The recent pictures of Radhe Maa in a completely new avatar have once again brought attention to the numerous self proclaimed messengers of God. Dressed in a mini skirt, the pictures of the famous ‘God Woman’ are doing the rounds on the internet.
Not only this, the high-profile mata was also recently charged under Dowry Prevention Act to instigate a family for demanding dowry from a girl. Nonetheless, Radhe Maa has been at the center of many controversies recently, and by the looks of it, she is in no mood to move on from getting into news for all the ‘wrong reasons’.
Still, this is not the first time a spiritual guru has been exposed in front of the world. And that is the surprising part. Even after seeing so many cases going against them, these leaders don’t cease to exist.
If we do a little recap, and have a look at the type of cases which have been filed against Babas, Gurus, and spiritual leaders, we will find that most of the cases have been of prostitution, sexual assault, and sex racket. The age old jokes of ‘Tharki baba’ don’t seem funny anymore.
Let’s get to some names now.
The first name which must have popped up in your head by now has to be of Asaram Bapu. He was accused of misbehaving and sexually abusing a 16 year old girl in his ashram in Jodhpur. And it happened while her mother was waiting outside the ashram. He also has cases of murder and fraud going on against him.
After Asaram the next infamous name is Swami Nitayanand. A video was released all over the media where he was seen in a compromising position with South Indian actress, Ragasudha. His popularity took a severe blow after that incident, but yet his cases have not been completely solved. He has also been accused of rape by many of his disciples, including a US based woman.
Now I would like to take a name which you all might not be familiar with. It’s Mata Amrtanandayami Devi. She is one of the most powerful spiritual leaders of Kerala. Gail Tredwell, an Australian devotee of hers who spent 20 years at Mata’s math, wrote in her book, Holy Hell, about how she was sexually assaulted by Amrtanandayami several times. She also said the same in TV interviews which never got a chance to air, and the allegations were hushed away quietly.
What’s next after sexual abuse? A sex racket. And that is what Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale allegedly managed to run successfully. He was charged for operating a prostitution racket. Eight people who were a part of it were arrested, which included a couple of air hostesses as well.
I cannot finish the article without taking name of one of the most famous spiritual leaders of the modern age, Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. With a huge fan base in not only India, but all across the world, his was the most unexpected name to pop up in the type of cases which we have been discussing. Apart from being charged for fooling people with his so called ‘miracles’, allegations of pedophilia and sexual abuse were also there against him. But just like others, nothing conclusive was found.
There are cases filed and FIRs lodged against such sexual predators who disguise as saints, but more often than not, these cases get somewhere lost. Maybe because of the lack of evidence or lack of witness or any other reason, but what’s the worst part is that even after knowing so much, people turn back to them. I hope the recent pictures of Radhe Maa acts as an eye opener for people, and they start maintaining their distance from such frauds.
