Mail Today, 19 June 2011
Editorial
Rich in body and spirit
THE revelation that the late Sathya Sai Baba’s personal chamber stocked nearly 100 kg of gold, 307 kg of silver and ` 11.56 crore in cash raises a couple of pertinent questions.
While it is laudable that the Central Sathya Sai Trust has been transparent about the recovery it must be asked what such assets were doing in the Baba’s personal chamber in the first place.
Given that it is donations which greatly help godmen build their empires, surely there must be a proper mechanism to streamline and store collections, especially since they, being the property of a charitable trust, enjoy tax exemptions? Are we to infer from this that the Sathya Sai Baba enjoyed the autonomy to divert such money as and how he wished? The other important issue is of the contradiction between what our godmen seek to convey with their saffron robes and otherworldly paraphernalia and what they seem to follow in their personal lives.
We thought spiritual people inhabited an exalted realm, being free of the allurement of material possessions. But the wealth that has been unearthed from the Baba’s chamber — incidentally called a ‘ mandir’— reminds us of the ill- gotten stuff that is recovered from the homes of tax evaders and corrupt babus.
The irony here should not be lost on those who repose deep faith in godmen, which in the case of Sathya Sai Baba includes luminaries from different walks of life.
The other day, Baba Ramdev, who had launched a campaign against black money, gave details about the trusts he runs, making no mention of the many companies that are a part of his business empire.
There is no getting away from the conclusion that most of this country’s godmen take their trusting followers for a royal ride which, even the devil would acknowledge, is the most heinous of crimes.
o o o
It pays to be a peddler of faith in India
12 crore in cash
22 crore worth of gold
1.64 crore in silver faith in India
This is what was found after Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s personal chamber was opened. He is not the only spiritual guru to have owned millions in cash & kind. A look at India’s other godmen who walked on the path of spirituality & became rich enough to rival a king
BABA RAMDEV
BORN: RAM KRISHNA YADAV
ASSETS: Patanjali Yogpeeth & Divya Yogi Mandir trusts, which run, among other things, Patanjali Ayurved College, Patanjali Chikitsalaya, Yog Gram, Goshala, Patanjali Food And Herbal Park, etc.
THE RISE and rise of Baba Ramdev makes the perfect plot for any Bollywood flick.
Born in a poor farmer’s family in Haryana, he used his knowledge of yoga asanas to build an enviable ` 1,100 crore empire.
Until 15 years ago, a struggling Ramdev was often seen on the streets of Haridwar, peddling his bicycle as he went to temples and people’s homes to teach them yajnas to make ends meet.
He was born to Gulabo Devi and Ram Nivas Yadav at village Ali Saiyad Pur in Mahendragarh district. He attended the local school in Shahjadpur till Class VII. Thereafter, he joined a gurukul in Khanpur village, where he studied Sanskrit and yoga. Eventually, he renounced worldly life, entered sanyas and assumed the name Baba Ramdev. Later, he moved to Haridwar and spent years studying ancient Indian scriptures at Kangari gurukul . In the mid 90s, Ramdev, along with Acharya Karamveer, established the Divya Yog Mandir Trust in Haridwar and gained worldwide acclaim through his morning yoga classes on a TV channel.
His empire today consists of over three dozen companies.
Raju Gusain in Dehradun
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MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI
KERALA’S ‘ hugging Amma’, Mata Amritanandamayi, may the richest godwoman in country.
Even by modest estimates, the Amritanandamayi Trust, which presides over, is said to have assets worth over ` 1,000 crore.
Amritanandamayi, who belonged to a backward Hindu community, embraced spirituality in her teens. Today, her ashram at her native Vallikavu, a small island off Kollam, is a posh five- storey building.
devotees.
across charged topnotch Under Amrita trust colleges, institutions courses communications.
are located Coimbatore, Prakash This Sai opened.
guru & who & Her trust’s fortunes come mostly from its numerous educational institutions — students are charged fees at market rates — besides a hospital, a TV channel and contributions from her millions of Indian and foreign devotees.
Amrita Schools are located across Kerala; students are charged the same fee as topnotch private schools.
Under the brand name of Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham, the trust also runs engineering colleges, business schools, and institutions offering post graduate courses in biotechnology and communications. These colleges are spread over five campuses located in Kollam, Kochi, Coimbatore, Mysore and Bangalore.
Prakash in Thiruvananthapuram
BORN: SUDHAMANI IDAMANNEL
ASSETS: Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham colleges, Amrita Institute of Medical Science ( Kochi), Amrita Schools, a TV channel
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SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR SRI SRI Ravi Shankar loves projecting himself as a messiah peace.
With an estimated 300 million followers in 151 countries, the Art of Living founder — who prefers to don white robes instead of saffron — indeed has qualms boasting that he has touched more lives that any other godman worth his salt.
