Fifty shades of faith: Devotees talk about why they believe in their gurus

[mkrishna100]

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If you want knowledge about God, scriptures, philosophy approach a learned guru who can teach you the subject. And after learning internalize by ruminating and meditating on what you learnt. That is the best way to keep yourself in tact.

Very ture but many Gurus/Godman ( i.e the fake variety ) know that except for a few not many people have the inclination or capacity to understand and study the scriptures as they are basically intellectually and spiritually lazy for this long process of study and reflection and they need a quick fix solution and ready to pay any price for the quick fix solution and as long as these type of devotees are there the business for fake Godman / Godwomen will always flourish .

In this context many years back there was a program on TV with many people ( from all religions ) complaining about being cheated by fake Godmen ( across all religions ) and the main Guest of the Program was a Hindu Swami and he asked how many of them are Hindus and majority of the people lifted their hands and then he asked how many of the Hindus have stuided at least one major Hindu Scripture ( say Gita ) completely ( any sampradhaya ) and all the hands came down . The same happend for the Muslims as well as Christains and he said this is where the problem is and he told even Atheists study all the religious books thoroughly though their intention is to find the loopholes and as long as people do not make an effort to formally study and understand their own religion first then these sort of fake Godmen / Gurus will definitely exploit them .

 

[tks]

Very ture but many Gurus/Godman ( i.e the fake variety ) know that except for a few not many people have the inclination or capacity to understand and study the scriptures as they are basically intellectually and spiritually lazy for this long process of study and reflection and they need a quick fix solution and ready to pay any price for the quick fix solution and as long as these type of devotees are there the business for fake Godman / Godwomen will always flourish .

In this context many years back there was a program on TV with many people ( from all religions ) complaining about being cheated by fake Godmen ( across all religions ) and the main Guest of the Program was a Hindu Swami and he asked how many of them are Hindus and majority of the people lifted their hands and then he asked how many of the Hindus have stuided at least one major Hindu Scripture ( say Gita ) completely ( any sampradhaya ) and all the hands came down . The same happend for the Muslims as well as Christains and he said this is where the problem is and he told even Atheists study all the religious books thoroughly though their intention is to find the loopholes and as long as people do not make an effort to formally study and understand their own religion first then these sort of fake Godmen / Gurus will definitely exploit them .

Very well stated - there is a market need for such godmen and godwomen!
People want quick fix solution and are just lazy.

 

[yesmohan]

In case of priests and pasters, there are ways and means to send them out by taking disciplinary proceedings by the religious heads.
But in case self appointed Godman, there is no way. It appears that they are the proprietors of the firms with freedom to preech.In criminal cases who will take the pain of proving?
We can cry only to the kith and kin about what is happening around? Not more than that.

Feeding the poor and have- nots, is a philanthropic and charitable act……………. that would “come from within” of the heart.
General public, ordinarily do not liberally donate for such alleged Ashrams; they are allured to do so by these self appointed Godman; they do so for behind the scene quid pro.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

In case of priests and pasters, there are ways and means to send them out by taking disciplinary proceedings by the religious heads.
But in case self appointed Godman, there is no way. It appears that they are the proprietors of the firms with freedom to preech.In criminal cases who will take the pain of proving?
We can cry only to the kith and kin about what is happening around? Not more than that.

Feeding the poor and have- nots, is a philanthropic and charitable act……………. that would “come from within” of the heart.
General public, ordinarily do not liberally donate for such alleged Ashrams; they are allured to do so by these self appointed Godman; they do so for behind the scene quid pro.

There is well established law to take care of every one irrespective of caste, colour, creed,etc they belong.

We have seen the law taking its own course in the cases of most of the Godmen like Rampal and Ashram Babu, etc and similarly against the Priest, Bishops who commit offences.

Law functions without any discrimination.

It is for the general public to be more cautious and to exercise their discretion in approaching a Godmen/Godwomen bcos they don't carry any Conduct Certificate.

The best course is to keep away from these Babas/Godman/Godwoman as suggested by Vaagmi Ji in his post.

 

[CHANDRU1849]

I do not think there were today's kind of godmen/godwomen in vedic times. There were rishis of course but many of them family men leading their ascetic lives.

Vedic Times God-men/God-women would have been called differently.

The present malaise has sprung from the repeated emphasis given by brahminism on the need for a guru who alone can lead a person along the spiritual path to liberation. This guru-mania has given rise to gurus who claim divinity, for added effect and publicity/money. That is the reason.

Yes. The present day Smartha Bhavathas, singing non-stop namesankeerthanams, are perfect examples.

In today's circumstances any person can progress spiritually without any guru whatsoever, I feel.

It is definitely possible. But you will not be allowed to take that step. The methodology of God-men and God-women is such that they either have the name of avatar Gods before or after their names and recite their names repeatedly to make us believe that they are genuine.

20th Century popular God-men had followed this.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Brokering deals with god
by Mythili Sundar

Illustration: Satwik Gade
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Fear of the future makes people seek out spiritual gurus in search of reassurance. And that is why a thousand Radhe Maas flourish

India is famous for Basmati rice, yoga, Gandhi and, of course, spiritualism. Sadhus and sants dot the country, ranging from the lone, bearded baba under the village tree to swamis who live luxurious lives with a battery of attendants and devotees doing their bidding.

Clairvoyant, spiritual guru, representative of god — godmen and women in India have been called these and much more. They are in the news again, thanks to Radhe Maa of Mumbai who has been accused by a woman of instigating her in-laws to harass her for dowry.

All of us have heard from friends, relatives, acquaintances, even strangers, of how they met a baba or mataji and their lives changed forever. Their businesses picked up, the childless got a child, ‘problems’ sorted themselves out… in short, it was happiness all the way.

Most seek the help (guidance?) of godmen not for spiritual purposes but for improving their material lives. Will I get a promotion or will my colleague beat me to it; will I get the party ticket to contest elections, if yes, will I win; will my new venture make profits — these are some of the typical ‘problems’ for which people seek ‘guidance’ or answers.

Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/brokering-deals-with-god/article7550944.ece

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Hindu organisation to thrash fake godmen issue

Chennai : A conference regarding the issue of fake sadhus and godmen will be discussed at the Kumbh Mela in Nashik, said National Hindu Movement, an umbrella organisation of Hindu outfits, at a press meet in Nashik.

Speaking on the occasion, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti convener Sunil Ghanwat and Mahant Bhakticharandasji Maharaj of Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir, said, 'There would be conference of saints during Kumbh Mela in Nashik on problems created by fake sadhus and babas.'

Satish Shukla (Prohit Sangh), Nandkumar Jadhav (Sanatan Sanstha), Ramsingh Pawari (Hindu Ekta Andolan), Deepak Bairagi (Sri Lakhman Temple), Babu Bairagi (Akhil Bhartiya Bairagi Parishad ), Mahant Sampatrao Ghogade Maharaj (Maharashtra Rajya Mahamandal), Garjana Pratishthan president Pravin Jadhav participated in the meeting.


Read more at: http://newstodaynet.com/nation/hindu-organisation-thrash-fake-godmen-issue