Seventy-seven-year-old Asaram is no Bapu. He is a convicted rapist. A villain. A dirty old man. A pervert wearing a deceptive garb. A mask. Everything about him is false and fake. And yet he has managed to fool millions after establishing an ashram in Ahmedabad in 1971. In the bargain, he has made zillions. Aaaargh! Why are we so bloody gullible? Such monumental idiots? Why do we need self-styled godmen and godwomen in India? Most of them are crooks and liars. Murderers and deviants. But we refuse to see through them. We refuse to accept they are out to loot, fool and deceive us.
Even a casual survey will reveal the organised deception that creates these monsters. Any man or woman who claims a superior spiritual status is an imposter. Anyone who insists he/she has a hotline to God, is clearly a cheat. Anyone who offers to save someone’s soul, is out to financially/emotionally exploit the victim. Anyone who tries to manipulate human frailties and comes up with instant solutions, is talking hogwash. Unfortunately, a lot of that hogwash gets transformed into faux ‘wisdom’ by the media. The vulnerable fall for the slick hardsell, and overnight spiritual empires get born. Take a look at the egos and assets of the current crop of gurus. Look at their vanities and posturing, their arrogance and intolerance. You call these people ‘spiritually evolved’? Let’s call them charlatans. Scratch the surface and see what they are made of — don’t be surprised to find nothing more than hot air and bombast. And yet, they continue to flourish and thrive, propped up by their influential mentors and political bosses.
For most Indians, the word ‘Bapu’ carries enormous emotional weight. ‘Bapu’ refers to father. Or rather, a revered father figure. ‘Bapu’ is largely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. Asaram, the rapist, dared to appropriate the tag, even when he was sexually exploiting minors and others. The sight of him, collapsed on his knee breaking down and crying helplessly, told its own story. The obnoxious, hateful man, who had pompously threatened to bring down governments, was reduced to a heap of indignity, as he let the sentencing sink in. His evil deeds had finally caught up with him.
There are two heroes in this narrative. Had they kept quiet, Asaram and his cohorts would still be at it, minting money and abusing innocents. His 16-year-old victim has spoken, post verdict. It is worth paying attention to what she endured for five long years after she filed charges against the sadist. Not only was she threatened and intimidated, she was certain she’d be bumped off by his goons, who used to hurl filthy abuses at her each time she dared to step out of her house. Then there is a is a witness — a brave school principal who stood by his young traumatised student, despite being targeted by Asaram’s bully boys, who had gone so far as to send him an envelope filled with bullets, just in case the message to butt out of the case was not clear enough. Three witnesses had been murdered by then. And the rest, efficiently silenced. But the school principal stuck to his guns, declined to change the victim’s date of birth, and refused to blink, even though his life was at stake.
What is a life term for a man like Asaram? He has ruined multiple lives. No punishment can possibly match up to the enormity of his many crimes. This is an important case for us. This despicable man has 400 ashrams in India and abroad. His website claims he has 40 million followers. And his empire has been pegged at 10k crores! What an amazing business model! If a rapist ‘baba’ who studied up to class three can create so much wealth through mumbo-jumbo, it says one hell of a lot about our stupidity! But the ugly truth is simply this — none of these babas would flourish were it not for political patronage. Why do politicians need them? Why ever not? Look at the potential of the vote bank these blackguards control.
The next logical step after this conviction would be to go after the politicians who endorse, protect and support all these ‘spiritual’ billionaires. One Asaram in jail is not enough. But it’s a good start. The story of this particular survivor should act as a cautionary tale. Ignorant parents, like hers, should also be held responsible for the crime of marching off a trusting child to an ashram, handing her over to a sexual pervert, in order to ‘cure’ her of ‘evil spirits! Illiteracy and ignorance are not excuses enough. They remain definitely complicit and responsible for what their daughter suffered.
It’s time for India to smoke out all these frauds. There are too many of them preying on suckers/ believers blinded by their so-called ‘powers’ and promises to save humanity. The power to save yourself wholly, solely and only lies within each one of us. Let’s drive these pretenders out of business and then watch the fun.
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