Of God and Godmen... Question of Godmen or conmen
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 30, 2011 -

Is an atheist necessarily a rationalist or vice versa, or are the two completely different mindsets or beliefs an individual may possess ?

Or for that matter can a religious man, who believes in the existence of an Almighty God and faithfully follows all the specified rites and rituals, be clubbed amongst the class of people, who prefer to call themselves rationalists ?

These are questions which cannot be answered off the cuff, for the fact remains that many a man who became household names, by dint of their work in the laboratories may be regulars at the local Church or hold some positions in the local Temple board or Mosque, at the same time.

Not all believers and not all atheists may be rationalists, but we may assume that all rationalists are atheists.

This is a matter of speculation, alright, but it is not shooting in the dark and if we may add, the balance of judgement is tilted heavily in favour of the term rationalist as against what it stands for and this includes superstition, Godmen, miracles performed by men of God, miracle healing and anything that has to do with the supernatural.

From its very term, we may safely assume that rationalists are people who believe in rational thinking and judgement and are not swayed by any emotional acts or by invoking the name of someone divine.

This however has not stopped the emergence of a large number of personalities, who go on to assume the identity of someone supreme or being The Chosen One or a spiritual leader.

Lest we stir a hornet's nest, we will steer clear of figures associated with religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, the Gods and Goddesses as portrayed in the literature of Hinduism and concentrate on the 20th and 21st Century personalities who have achieved a cult following, with their carefully crafted persona or as their followers will put it, their inborn quality.

Many religions have thrown up personalities who have been able to touch the lives of quite a number of people, with not only their lifestyle and conduct in public but also through their overwhelming personalities.

In the USA, we have had Billy Graham and with the boom in IT, there are quite a number of others, who are ready to step into the shoes of the well known preacher and 'miracle healer.'

In India we have had the Dinakaran Brothers, whose influence broke through the Malayalam barrier and reached all parts of India, including Manipur.

The late Osho Rajneesh was a different kettle of fish, one who epitomised all the materialistic goodies of life and had nothing to do with the supernatural or healing power or miracles. His was something unique and hence the appeal, when he started spreading his thoughts and ideologies of life to the affluent class across the world.

One will not find a man or a woman from the lower middle class family flocking to Rajneesh to hear his sermons. A view or a commentary on the phenomenon of the emergence of personalities who are placed on a pedestal and regarded as someone close to the supernatural is in line with the current scenario, especially following the death of Satya Sai Baba, arguably the most influential figure of his ilk, whom sceptics sarcastically refer to as Godmen.

As much as the late Baba had followers spread across the world, controversy also stalked him for time to time, ranging from sexual abuse to charlatanism, as the BBC put it.

An interesting incident involving PC Sorcar Junior comes to mind. As the story goes, on a visit to the Baba's ashram, Sai Baba plucked a handful of Sandesh from thin air and gifted it as a darshan to the magician.

Not to be outdone, Sorkar turned the Sandesh into Rosogollas, before one could say Brahmaputra ! The magician was promptly evicted from the campus of the ashram. Tongue in cheek, Sorkar had said that he preferred Rosogollas over Sandesh, and hence the change.

Noted atheist and rationalist, Dr Abraham Kovoor left no stone unturned to confront Sai Baba and even went to the extent of announcing that he could also perform the so called miracles of Sai Baba, dubbing them the work of the sleight of hand.

Rationalists flocked together and performed the same miraculous act of Sai Baba, such as plucking Vibhuti a sacred ash from thin air and claimed that it could easily be performed after a few practise session !

The controversy apart, what must however be conceded to, even by his critics, was his philanthropy. From the vast and huge assets and wealth collected by the Trust set up after his name, Sai Baba was able to plunge full time into philanthropy which still stands today as silent testimonies.

Chennai is still reaping the benefits of the aid provided by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust to build a concrete lining across a large stretch of the Kandaleru-Poondi canal to check water seepage.

The amount incurred was Rs 200 crores. Sai Baba got the timing of his death wrong by a couple of years, but he did not go wrong in winning millions of followers from across the globe, who generously contributed to his trust.

The remarkable point is, the trust was not used for his personal benefits but for the impoverished villagers of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Today a large number of villages in these two States have access to drinking water, thanks to his act of benevolence.

The free education institutions and hospitals offering the best in service in the business, were all hallmarks of this man. Unlike other spiritual leaders or Godmen, he did not court the glamorous side of life but led the life of a middle class family.

This is perhaps what sets him apart from the rest. However, despite the enormous philanthropic works he did during his lifetime, the controversies that dogged him will not die a natural death.

Whichever way one looks at it, whether one believed in his teachings or saw him as a con-man, the fact lies that he was a person one could not ignore.

The turn up of the who is who from India and thousands of devotees from across the world at his funeral, was profoundly self awakening.