The godman who wasn’t a man of God

Gaurav Kanthwal

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What do Bollywood star Salman Khan and disgraced godman Asaram Bapu have in common? Both suffer from a neural disorder, trigeminal neuralgia, popularly known as the ‘suicide disease’. The Bollywood star is reported to have sympathised with Asaram and advised him about surgery abroad during their brief meeting in Jodhpur jail in March 2018.

The controversial godman, who was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of raping a 16-year-old in his ashram, had built an empire of thousand crores and owned close to 400 ashrams in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Besides putting up a front of being a spiritual guru, the 78-year-old was an aggressive loan shark who dealt in real estate, land-grabbing, benami properties and other investments.

Asumal Harpalani, whom his followers revere as Asaram Bapu, was originally an alleged bootlegger who used to sell illicit liquor on the banks of Sabarmati near Motera. He saw an already existing ashram there as a business opportunity, and the rest is history. These are some of the juicy details to emerge from Ushinor Majumdar’s book, God of Sin. The book’s release was challenged in the court but was subsequently cleared in December 2018.

The controversial godman, who presented letters of praise from former President KR Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam and Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the court, wielded enormous clout with politicians, across spectrum, who prostrated in front of him.

His son and heir-apparent, Narayan Sai, also in police custody, is alleged

to have offered Surat Police

Commissioner, Rakesh Asthana, the present CBI director, a plum post to manage his chain of ashrams.

For those who are under the illusion that the godmen have their own Ayurvedic pharmacies for all products, the book reveals that Asaram’s branded items such as chyawanprash and honey among others, sourced from a Surat-based pharmacy, were later sold by Patanjali brand. Despite betraying the trust of gullible people, there are still thousands of his followers who firmly believe that the godman is innocent and it is all a political conspiracy.

According to the police, many of the women and orphaned still stay in the ashrams because they have left their homes and have nowhere to go. For some young women, the stigma of being attached to the disgraced father and son is a big hurdle in their marriage and social acceptance in society. This could be one reason why some of the followers continue to defend the godmen.

Majumdars’s book is primarily a description of events but in chapter 13, Sheeps to Wolves, the author with the help of expert opinion decodes the lure of babas among the masses. Firstly, godmen have a charisma that ensures the masses of a connection with religion and theology without straining the intellect.

The self-styled godmen and their following have swelled due to the end of mysticism. Instead, the godmen are seen as an alternative to bypass religious institutions and formal structures of religion to connect with God. While the ancient gurus utilised satsang to connect with their followers, the pop gurus use it as a show of strength on TV. Large crowds, naturally, draw politicians to these gurus and from here begins the nexus.

But how do they retain their fan-following? Godmen act as a guarantee between the god and the seeker of a wish. A lucky few who get results, keep propagating godmen and their miracles. Besides, godmen often perform social service by feeding, giving shelter and/or providing education to the needy.

The book remains a racy read as long as it describes the events related to Asaram Bapu and his son Narayan Sai. However, it begins to wear down the reader with mundane details of Baba Rampal, Gurmeet Ram Rahim and other cases. It has almost been two years since the father-son duo was convicted and since most of the things have already been reported in the newspapers and news channels, time lag and redundancy may wean some interest from the book.