Hathras Stampede and Super-Speciality Babas by Dr. Jernail S. Anand

The Baba’s men are responsible for the stampede in which more than a hundred persons including women and children died, leaving as many injured. The Baba is at fault no doubt, but it is not easy to condone the illiterate masses of India who rush to these Babas for paltry gains. Most of them want a job for their son, marriage of their daughter, or improvement in  business, or his wife begetting a son. What makes me wonder is how a Baba can help in these things, which need man’s constant efforts?

Indian people are god-fearing, and, mercifully, credulous also, who can be taken for a ride. Baba upon Baba in India, is rolling in millions. People go, dance their way to joy and come back, after parting with huge sums of money. Babas keep telling them to give to their gurus rich gifts so that if they are happy, they will bless you the more.

Babas are shrewd businessmen. They know how to spread word about their miracular presence in a particular city. And, then, it is an organized scam.My take on this is: that the Indian people, who are religious minded, must understand that they should not fall in the trap of these make-belief Babas. Remembering gods is enough. Going to a temple and praying is enough. Being good is what is most needed from a god-fearing person. But it is here that we falter.  We are not good at all. We are crooked in our behaviour. We are thieves. We are fraudsters. And we go to Babas for peace of mind. If we do not correct our actions, there is no possibility of peace. It is we people who give the Babas undue importance and they reap the harvest of our blind faith.

The people who are running after these godmen are actually trying to prove to their fellow men that they are very religious. They are very good. But  it has to be remembered that being good is action oriented. You have to prove that you are good, not by going to Babas, but by your actions.

In fact, these Babas are the products of the neo-rich. Middle class and upper middle class people who have no dearth of money, nor any dearth of mental, physical and sexual problems. They can reach anywhere with their rich resources which they lavish on the Babas. Just see the living style of these godmen who teach others that life and its joys are illusory.  And people place their gold in their feet.

Look at the word ‘follow’ closely. If you examine it, it means going after somebody. You go after somebody, only when your own intelligence does not work. If a Baba has one million followers, it simply means that he has 1 million people who do not think, who have no faith in their own intelligence. One person says, ‘follow me’ and they herd after him like sheep. He gives them a ‘mantra’. And they start chanting it. If you want a mantra, go to Bhagvad Gita.  Chant the Gayatri Mantra. Or, if you are from northern India, the Guru gave such a wonderful Mool Mantra.

If you think the ‘mantra’ given by these Babas is more powerful, then, please compare these Babas with Guru Nanak Dev ji,  or Bhagat Kabir ji. If you find the Babas better than the Gurus, then go and follow them. But, if you find it otherwise, keep away from these self-styled super-specialitygodmen. Go to traditional shrines, and pray. In fact, it is more important to realize that, there are actually no miracles, nor any miracle-men. Even, Gurus never liked the idea of miracles. Those who say they can perform miracles, are jugglers who can defraud you, and waylay your faith.

The Gurus who taught austerity, love and compassion are now part of the religious history of mankind. This is a world in its rotten times and everything is rotten now. Its philosophy, its philosophers, its logicians, - all have become magicians. Religion has become a science, and people who graduate in religioneering, are trained in the art of fighting and rioting.

One wishes we turn back to the olden times when there was no social media. There were Gurus who lived lives of great principles. Now, the more the talk of religion, the lesser is it found in practice. The lynch mafia, the hate speeches of god-men, - politics is supreme.

As an author, I would like the people to step out of this train which is moving towards self-destruction. You have your god inside you. You have your gods in your temples. Please visit these shrines, and pray. And forget all about what Babas and their patrons say.

                                    Dr. Jernail S. Anand

                                    Laureate of Franz Kafka, Maxim Gorky and

                                    Charter of Morava [Serbian] Awards.

                                    Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com