Every religion has its own priests, bhatts, moolahs etc to help them get better acquainted with the God they believe in and learn their religion thoroughly so that they can profess it better. These religious authorities help them with the various religious prayers and rituals. Therefore the priest or the bhatt etc are in a way the ‘middlemen’ who intercede with God for us.
Every religion has its own system of inducting such priests etc. into the religion. Then of late from where have the so-called ‘Godman’ appeared on the scene? There have been quite a few of them in the recent past. Just to name a few, Baba Ramdev, Baba Nityananda and the latest till date Baba Rampal. Their so-called ashrams which should have been shelters of refuge particularly for women and children have turned into dens of abuse. Arms and weapons, pots of money and gold have been found in these places. But most heart-wrenching of all is that poor, uneducated and vulnerable women and children become objects of lust and abuse for these Godmen.
Were it not for the media, these Godmen could continue forever with their nefarious activities. What is more surprising is that ordinary people who are their supporters are fooled by them. How is it that these poor people cannot see through their tricks? What sort of blind faith in God is this which cannot discriminate between right and wrong? In the recent case of Baba Rampal, his supporters clashed with the police when they went to arrest him. So many policemen were injured in the scuffle. His followers were holed up inside the ashram and were not allowed to leave it. The gates of the ashram were closed. These followers were being used as a human shield.
If one ponders seriously about the matter one wonders with whose patronage do these Godmen and their ashrams flourish? Do they not have any fear of the law? For how long will such things go on? Nobody, not even Godmen are above the law. It is the duty of the law-enforcing authorities to see that such illegal institutions are not allowed to exist. Punishment should be severe so that the vulnerable are protected.
