Why do you need Godmen?

Please tell me why do you need a Godman - sort of a sleazy middleman - to get to "your" God?

Last night I was reading saved articles from the January 2018 issue of TOI and chanced upon the news on Virender Dev Dixit, another in the long line of ugly and evil Godmen. HIs devotees donated to him their hard earned money, their own selves and put their daughters in his service. The maniacal chap was known for Gupt Prasad under the garb of which he raped nubile girls.

It shocks and troubles me to think just how blinded can we get, in the name of fear, insecurity, hope for a better tomorrow, more wealth, better health and so on; so much that we bury all logic and reasoning and blind ourselves with ill-placed faith, often in meaningless rituals and harmful people.

The long list of devilish Godmen who keep raising their ugly head and have followers from every strata of society proves that we continue to be foolish and self-harming in the name of our belief.

Once, on our return from Rishikesh to Delhi, we met an NRI family during the pit stop. What attracted me to them was that they had their driver seated with them for lunch at the same table, enjoying the same fare. Since it is still not a common sight in India, I got talking to them.

While the man was gentlemanly and polite, his wife was ill-tempered, curt and rude.

Anyway, during our conversation, we got around to reasons for our travel. They were visiting Rishikesh from Seattle to spend some time with their Guru. With genuine interest, I quizzed them as to what did they seek from the Guru. The cantankerous lady made a face and retorted, "Well, he guides us and brings us closer to God."

More astonished by the minute, I asked again, "But why do you need a Guru for that. You can have a dialogue with 'your' God all by yourself. Why a middleman?"

Le Husband, upon seeing the situation get somewhat tense, mumbled quick goodbyes and pulled me in another direction.

Many years back, a few of Daddy's colleagues began to follow the legendary 'Kali kamli wale Baba.' They began cajoling my father to join the group on their weekly/fortnightly visit to the Baba's Ashram.

My Dad was a spiritual man but not given to too many rituals and blind faith. He believed in having a conversation with God, in the time he kept aside for 'dhyan' but shunned any communion practice or herd mentality towards religion. And I think he had a strong dislike for Babas of any kind.

Kali kamli wale Baba at Allahabad, I am told, was a genuine man who did not show any interest in wealth or display any other kind of greed or lasciviousness. During his darshan, he showed all kinds of tricks - walking on white sheets with mud-soiled bare feet yet leaving no mark, pulling out hot jalebis as prasad from his empty black blanket that he wrapped his bare body with and so on.

He became fond of Ma, who went more for the spectacle and tamasha and the Baba's congeniality than anything else. Each time Ma went, the Baba would ask for Dad and Ma would have to make one flimsy excuse or another.

POne time, at the behest of Issar Uncle, Dad's close friend and senior and Ma, Dad went to meet the Baba half-heartedly. The Baba gaugedPicture this, laughed on seeing my father and said, "PL you are one fine man, but very stubborn. I know that you have no faith in me, but we can at least be friends."

Ma used to tell me that Dad would join the group of friends infrequently on their Ashram trips. But the Baba and Dad struck an uncommon friendship, man to man, devoid of religion, faith, benefits et al. and the Baba showed respect and displayed his fondness for Dad knowing that here was a man who met him as a self-sure being and sought absolutely nothing from him.

I don't think Dad or Ma would have ever stepped into the lairs of Asarams of the world. And they made sure, we grew up with our heads clear and with no place for fear and false faiths.

If you really believe in God, or whatever divine force you assume it to be, then no bad energy will be able to draw you towards them.

Moreover, the divinity does not need any bribe or tip or via media for you to be in step with it!

Picture courtesy - mydigitalfc