1.

Brief Introduction
2. Reasons of their existence (5 reasons)
3. Conclusion

Introduction:

Indian mythology, as well as history, list numerous instances where noble souls have guided
people on the path of righteousness. Saints such as Kabir, Guru Nanak and others gave a meaning
to the lives of people through their teachings. They alleviated the sufferings of people and
worked for the betterment of society.
Today, numerous godmen can be found across the length and breadth of India. But just a few of
them have any desire to serve humanity. These godmen live in swanky ashrams, are surrounded
by burly bodyguards, have powerful political connections and millions of followers who pay
thousands of rupees just to hear their Godmen speak at satsangs or congregations. But
underneath all this talk of spirituality lies a sinister world where murky dealings, rapes, land
grabbing, murders and other such nefarious activities reign supreme. Nevertheless for their blind
followers, these Godmen are saintly figures who can do no wrong.

Positive Side:
The adoration they inspired in their following and what it did to many of them. I have seen
people on the verge of nervous breakdown restored to mental health; epileptics cured of
epilepsy; drug addicts rid of drug addiction; diabetics able to produce their own insulin; even
serious physical injury which had stubbornly refused to yield to medical treatment respond to
the healing touch of the Guru, When it comes to the relationships of the Guru and his disciples.
The age of miracles can by no means be considered to have passed.

Reasons:
1. In a family of godmen, a clean baba stands out like a white sheep. That, however, does
not stop people from stooping to charlatans in robes and matted hair. And the reason is
simple: these godmen happily stomp on grounds where scientists fear to tread.

What facts can help figure out the beginning of the beginning, or how something came out
of nothing? Alternatively, which experiment can explain the end of the end, or what it is to
be dead? It’s a mug’s game to press scientists to find solutions to these questions, because
they are actually riddles. In one case, the answer lies before a fact was born and, in the
other, after a fact has gone.

Riddles, however, are the staple of godmen, mystics and saints. It is not enough to know
why wood floats, stones sink or how planes fly. Science can tell us about these and much
more, but that does not stop us from speculating on the wonder of life or the darkness of
death. When all is said and done, no matter the quantum leaps in knowledge, those
niggling, nettlesome issues will still remain.

reason is simple: these godmen happily stomp on grounds where scientists fear to
tread. s these eternal questions have, and will, torment us forever, there is no getting
out of the fear and the awe of the supernatural. Consequently, whenever there is
despair, or when the future is uncertain, or when terror stalks the soul, the godman
gets a near open invitation, all expenses paid. Scientific advance concedes empty
knowledge spaces, but as faith abhors a vacuum it readily serves up answers to the
unanswerables. At this level there is just no contest — science has to concede.

No doubt, there were great ascetics and kind and generous faith leaders who, at
tremendous personal cost, often gave succour to the masses in times of great distress.
From Jesus, to Muhammad, to Vivekananda and even Dayananda Saraswati, we have
had such heroes who shored up our spirits and gave us strength. The truth, however,
is that when these great souls depart, they leave behind followers who are human —
all too human. As they lack the charisma of their gurus, they reduce the substance of
their teachings to miracles and magic.

2. With society being in constant flux in the last two decades due to socio-economic
factors, the need to rely on a higher power seems to have also increased. In a country of
a million gods and thousand identities, the changing landscape has had huge cultural
and psychological implications. Rootless individuals seeking to make sense of their world
may drift to alcohol, drugs or psychiatrists to find answers. In India, most seem to have
drifted to the godmen.
It’s not difficult to understand why. India has had a long history of gurus or spiritual guides –
the learned master who helped people attain higher knowledge. In recent times, the tradition
seems to have metamorphosed into an industry, with godmen exploiting weaknesses of
existing institutions like family, religion and society to their advantage, and offering
instantaneous miracles and quick fix solutions to cure the dissonance caused by modern life.

The changing socio-economic structure has only widened this chasm further, adding to people’s
stresses and anxieties, making them more vulnerable to the antics of the dubious godmen.
Today, the godman isn’t just the miracle maker, he is also the agony pundit, the family
consultant, the psychologist and the spiritual guide. He offers answers, solutions, happiness, an
easy path to follow in an otherwise cruel and difficult world. He is the anchor that roots the
individual to a cause, to a community of fellow devotees. Over time, he becomes the devotee’s
moral compass.

3. Fathers
Gurus because there are traditional inhibitions against mingling of sexes and the tyranny of
fathers. The young Indian male may not indulge in love "or even look at girls of his own class,
but can form the most passionate friendship and express it with caresses with his guru."
Furthermore, the guru-disciple relationship "is in some ways an ideal version of that which
should exist between father and son but does not." The Guru, though the fatter-figure, is the
rescuer from the real father's dominance. "He is the father who has been chosen; in this way,
the disciple remains free in his bondage, bound in his freedom."
Brent concedes that there is more to the Guru-disciple relationship than "frustrated sexuality or
the psychological wounds inflicted by over-authoritarian fathers".
4. Government:
The places where government has failed to embark upon any substantial progress, people
resort to these godmen for help. The state’s withdrawal or absence creates space for
charismatic individuals to usurp power, and become spiritual or political messiahs to subaltern
groups. Add to it our high illiteracy rate, lack of access to technology, you have perfect recipe
for our current system. In such desperate times, people believe only miracles can save them
and some of these Godmen do magician tricks and win over the meek and needy. You
underestimate the importance of an emotional clutch for people in desperation. Once you
become desperate, your judgement becomes clouded and you want someone to help you out
of it.
Give 1-2 examples
 5 We are depressed:

We are Indians and we don’t talk about mental health. We are so caught up in chest thumping
nationalism and how we are only the greatest country ever with a 5000 year old culture and
heritage, that we really, really suck at acknowledging when there is a problem. A study
conducted by the WHO in 2011 concluded that Indians are the most depressed lot in the world
with almost 36% of the population having had an episode of depression in their lifetime. You
might argue about the results of the survey but a vast majority of us do battle the cloud of
depression sometime in our lives.

In our desperation for a solution to a genuine clinical problem, we turn to those who pose
as representatives of the divine order, Godmen and Godwomen, who claim to have been
‘touched’ in all the right places (allegedly) and have seen the ‘light’. help book. Do note that
their solutions always involve different ways of you parting with ample sums of your hard
earned money. He goes on to explode the facile assumption that the Guru is the Indian version
of the psychoanalyst. One is a teacher, the other a doctor; one deals with spiritual aspirations,
the other with the psychologically maimed; one strives to take away his disciple from the world
which according to him is illusory, unreal; the other attempts to readjust him to it. The final
success of one would be considered the ultimate failure of the other.

Political Angle:

But most important of all, it is the way democracy and secularism is practised in India.
People everywhere are prone to mystics, but what makes our godmen seem so
powerful is that our politicians use them as baits to catch votes. It never really quite
works that way because the godmen’s followers are thinking cures, bank balance and
success, not democracy. From Bhindranwale to Ramdev to Nithyananda to Asaram
and now Rampal, not a single baba ever succeeded in converting their clients into vote
banks.

Still, politicians persist in this tack and cover their backs by sloganeering democracy
and secularism. Winning elections by playing the godman card seems perfectly
acceptable to them because they see their voters as dumb, driven, religious cattle.
Sadly for the babas, though, they just have a few good years at the top. Very soon, the
godman has to be dispensed with: it is either because of the genie out of the bottle
syndrome, or because a new power centre has emerged.
 It eventually, therefore, distils down to politics. Babas catering to gullible folks would
hardly be a social nuisance if politicians did not meddle in this magician-client
relationship. Indira Gandhi’s choice of Bhindranwale is the best illustration of how a
petty soothsayer can become a monster and cause enormous public damage. If
Bhindranwale had been left alone in his “dera” he would probably be living today and
so would thousands of innocent Sikhs who were caught in the crossfire.

This cocktail of deep dissatisfaction and blind faith, however, turns truly noxious when you mix
politics in it. Godmen wooing gullible individuals wouldn’t be much of a problem if politicians
didn’t use them to catch or influence voters. And even though we are still to hear of a baba
who managed to convert his followers into an influential vote bank, the truth is that politicians
still persist in providing these self-styled prophets political patronage. Political patronage
sometimes allows these godmen to literally run parallel states, replete with their own armies,
at times! Many, in fact, start seeing themselves as being above law, operating in their own
zones, where they command unparalleled devotion and in what can be argued, true power in
the form of mass following.

Conclusion:
1. All type of people are affected by godmen, in US and Europe also there are various
factions for example scientologists that are very well known and widely followed. So,
not only poor, illiterate and underdeveloped/developing nations are affected but also
developed, educated and rich people are also affected.
2. Secularism truly means keeping religion out of politics. Likewise, democracy truly means
keeping politics out of religion. Distort either one and you muck up the other.
3. Social stigma associated with mental health needs to be removed. This is one of the
major work areas that needs to be addressed to. People have to be made aware of the
fact that mental health doesn’t equate to madness or lunacy. It is a serious issue that
can be cured through proper treatment and counselling.
4.
After listening to my friends about why do godmen exist in India, let me give you a different
context which is the political context. One of the major reasons for such mass following of
godmen is the way in which democracy and secularism is practiced in India. People everywhere
are prone to mystics, but what makes our godmen seem so powerful is that our politicians use them as
baits to catch votes. The godmen have the ulterior motive of entering politics while the politicians can
use the followers as vote banks. It never really quite works that way because the godmen’s followers are
thinking cures, bank balance and success, not democracy. From Bhindranwale to Ramdev to
Nithyananda to Asaram and now Rampal, not a single baba ever succeeded in converting their clients
into vote banks. Still, politicians persist in this tack and cover their backs by sloganeering democracy and
secularism. Winning elections by playing the godman card seems perfectly acceptable to them because
they see their voters as dumb, driven, religious cattle.

However, such political patronage sometimes allows these godmen to literally run parallel states,
replete with their own armies, at times! Many, in fact, start seeing themselves as being above
law, operating in their own zones, where they command unparalleled devotion and in what can
be argued, true power in the form of mass following.