Rise and Fall of Babas; Prevalence of Numerous Sects in Hinduism and the Way Ahead

After recent news and controversies around some of them, 'Babas' have become completely out of flavor. Before the most recent one from Haryana, we had cases with Baba Rampal and Asaram Bapu also, making it look like a "pattern". Our human brain is designed to understand "patterns" and it reflects in the way we are talking about 'Babas' these days. Social media is filled with abuses written by some very educated and bright minds against these Babas. It is not surprising because social media is a means of expression, not a tool of education. But still, what are the lessons we are learning from the infamous 'Babas'?

If we look at their backgrounds, one thing is clear. These Babas were first generation entrepreneurs who ran their spiritual empires like corporate houses. And they lacked tradition, 'sanskara' and were married men with kids (i.e. were no sanyasis) before deciding to go spiritual. Baba Rampal (Original name: Rampal Singh Jatin) had a diploma and worked as junior engineer. He quit his job and started his sect (Satlok Ashram). And what does his sect teach? Among other things it teaches that Saint Kabir is the Supreme Lord; asks disciples not to visit Hindu temples and not to worship Hinduism's trinity of Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva! He is married and has two children.

Asaram Bapu (Original name: Asumal Thaumal Harpalani) was born in a Sindhi family in Sindh, Pakistan and migrated to Ahmedabad after partition. Being a school drop-out, he managed his father's coal and wood business for sometime. He is also married with two kids. Although his teachings are not controversial since he preaches Advaita Vedanta and Bhakti Yoga.

It is also not only a male phenomenon. For example we had Radhe Ma (Original name: Sukhvinder Kaur) who is a school dropout, got married at early age and used to stitch clothes to supplement her husband's income. Before of course joining a religious sect and becoming self-styled god-woman.

Now, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan is married with several children. His Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) is a registered NGO and all Gurus of DSS have come from Sikh background. They have their own sect/religion and welcome people from all different religions. It is ironical that it is he who has triggered this "anti-Baba" feeling in the masses while he is not really a "Hindu Baba" per se.

And the worst part is: these Babas are not alone. The more you would know about different sects and their beliefs, the more you would get confused and 'uninterested' in religion. ISKCON for example is a very popular sect and we all visit its temples. But ISKCON sect does not consider Krishna as Lord Vishnu's avatar but it considers Lord Krishna as the Supreme God. Worshiping Lord Krishna is a different matter and we all do that - but not an avatar but Supreme Lord? Where does it leave our Lord Shiva? The sect considers Shiva as a manifestation of Lord Krishna! That changes everything!

If you visited the wonderful Akshardham temple; it belongs to Swaminarayan sect. Ever wondered who is Swaminarayan? He was born with orignal name of Ghanshyam Pande in Chhapaiya, Uttar Pradesh in 1781. At early age he joined Uddhav Sampraday which later became Swaminarayan Sampraday as Ghanshyam Pande became Swaminarayan. Followers of Swaminarayan sect believe that Swaminarayan is the complete incarnation of Lord Vishnu and more superior to other avatars.

And then there is Brahma Kumaris. Their name contains "Brahma" and then their preachers keep talking about "Shiva Baba" and it appears so nice to the Hindus. But go deeper and you would realize that the Brahma Kumaris is a full fledged "religion" in itself. They call their founder Lekhraj Kripalani as "Brahma Baba" and Shiv Baba is their Godfather (supreme being). Although most of their basic ideas are similar to Hinduism, there is lot of dogma about how world started, how it is going to end, and who will survive and how.

In the era of these numerous "modern" sects, older sects like Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission etc appear to be "old fashioned". I wonder how many people from younger generation or in the cities are reaching out to them.

Although most interesting thing about Hinduism is that while its "diversity" would appear like its weakness (there are so many beliefs, so many deities, so many sects and hence Hindus are seldom united for any cause), it is actually a strength which has allowed it to "survive". It is common knowledge that a very large set of people are difficult to be kept in one piece and dividing them into smaller sets makes them easier to manage. I think such was the idea of having so many sects. But what if sects start preaching very different things; and try to make themselves break out into separate full fledged religions? It has happened with Sikhism in the past which had started as a sect within Hinduism. If it happens too often and starts giving unwanted results, then it has to be "curbed".

The solution is simple: "return to the roots". According to most central ideas of Hinduism, Supreme Being is called Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva when it creates, preserves and renews. If you see any sect trying to say one of these are higher than others, which essentially means that these three are different and one can be "higher" or "lower" than other; be warned against such upstarts. If you see any sect asking you to "worship" mere mortals like its sect leader, any guru or any imaginary being, be warned. Try to be as near to the ancient practices as possible. If Yagna is not possible, offer flowers and other items which symbolically mean the same (offerings). Try to visit temples of original deities like Shiva, Vishnu or Durga. Pick any one of the deities and keep your faith in one deity instead of making it a spiritual tourism - because the more you would wander, the less peace you would have. Try to read original scriptures but be warned against different versions written by different sect leaders with a political explanation of the meanings. Try to read Swami Vivekananda in case of any doubts, who has done a wonderful job in writing down his thoughts and conclusions on most of the things related to Hinduism. And if you are choosing a Guru, look for his family history and other things apart from competence and the advertising done around him.

Let us take the rise and fall of 'Babas' in a stride as an opportunity to do course correction. Let us also pardon them because they were mere mortals and prone to corruption. Let us watch ourselves instead to avoid any flaws and bad habits getting into us. Even those disgraced 'Babas' taught nice things to others; and hence teachings do not matter. What matters is: how much we get to practice the good that is shared with us.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

- Rahul