Ravi Shankar was unheard of the early 1980s. Within three decades, however, he built an empire that is said to be worth several thousand crores today.
Born in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, in 1956, to Vishalakshi and R. S. Venkat Ratnam, Ravi Shankar started studying the Vedas when he was just six years old, his aides say. By the time he reached 17, he had completed studies in Vedic literature and science. Subsequently, he undertook a tour, meeting other spiritual leaders and in 1982, he established the Art of Living Foundation in Bangalore.
Soon, his ashram became a tourist centre, attracting millions of followers from across the globe.
But his ashram, on the Bangalore- Dindigul national highway, has come under its fair share of controversies.
Last July, NRI Paul P. accused Ravi Shankar’s trust of grabbing his land. Paul P. alleged that the trust had grabbed 15 acres of land for which he held the General Power of Attorney ( GPA).
But Ravi Shankar’s trust contended that it had purchased the land directly from the farmer and it was not aware of the GPA. That, however, has done little to dent Ravi Shankar’s following.
Aravind Gowda in Bangalore
BORN: RAVI SHANKAR RATNAM
ASSETS: Art of Living Centre ( Bangalore), Sri Sri Shankar Vidya Mandir Trust, PU College ( Bangalore), Sri Sri Centre for Media Studies ( Bangalore), Sri Sri University, Art of Living Health & Educational Trust ( US), etc.
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RAM RAHIM
THE Sirsa- based Dera Sacha Sauda was established by Shah Mastana Ji from Baluchistan in 1948, as a centre for spiritual learning. Today, the sect — which is headed by the controversial godman Ram Rahim Singh — owns large tracts of agriculture land, market complexes, swanky cars and boasts of several ashrams across India.
According to the Dera website, it has got more than 250 branches worldwide with its headquarters based near Sirsa, Haryana.
The sect claims to be a non- profit, charitable society, independent of any political or commercial affiliations.
The Dera also runs three specialty hospitals and an international eye bank.
However, it has received maximum publicity — or notoriety — through Ram Rahim.
The Dera chief is accused of murder, rape and sexual harassment and is currently out on bail. He is being investigated by the CBI and trial is on before a special CBI court at Ambala.
Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi
BORN: GURMEET RAM RAHIM SINGH INSAAN
ASSETS: Over 700 acres of agriculture land in Sirsa, a 175- bed hospital in Ganganagar, Rajasthan, gas stations, market complexes and over 250 ashrams across the globe
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SANT SRI ASARAM BAPU
AMONG all the living godmen in India, Asaram Bapu is one of the most controversial.
Besides several allegations of land- grabbing, there have also been whispers of “ sinister activities” at his ashrams, following the mysterious deaths of a few of his followers on the premises.
Asaram and his ashrams have been served several notices by the state governments, including that of Gujarat, for alleged land- grabbing. Even his main ashram at Motera, Ahmedabad, is said to be built on land acquired illegally.
In 2009, the Narendra Modi government admitted in the assembly that Asaram had encroached upon 67,000 square metres of land near Motera.
But most allegations have never been proved.
The trust headed by the controversial godman owns more than 350 ashrams in the country and abroad, besides 17,000 Bal Sanskar Kendras.
The first — and largest — ashram was set up in Motera along the banks of River Sabarmati in 1971.
Besides, the trust also has ashrams in New Jersey and other parts of the US, former media in charge of Asaram Ashram Uday Sanghani says.
The trust also generates its income through the production of puja materials, incense sticks, CDs, etc.
D. P. Bhattacharya in Ahmedabad
BORN: ASUMAL SIRUMALANI
ASSETS: Over 350 ashrams, with its headquarters in Ahmedabad; over 17,000 Bal Sanskar Kendras
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LONG GONE BUT LEGACY LIVES ON
OSHO
BORN Chandra Mohan Jain on December 11, 1931, in Kuchwada, Madhya Pradesh, he spanned a multi- million empire and gathered followers from all corners of the world.
His outspoken criticism of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi, institutionalised religion, as well as his open attitude towards sexuality made Osho aka Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh one of the most controversial gurus in the country, until his death in 1990.
In 1981, he relocated to the US, where he established Rajneeshpuram in Oregon. Four years later, he was deported back to India. His Pune ashram, the Osho International Meditation Resort, today attracts over two lakh people from all over the world each year.
MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI
THE GURU, who was born in Jabalpur as Mahesh Prasad Varma, achieved fame in the 1970s and became famous as the spiritual adviser to The Beatles and other celebrities.
He founded the Transcendental Meditation- Sidhi programme, which claimed to offer practitioners the ability to levitate and to “ create” world peace. When he died on February 5, 2008, his businesses were estimated to be valued at $ 2 billion to $ 5 billion. The real estate was valued at another $ 5 billion.
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