Why Do Indians Believe In Godmen?

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Sant Nirankari Mission head Baba Hardev Singh died in a road accident in Canada on May 13. His funeral was attended by thousands of his followers and Delhi’s streets were clogged with traffic. His death was condoled by political and religious leaders too.

India is home to innumerable godmen and saints. It is impossible to estimate their number considering their reach and popularity.

Neither the march of science nor the spread of Marxist atheism has been able to erase the blind belief in the powers and missions of these spiritual gurus. India has an anti-superstition law to combat fraud by godmen, but their popularity continues unabated.

Many of these self-proclaimed godmen have been involved in scandals – financial and sexual or both.

One of the biggest scandals of recent times was the arrest of Asaram Bapu on charges of rape of a juvenile girl. Asaram Bapu was estimated to have two crore followers and controlled an empire worth more than five thousand crore rupees.

Sathya Sai Baba who died in 2011 and claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi had a trust which had amassed wealth close to Rs. 40,000 crores. The legal wrangling is still underway over who will control the trust after Sathya Sai Baba’s death.

But many in India still follow and believe in them. We ask the average Indian what makes them turn to a spiritual guru?