When I was watching the theatrics of Ramdev Baba during his fast and the hoopla around it, the thought of regulating the activities of Godmen crossed my mind. Think about it….doesn’t it make sense? While technically the Baba in question may not be a Godman and a yoga teacher by vocation, he certainly passes off as one!
In a country, where laws and regulations are found and scripted by the dozen for every given situation, it is surprising how Godmen and their activities are let off the hook! There seems to be no dearth of scams in this industry (pun intended). Today, these Godmen have become bigger than God and they have achieved a larger status and share of devotion, so much so that people are willing to forgive and forget their atrocities. In the ultimate battle of blind faith versus faith, it is surprising and rather disturbing to see these so called custodians of faith getting away with their antics. This is witnessed across all religions and there is definitely unity to that extent!
So coming back to the opening thought…why not a watchdog for the activities of these Godmen? Envisage a regulation called “Godmen (Regulation and Development) Act, 2011”. It will encompass registration procedures, qualifications to get registered, penal provisions, appeal mechanisms, tribunal with retired Supreme Court or high court judges… will be fun. All religions in the country will, by all means, unite and oppose such a bill (one positive from such a move).
I am in no way suggesting that we impose such a law. However, the fact that these Godmen are moving about scot-free is something that cannot be ignored. Analyze this –‘Cash to the tune of more than Rs. 11 crores found in a politician's or an industrialist's bedroom’….the outcome? Media uproar (with animated anchors seeking sms voting in all news channels), effigies burnt, maybe an opposition boycott of few parliament sessions etc). However, when over Rs 11 crores in cash along with over 85 kg of gold and other assets were found in Satya Sai Baba’s bedroom, none of these things happened.
Have we forgotten that recently, there was a large hue and cry (incidentally led by Ramdev Baba) on unaccounted black money being stashed away by politicians and industrialists abroad?
Another recent trend that seems to be on a rise is of Godmen making political statements without any commitment or responsibility. To be fair to politicians, at least the righteous ones, it is a tough job! It is easy to make comments from outside without any commitment but the complexities of being in politics, facing elections, being accountable for their statements, keeping cadres intact etc. is no mean task. As compared to them, these self declared custodians of goodness seem to get away with anything.
To cut the long story short, while the reference to bringing out a law is an exaggeration, it is imperative that the educated, level-headed masses need to unite against the unlawful activities of these Godmen, to reinstate faith from blind faith. Yes, if acted upon - we do have enough laws in place to punish these crooked self declared messiahs.
To have a feel or idea of the kind of enterprise these so called holy men run – please visit
http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-lifting-the-veil-on-godmen-and-their-wealth/20110620.htm
