Kerala

Keeping an open eye and mind on spiritual matters

We live in an age of consumerism and often tend to barter the gravest of our unresolved vulnerabilities with the purchasing power of money. The biggest fallout of this is people finding solace and grace in spiritual cartels.

A godman is a one-stop-shop for our precarious emotional aberrations such as forecasts, mending misdeeds, rectifying past sins, cosmic cures et al. Most conmen virtually run their cults in a corporate mode with excellent branding, vast subscriber base and above all, an inevitable clout with those at the higher echelons of power.

A jeopardy as the one in recent times in our State, with the media and police vehement on a witch hunt, has forced them to revert to fundamentals. But every business has its cycle of ebbs and tides. Such problems would be deftly contained.

Sajeet K.

Thiruvananthapuram

There is no second opinion about the necessity of a guru (perceptor) in our spiritual as well as day-to-day life. In all scriptures of ‘sanathana dharma’ the gurus are revered as God since guru is the manifestation of the divine grace.

Nowadays people doubt the veracity of gurus as there are so many fake godmen indulging in unholy affairs. But, it is the prime duty of the spiritual seekers to select the gurus who can bring about a total transformation in their life.

Various political outlets, including youth organisations, are taking law into their hand to check fraud in spirituality. It is nothing but gross failure of the government machinery. Devotees of various gurus should come forward and reveal the good deeds done by their gurus so that fake ones can be identified to some extent. Harassing genuine spiritual leaders in the name of ending fraud is not at all welcome.

Vardarajansivanpillai

Thiruvananthapuram

It is shameful for us, the people of God’s Own Country, to say that Kerala has become “godmen’s own country.” But it is very good to see that the media are putting in a commendable effort to find out the truth behind these people.

But, some political parties are making use of this opportunity to criticise other parties by alleging that the “swami’s” caught were the supporters of the other party. I am not saying that this debate is of no importance. But the main goal right now is to convince the people, especially those who visited these “godmen,” that they were simply taking advantage of their ignorance and lack of self-confidence.

Such activities are there even in Islam. For example, ‘raatheeb’ is an activity seen in rural areas in Kerala. This is simply a method to deceive Muslims with little knowledge of Islam. There are some people who claim to cure diseases by giving some Arabic sentences (may or may not be from the Holy Quran). This is simply cheating by making use of the people’s ignorance of the Arabic language. It is the responsibility of Muslims to wipe out such activities from society.

Sajeer Fazil

Kottarakara

The recent exposure of the dubious activities of some bogus spiritual leaders has created awareness among the people. However, the government should take care so that overzealous groups of people do not indulge in vigilantism and harass genuine spiritual organisations and leaders. Ultimately, the people themselves should learn to discriminate between charlatans and people with noble intentions.

The restlessness of modern society should be channelled into active social work. Unfortunately, volunteerism has not taken roots in India. The community should promote a culture of social service and charitable work. Only then we can wean people away from fraudulent god men.

V.N. Mukundarajan

Thiruvananthapuram

The government seems to have assumed the role of a reformer of society rather than addressing grave issues that confront the people. Never before in the history of Kerala has various religions and their heads faced such humiliating experiences from a government.

Asceticism according to Hinduism is the final stage in the life of an ideal man. It is optional and rigours to observe. It is therefore unfair to look askance at all monks and priests who enlighten millions of people. Counterfeits are rampant in all walks of life, not to speak of religion alone. Government can control pseudo priests and monks from deceiving public for their material benefits by recruiting special squads to keep a close watch on doubtful monks and priests.

Ravikumar N.

Thiruvananthapuram

The fact that there has bee an abnormal increase in the number of godmen in recent times shows that people in general are seeking solace and comfort from some source or other. They try to get peace of mind through such self-proclaimed “swamis” and when their efforts fail, they stop going to them. But, by sheer coincidence of things, if something happens favourably the beneficiary acts as a propagator of the “swami.”

It is true that many people possess godly virtues. But such people never seek admirers. It is for the people to discover such rare human beings and neglect the fraudsters.

G. Ramachandran

Thiruvananthapruam

It is a fact that their “ashrams” are frequented mainly by unsuspecting moneyed people who are ready to buy the blessings of these fake godmen at exorbitant cost. People say that in Kali Yuga such things happen indicating the inevitable decline of ‘dharma.’

Renunciation, self-abnegation, frugality etc. are the hall-marks of true sanyasis who never call themselves gods, unlike the so-called godmen who live in luxury after creating an aura of divinity. It is high time we recognise such pseudo saints and spoil their nefarious designs.

A.N. Balan

Thiruvananthapuram

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