most of this Godmens are from Telugu Naikers (mostly School Teachers) because they know the Pulse of the people, s.r.k.

Click to expand...

Shri esarkey ji,

Without telling about any particular caste, religion, language or race, please come out with your experiences.

The purpose of the thread is to expose all the spiritual frauds.

By exposing them, we are doing service to the community.

All the best

Dear Pann,

pannvalan said:

Dear Anandb,

More than you, I know about Puttaparthi Sai Baba's social activities and philanthropy.
I was in Andhra Pradesh when his Super Speciality hospital was being constructed and completed. I add some more points for you. Puttaparthi Sai Baba runs several educational institutions, hospitals and orphanages at several places.

Moreover, he helped executing massive drinking water supply project in Anantapur district (where Puttaparthi is located) which is one of the dry belts of A.P.

To Telugu Ganga project too, he gave sizeable amount to link Srisailam-Kandaleru reservoir-Poondi reservoir-Chennai Puzhal/Chembarambakkam lakes that supply drinking water to Chennai city.

All these go to prove that he is a philanthropist. Agreed. But, answer these questions.

Edtd - KRS

(Please read Bharanidharan's book on Kanchi Mahaperiyava, wherein he has thrown enough hints about the arm-twisting tactics adopted by one self-styled godman. It was Bharanidharan's own experience and Mahaperiya only rescued him then from the clutches of that person).

Click to expand...

I will put it this way. The same holds true for funds received by all religious trusts whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian. The assumption here is the funds are received from donors who are sympathetic to the cause or devotees of Sai Baba. Unless proved otherwise, we cannot straightaway assume that funds originated from an illegal source, especially if you take the entire gamut of the philanthropic activities the trust is engaged in. Also go to his website and read in full his discourses and teachings for almost 40 to 45 years. You cannot be encouraging your devotees to be noble in thoughts, words and action continuously for this time period if you are a fraud in the first place. To me, these personalities are contradictory to be in the same person.

As far as I know, have never heard of Sathya Sai indulging in arm twisting. It could be in reference to someone else. The following link shows exactly the opposite of what you have stated. It clearly says that the Paramacharya said there is no harm in performing miracles when one sees god's hand behind those miracles.

Paramacharya and miracles : Experiences with His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji : kamakoti.org

I will state my own opinion on this. Miracles are just a means to an end and not the end itself. They are meant to uplift the mental state of the beneficiary of the miracle. If it is meant as a publicity stunt, then each and every member of the audience should be the beneficiary of a miracle which would have shot the Sai's popularity graph through the roof. This is never the case. A lot of cases, the devotees are severely tested. There are some whose questions are answered in a different way. Even these are miracles. But they hardly get reported. If you look at our rich culture, miracles have been part and parcel of it. All sages, seers and gurus have performed them. Adi Shankara performed them, Krishna was full of leelas. Unfortunately in Kali, everything has to have a scientific approval so anything which defies human understanding miracle is trashed.

Just visit the site Hinduism Sanathana Dharma and Vedanta: presented by Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham : kamakoti.org and click on Personal Experiences. Please read each and every devotee's experience. There are innumerable miracles narrated by Paramacharya's devotees including healing miracles. A miracle is a miracle, whether small or big. Why Sathya Sai is always under the scanner because he was producing rings or vibhuti. But behind this there are a lot of other subtle and not so subtle miracles coming from respected people in life.

If you assume the Sathya Sai is a fraud then he should be doing it either for money, fame or power or a combination of some or all. To me this doesn't seem the case. Agreed the trust receives lot of money but he is not spending all for himself. He doesn't reside in a palatial mansion with a retinue of servants. If it is fame then he should be a cricketeer or a film star. I am sure more people have heard of Dhoni or SRK than Sathya Sai. If it is power then he should have been a politician or a businessman.

If one says that Sathya Sai is just an ordinary person or even worse a fraud then what has kept him going for the last 50-55 years. Please think about it? When Shirdi Sai Baba was living, similar accusations were made as he was also performing miracles but now he is regarded as a god incarnate. Is it because everyone was expecting skeletons to come out but none came?

I do not believe in any of the current godmen, including 'puttaparthi'... There are many videos on him, exposing his 'miracles'. Ok, now this is a discussion which I had recently with my boss. He says that he knows a family who are very devout to PSB (Puttaparthi Sai Baba). They have a special room and a chair with a footrest, which is meant only for PSB (similar to any puja room). Sometimes, the impression of a footprint could be seen without anyone occupying the chair or placing their foot on the rest. And on other occasions kumkumam pours down from the ceiling (literally pours down). After hearing this, I had/have so many queries about the verity of the incidents.

All said and done, one cannot fool all the people all the time. Only through personal experience, can one be certain. I believe that Shri pannvalan has summed it nicely:

Probably the struggles within one's mind must be the catalyst or motivating factor for all such happenings.

Click to expand...

On certain lines, I do tend to agree with Shri anandb's views. The mere fact that a trust is operating funds, under a godman's banner does not lead to the fact that the godman is a fraud.

A trust is the recognised legal entity to undertake religious activities in a transparent and legal manner. The association of the godman gives a bonafide aura to the trust. The management is entirely a different body of whom all may not necessarily have noble intentions (or they could have been mislead along the way). So, if a trust is engaged in illegal activities, fraud etc., it may not necessarily mean that the godman is involved. These are two separate issues.

