India has had a great tradition of spiritual thinkers such as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Shirdi Sai Baba, Swami Chinmayananda and Ramana Maharshi, to name a few who led simple and honest lives and never sought any power or wealth. They served humanity till the time of their death. But the present-day gurus (godmen and godwomen) are business savvy and have huge spiritual empires. They are surrounded by doting devotees who have implicit faith in their gurus and are not fazed by their weird behaviour. Some of them even exploit women sexually.
Their nexus with political leaders and bureaucrats is well known. Except for the saffron outfit that some of them wear and the fact that the product they sell is spirituality, they are no different from any other entrepreneur. It is embarrassing that many Indian godmen have political patronage, especially under BJP rule.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
