Page 44 - Sahaja_Jan-Feb_2021

and meditation centres help them enrich their life with inner is quite disconcerting. Yet, their followers do not tire of going
contentment and bliss.
The Sandhya Aarti on the banks of the Ganges carried out
with all the religious fervour associated with it exemplifies the
importance the country has given to religious tourism to
promote these unique attributes of its spiritual heritage and
showcase it to the outside world.
In a land where rishis and yogis have been inviting awe for
centuries now, it is but natural that spiritualism too will attract
similar reactions.
However, though all religions emphasise spiritualism as
being part of faith, it is said that one can be spiritual without
being religious.
With the ‘stress’ factor playing a major role in modern day
life, many people seek spirituality as a great way to seek
Besides the luxuries comfort and peace in their life.
Giving the right mix of religion and stress-busting ideas, the
they claim as perks of modern society is witnessing the ‘revival’ of spiritualism which
an exalted status, the is thriving on a grand commercial scale now and seems to be
attracting countless followers purely for the ‘divine’ aura that is
holier-than-thou built around the ‘founders’.
attitude maintained Gods have given way to these spiritual leaders and such has
by these spiritual been their charismatic presence in the country’s religious
firmament that every second Indian in recent times is besotted
gurus is quite by some guru or the other - and swearing by them too!
Delving into the lives of saints and ascetics, Indian history
has been replete with stories of their unwavering devotion to disconcerting. Yet, As much as their awe-inspiring holy ‘feats’, the surge of
God and divine ways. their followers do not exposes belying their claims to holiness continues to haunt a
country of imbeciles who seem to see divinity even in these
But it is the pioneering ways of some at bringing about accusations.
radical changes in the society and liberating the countrymen tire of going head over
from the shackles of ignorance which stand out as epitomes of a heels to please them The aristocratic demeanour and mannerisms that describes
selfless life led in the service of God. the current corps of spiritual leaders is a throwback to the rigid
years of caste discrimination which dissuaded holy men then to
It has been such an approach towards life which has endeared mingle with the commoners.
them to their followers. Exemplifying the concept of simple
living and high thinking, they have been able to touch the lives The recent instance of a high-flying spiritual guru showing
of people and to some extent eradicate many of the social his disinclination to share food with leaders of other
malaises that flourished in those eras. communities when they gathered on a common platform for a
function is indicative of the intolerance for other faiths that
Service to humanity is service to God! How sublime it continues to persist in the religious realms of the country even
sounds! after years of efforts to abolish such prejudiced views on
With the country having to thank the countless holy men who holders of other beliefs.
left an indelible mark on the society over the decades through Appealing to people to shun vile customs prevalent, what the
their works and teachings, one would have thought that India is sages and seers of ancient India achieved through their sermons
rid of all the social evils that plagued it over the centuries. and other social commentaries then is being categorically
However, as a land of mystics and mysticism, India continues denied all relevance by the plethora of spiritual teachers who
to maintain its position at the very top. adorn the religious scenario in the country today.
For seekers on the spiritual path who come from distant lands Besides the luxuries they claim as perks of an exalted status,
to learn the inner science of spirituality, the ashrams, the yoga the holier-than-thou attitude maintained by these spiritual gurus
44 P\phcn þ s^{_phcn 2021
steeped even more in ignorance. The Spiritual landscape in the
head over heels to please them.
Mere Sai - Shraddha aur Saburi, a Hindi serial being aired on
Sony Entertainment television every day from Monday to
Friday narrates the story of Sai Baba of Shirdi.
The mendicant - Fakir, he is called by his detractors – is
shown teaching the villagers the virtue of honest living. Ever
available for his followers in their time of need, he comes
across as a saintly figure who educates the villagers on the
nuances of simple living.
“He taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others,
charity, contentment, inner peace and devotion to God and
Guru.”
A far cry from the ‘holy men’ of today who are conspicuous
by their opulence, Sai Baba’s life was a saga of frugalities. Not
for him the glitter of gold and the clinking of silver pieces.
Seemingly a simple beggar, dressed in torn clothes and
having no need for any material item, Sai Baba took food from
people making rounds of the village of Shirdi with his begging
bowl.
The statue of Sai Baba at his shrine at Shirdi is now however
crowned with a tiara of gold and bedecked with costly gems.
The vulgarly rich representation of the great soul today is a
travesty of what he really stood for.
But then that is how the bhakts these days want their deities
to look like – not in rags, but in their lavished magnificence!
Yet seen from a broader perspective, Sai Baba’s teachings
served to throw a rigorous challenge to social norms prevalent
then.
Despite the impediments along the way, when a man
dedicates himself to the betterment of the society and brings
about a drastic change in thought perceptions of its members
through his singular efforts and in a selfless manner, he will
forever enshrine himself in the minds of the people.
Though he has never pined for name and fame, Shirdi Sai
Baba’s miraculous achievements have given him a saintly status
among his followers.
Conversely, even though temples dedicated to the great
prophet continue to mushroom all over the country, it is
however difficult to gauge the relevance attached to Sai baba’s
teachings in the modern times.
The evils that he wanted to uproot from the society have
returned with a vengeance that is shocking. Superstitions and
blind faith have made man more vulnerable to the guiles of
tricksters.
With the Almighty and his mysterious ways continuing to
baffle him, man’s so-called journey to self-realization has been
country thus saw a sudden surge in the number of religious
teachers who were more than willing to guide him along in his
search for the elusive.
Blatant commercialization of the process of expounding faith
to the laymen soon had spiritualism being taken to entirely new
heights by the self-anointed Godmen. It is now a flourishing
industry!
There has never been an iota of doubt over the divinity of
quite a few of these spiritual gurus. But at times it is ‘the state
of being a God’ that has been taken to illogical ends by many of
these highly revered ‘masters’ which casts a shadow of doubt
over their very personae.
From an acharya to a Bhagwan ….. the journey isn’t all that
cumbersome for these claimants to omnipotence.
It is nevertheless difficult to guess where and when the
reverence of their followers turns into worship, for eventually it
does. In all vanity the religious teachers start believing that they
are God incarnates with an earthly mission here in this mortal
world. Over a period of time, it also becomes all the more
challenging to convince their followers otherwise.
It is averred that whenever the world is weighed down by the
deeds of the sinners, God incarnates himself in humanly form to
cleanse the world of such debauchery.
Is it the charisma of these Godmen or the uncanny knack of
tapping on to the religious uncertainties that confuses most
people which attracts disciples in droves to these gurus!
Ironically, instead of dispelling fears from the minds of their
admirers, the Godmen through their devious ways have literally
put the fear of God in the minds of their followers. Is this the
way they intend bringing men closer to God!
According to the scriptures, a guru is an enlightened soul and
guides his disciple through wisdom and reason in his spiritual
journey.
But how appropriate is it to accord a celestial status to a mere
human who cannot do without the comforts of a materialistic
world, and yet preaches the virtues of sacrifices in one’s daily
life in pursuit of the divine to his devotees.
More than spirituality, what the society looks for from its
members is a strong commitment towards maintaining a good
health and clean surroundings. Just as cleanliness is next to
godliness, a healthy body and a healthy mind, they say, is the
abode of Gods.
But such topics hardly feature in the homilies of our Godmen
who prefer the mysteries of the religion to befuddle the layman
with.
Why is this charade being eulogised!