Essay on Godmen A Threat to Indian Society : India is famously known as land of Gods. But in the modern world today, 'Self-proclaimed Godman' are mushrooming up like weeds. They are bound to have a high profile presence which often attracts to their attention and support from large sections of the society. These charismatic Godmen also sometimes claim to possess paranormal powers such as to read minds, to predict and influence future and the ability to heal. These veiled Godman are also a threat to the cultural heritage of our country. With a vibrant heritage of Kabir, Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Sai Baba who have guided millions in the right road to spirituality taught the significance of religious unity and humanity.
Essay on Godmen A Threat to Indian Society
"What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall
reap in the harvest of action."
-Meister Edhe
India is famously known as land of Gods. Being a secular
state, India is house to many religions. People of our country are ardent
followers of some or the other religion. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christians, Jews
all live under the blanket of what covers India. One can easily find a temple,
mosque or a church at every kilometer distance across the country. And with
these, one can also find many priests and gurus to teach you the basics of the
religious texts and the antidote to lead a spiritual life.
But who are these gurus or Godman? Are they really God? In
mythology, Godman have a very significant reference. Rather, the whole of the
mythology of Lord Vishnu and his 10 incarnations is based upon the Godman. The
concept of Godman is not limited to Hindu religion only. Muslims regarded
Prophet Muhammad as their Godman. They also considered great sufis like
Moinuddin Chishti as Godman. In Jain religion, the 24 Jain munis are considered
as the incarnation of the God in the form of human beings. This religion is
based upon the concept of Godman. People across the 5 country also consider
Gandhiji as Godman for his immense contributions towards the society.
But in the modern world today, 'Self-proclaimed Godman' are
mushrooming up like weeds. They are bound to have a high profile presence which
often attracts to their attention and support from large sections of the
society. These charismatic Godmen also sometimes claim to possess paranormal
powers such as to read minds, to predict and influence future and the ability
to heal. These gurus are not just the preachers of God which people assume them
to be. They have turned into huge and powerful businessmen. With globalization,
these Godman are getting fame and followers, internationally too. Large amount
of money is being given in the name of ‘seva’ by these followers. They have a
well defined and managed social group. They come forth as the messengers of God
to root away the evil from the society by doing their deed of constructing and
running schools, colleges, hospitals, NGOs etc. This is usually done to
maintain their legitimacy. But no one knows how much filth is behind the scenes
as nowadays one or the other guru, aka, Godman are coming up in news for
exploiting and playing with the emotions and sentiments of people physically,
mentally and emotionally. Some examples of recent past include the names of
self-proclaimed Godman Aasaram Bapu and Gurmeet Ram Rahim, etc. In the name of
God, they had been harassing people and were involved in human trafficking,
organ transplant, women assault, prostitution, murders, black money laundering
and what not. Both these gurus were living luxurious life under their veils of
pure and pious souls. They were both multi-millionaires, drove luxury cars, had
plethora of land on their name. But as is said, in the end the truth prevails;
so while one was convicted for assaulting a 16 year old girl, the other was arrested
for raping two sadhvis. These self-proclaimed gurus are slowly becoming a
threat to the society. While these two high-profile gurus were in news, many
not so famous gurus are still engaged in several heinous crimes and are roaming
free in the society.
These veiled Godman are also a threat to the cultural
heritage of our country. With a vibrant heritage of Kabir, Guru Nanak Dev Ji
and Sai Baba who have guided millions in the right road to spirituality taught
the significance of religious unity and humanity. However, nowadays the Godman
are trying to introduce new evils to people including drug addiction, forced
prostitution and immorality. They are a big blot in the rich cultural heritage
of our nation.
They are also a threat to the democracy of our country. They
hold a control on many people who blind folded listen to them. Politicians
often approach these Godman for well mobilized mass who can be an added
advantage backing the electoral politics. Thus, political parties compete to
get the support of these high-profile Godman. They join hands to establish a
mutually dependent Party Godman nexus. Hero worship is often played upon by
these Godman and politicians. Ambedkar warned the people of the country about
the threat of hero worshipping in politics. He said, "Bhakti in religion
may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or
hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship."
We have saved ourselves from dictatorship but the involvement and influence of
these Godman in the name of religion into the political system still needs to
be checked and stopped.
However, not all the Godman in our country can be doubted
upon their integrity. Some are genuinely making an effort to make the society a
peaceful place. In a developing country like ours, the influence of these
Godman needs to be barred at a checkpoint, if the people actually want to leap
in terms of growth and development. These Godman have educated and uneducated
followers. Some of them have also found patronage among high profile
bureaucrats, politicians, celebrities, sportsmen and the likes. But, it is
entirely upon the people to understand and make out if they are being fooled
around or not. To counter the menace of these self-proclaimed Godman, social reforms
and laws should be set up and enacted in every part of the country. Socially,
there needs to be a revolution in the field of education as it is the only
anti-dote to these Godman. Quality and meaningful education to one and all will
ensure that people are able to distinguish between what is right and what is
wrong in the context of religions. Special Forces should be set up across the
country to check these so-called religious hermitages associated with the names
of these Godman and to counter any wrong being done at the ground level itself.
It is a co-joined effort of the people of the country and the government to
weed out these Godman who play havoc with the religious and national integrity.
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