Here’s an honest confession: I hadn’t heard of Rampal till the last few days. This is partly due to ignorance, partly because I do remain deeply sceptical of ordinary humans who see themselves as Godmen. I once saw Rajneesh at an airport many, many years ago. He had a beatific face but I just couldn’t fathom why he should be seen as a ‘God’ as some of his followers chose to. When I was at IBN 7, every afternoon we would run a programme on Nirmal Baba, another so-called spiritual healer who apparently has magical qualities. I was opposed to the telecast but was eventually overruled by our marketing department which saw commercial benefit in the programme. All I was able to do was to ensure was a strap line that ran through the telecast saying it was a ‘sponsored programme’.
Sadly, that’s what many of our ‘Godmen’ are: beneficiaries of a cash rich ‘God’ industry which continues to thrive under political patronage. Rampal is a good example: there is little doubt that his private ’empire’ has been built under the seemingly benevolent gaze of the Haryana government. Some newspaper reports have suggested that the wife of the Congress chief minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was a ‘bhakt’ of his. It has also been suggested that local BJP leaders were seeking his blessings ahead of the elections. Godmen with their large followings can provide a potential vote bank. This is why clerics, Dera leaders, babas and imams have always enjoyed a political umbrella. Truth is, a number of these individuals are businessmen who exploit faith for personal benefit. I hope Rampal, who has a string of serious cases against him, now faces the full force of the law. Much like another self-styled Godman Asaram Bapu did last year. In fact, it might be a good idea to have Rampal and Asaram share a jail cell: they could even exchange notes maybe on what it takes to be a successful con man even before you become a so-called Godman!