I dont buy the argument that wealth necessarily dilutes spirituality.

For some, acquaintance with such godmen may trigger of a deep subconscious pull towards spirituality. It may be due to their purva janma karmas that the latent desire has manifested. Maybe it is the person,or maybe, they have mistaken it to be the person instead of the circumstance.

We cannot generalize on all, through mere discussions.

Thanks,

Please read the `Sieco watch episode' in the book `Begone Godmen' written by late Dr.Abraham Kovoor.
Edtd - KRS

35. To discern and abide in the ever-present Reality is
true attainment. All other attainments are like powers enjoyed
in a dream. When the sleeper wakes, are they real? Those
who stay in the state of Truth, having cast off the unreal —
will they ever be deluded?
Reality in Forty Verses (Translated by Prof. K. Swaminathan)

சித்தமாய் உள் பொருளைத் தேர்ந்திருத்தல் சித்தி பிற
சித்தியெலாம் சொப்பனம் ஆர்சித்திகளே - நித்திரை விட்டு
ஓர்ந்தால் அவை மெய்யோ உண்மை நிலை நின்று பொய்மை
தீர்ந்தார் தியங்குவரோ தேர்
ஸ்ரீ ரமணர் அருளிய ........உள்ளது நாற்பது (35)

விளக்கம் :- ஆத்ம ஞானத்தை அடையவேண்டும் என எண்ணி சாதனை புரியும் சிலர் , சித்திகளை அடைய விரும்பி அதற்கான யோக வழிகளைக் கடைபிடிப்பார்கள் .
பிறகு அந்த சித்திகளில் மயங்கி , தன்னை அறிவதற்கான அறிவையும் இழந்து சித்திகளிலேயே சிக்கி விடுகின்றனர் . இந்த சித்திகள் எல்லாம் சொப்னத்தில் அனுபவிக்கும் சித்திகளுக்கு ஒப்பானவை .கனவிற் காணும் போது உண்மையாக இருந்தவை , விழித்ததும் வெறுமையாக முடிபவை
------------------------------
சத்தியினால் தாம் இயங்கும் தன்மை உணராது அகில
சித்திகள் நாம் சேர்வம் எனச் சேட்டிக்கும்- பித்தர் கூத்து
என்னை எழுப்பிவிடின் எம்மட்டு இத்தெவ்வர் எனச்
சொன்ன முடவன் கதையின் சோடு .
ஸ்ரீ ரமணர் அருளிய ... உள்ளது நாற்பது - அனுபந்தம் (15)

15. Not realizing that they themselves are moved by an
energy not their own, some fools are busy seeking miraculous
powers. Their antics are like the boasting of a cripple who
says to his friends: ‘If you raise me to my feet, these enemies
are nothing before me.’
Reality in Forty Verses: Supplement (Translated by Prof. K. Swaminathan)

விளக்கம் :- சர்வ வல்லமை உள்ள ஈஸ்வர சக்தியினால்தான் , தாம் இயக்கப் பட்டு , செயல்படுகின்ற உண்மை உணராமல் , அகிலமா சித்திகளையும் நாம் அடைவோம் என்று முயலும் -பித்தர்களின் கூத்தானது எப்படி இருக்கிறது என்று பார்த்தால் -- "என்னை மட்டும் தூக்கி நிறுத்தி விட்டீர்களானால் ,இந்த பகைவர்கள் அனைவரையும் வென்று காட்டுகிறேன் ", என்னும் முடவன் கதைக்கு ஒப்பாக உள்ளது
முக்திக்கு வேண்டி செல்கின்ற சாதகன் , சிந்தையை சித்திகளில் செலுத்தினால் அது அகந்தைக்கு வழி வகுக்குமே அல்லாது , அகந்தையை அழிக்காது .
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தாம் இயங்கும் தன்மை சிவ சக்தியால் என்றுணரார்
தாம் மயங்கி சித்திபல சார்வதா சேட்டிப்பார் - உச்சமத்த மாக்கள் உளறுபடி ஊக்கமாம்
அச்சமர்த்தை எள்ளி நகையாடுவோன் தாள் போற்றி

venkat,

interesting post #23.

not so much re abraham koovoor or sai. both of these are entrenched in their respective vocations and made name for themselves.

those two lines re dr bhaghavantham are pure gems.

here is a guy who was the #1 scientific officer of the country.

to me, the foundation of science, is theory/experiment/proof in that order.

all of a suddent, bhaghavantham retires, and dons the mantle as the sidekick of the godman. am i the only one seeing an aberration of behaviour in this?

one or the other career of bhaghavantham, to me, then proves insincere.

or does it mean, that, as indians, science has barely scratched our psyche.

we are not talking about the common run-of-the-mill college lecturer here. dr b, was a famous scientist, i am sure, with a lot of research to his credit, to achieve this #1 post in the indian government.

how can he discard this painstaking effort of a lifetime of scientific research overnight, cast away his white coat for a saffron garb, all in a blink?

to give you an alternate story: i was told that c.v.raman, by virtue of his immersion in science, had very little to do with brahminical rituals though he claimed obeisance to the spiritual inheritance from our holy scriptures. to me, cv's approach sounds logical.

thank you.