There are hundreds of so-called spiritual (gurus) marketers in India who have created illusions and pretended to be Gods; Lord Shiva is most common in this trend. Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev who is surrounded by various controversies is believed to be Aadi Yogi Shiva. Absconder Nithyananda believed to be the incarnation of Param Shiva . If you remember the statement given by Nityanada when he was caught in legal clutches, he said ‘I’m Param Shiva, no stupid court can touch me’. Yes no court could touch him because he was untraceable and his disciples were a huge vote bank and no government wanted to risk it by arresting him. If he is really Shiva then why would he be accused of molestation? Why does he need to issue such statements? Shiva never boasted himself being whatever he is.

This is more of psychological play, one as you think so you become. And second as you create an illusion someone has to trust you if not all. It is basically a mind game. Why does this person called Nityananda dress himself like Lord Shiva and call him “Parama Shiva”? Because there are some blind followers who believe in what he is projecting. Some may even claim that they have seen miracles, which can be sheer coincidence or fluke. Then there are some marketing managers who bank on these incidents and use this word of mouth publicity. A person who is convicted for obscenity, kidnapping and molesting girls is worshipped.   

Some Sadhus or spiritual saffron entities think, talk and behave like Shiv; they attain the nature, power and wisdom of Dhakshina Murthy. They finally merge in the Shiv Tatva (element). It is an internal process of self-transformation into divinity. However, if one does it for worldly fame and gain, to cheat people, it won’t last. Such an attitude will push them into the depths of hell sooner or later. Most of these so called sadhus, sorry Shiva are loomed in some or other controversies that too for the lust or attraction for various women.

Avatars are born (poornam) complete, they exhibit divinity and divine powers. Their conduct, wants, wisdom and self-control on all sorts of cravings are unimaginable. Yogic power attained by men creates ego and pride, if one is not careful, he is doomed. You will find hundreds of such so-called God’s who make demands in the name of donations, spiritual events, building some temples or in the name of some or the other thing, at large they do no good to the nation or society. Their attempts are narrow and efforts are for personal goals. They see gain in whatever they do; why would Shiva really need to do this?

Each godman adopts a ‘uniform’ for identification by his devotees. Lekhraj Kripalani, a Sindhi jeweller who founded the Brahma Kumari movement claimed that he was Brahma of our divine trinity. In the pictures displayed in Brahma Kumari Ashrams he is depicted as Brahma seated in a lotus along with Vishnu and Shiva on their respective mounts. The Dera-Sacha -Sauda chief used to dress himself in the attire of Guru Gobind Singh complete with a head gear adorned with a peacock feather. He stopped dressing himself as the Sikh Guru after being given a warning. There was a Bala Saibaba (recently deceased) who not only sported the hair style of Puttaparthi Saibaba but also his loose upper robe and mannerisms. Osho Rajneesh used to wear a robe which was differently coloured on the outside and inside. Sometimes the use of similar uniforms by different god men may cause confusion. The only cases with no scope for confusion are with sages who wear no clothes at all! If humans are God, then what are Gods for’?

Human brain secretes “serotonin” when you hear exciting things like what Nityananda or any religious leader promises. Like “delaying sun from rising”, “flying” and so on, getting Rainfall, making a dead alive and blah blah it produces “dopamine”, which leads to addiction to such stuff. Look at the number of people who are addicted to “Harry Potter” or “Game of Thrones”. These are similar. People just want to escape their boring daily lives and want to go into fantasy for at least some time. While “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones” tell upfront that they are “fake” and tell you those stories for entertainment purposes, these religious leaders and pseudoscience claimers use this to cheat and extract something or the other thing.

So, why does Nityananda or so-called incarnations of Gods do all these? Because how much you educate people about these, they’ll still go for it, because it’s hardwired in the human brain. These quacks in the Gods world are unsinkable rubber ducks and gullible people will always keep these guys alive. Nithyananda is a controversial figure in India who has gained a following among some people who are interested in his teachings and spiritual practices. However, he has also been accused of various legal and ethical violations, including sexual assault, kidnapping, and fraud.

People with their boring and ordinary lives seek such pleasure and tend to follow ‘gurus’ who can show them that (illusionary) path. A couple of thousand dollars is nothing compared to the blessings of these fake gurus. Some people claim that Jaggi Vasudev is the incarnation of Shiva Aadi Yogi? Do you believe in such claims? He is absolutely WRONG about his self-made perceptions of Shiva which he preaches to others. I don’t know what garbage lore he talks about, but in no authentic scriptures Shiva is said to be 16000 years old or nothing or that which is not. He is just a neo pseudo guru, who is a very good businessman. He is an influential and convincing talker who can sway gullible English knowing people who know nothing much about Shiva. Shiva does not mean falsifiable definitions one makes.

Remember God Shiva is inside everyone and everything as he is Parmatma, which resides in everyone. Essentially, everyone is Shivamay (element of Shiva) . ‘Indians’ have a very bad habit of treating and thinking of humans they ardently love or devoted to as ‘Gods’. We are all born from the same source of creation. You may call it Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu or any other name. We all are in a way “incarnation” of those deities because; the qualities that we appreciate in each of these deities are already present in us. It may not be quite apparent at first, but everyone is capable of being a creator — nurturer — destroyer (Brahma — Vishnu — Mahesh) in their lives. If you learn to find your God within you, you will never fall for the religious scams across and promote their illusions as bhakti and that itself is service to spiritual awakening. Those who have these Godly elements will be around you, holding you, sitting with you, guiding you and expecting nothing from you because that divine element in them will not allow them to compromise you on any level.  Such Godly humans are rare and if you find them you are blessed.