Khushwant Singh writes

How does one react when a person who is a habitual drinker but does not buy his own drinks, as per his own admission, he depends on his benefactors who come to visit him to replenish his supplies. He writes bawdy jokes and semi pornographic stories to tintillate the baser senses of people and yet writes derisively of your Guru, whom crores of people revere.
I give below my reaction, which I have sent to the Editor of the Telegraph, who publish his column.

THE GODMAN IN TROUBLE

THIS ABOVE ALL - Khushwant Singh

As a one-time ardent watcher of television programmes on pravachans delivered by our godmen and godwomen, I came to the conclusion that most of them support right-wing Hindu political parties such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Their support of Hinduism is understandable, as all of them preach their own versions of this religion. But their right-wing leaning is less comprehensible. Some are outspoken in their support, others more subtle. Amongst the outspoken supporters is Asaram Bapu, now in dire trouble, charged with amassing property and abetting murders of his detractors. I don’t know much about his past except that he is a Sindhi settled in Ahmedabad, and at one time ran either a cycle repairing shop or perhaps a chai stall. He found preaching religion and goodness more profitable. He grew a long beard, wore loose white robes and cultivated the benign image of a bapu. He gathered a large number of admirers, built a large ashram with a temple and sponsored educational institutions.
I watched Asaram Bapu many times: he attracted huge audiences, composed largely of women, with a sprinkling of men. He could be quite amusing at times with his mimicry. He occasionally broke into songs in a totally unmelodious voice, but it did not seem to matter. Once I noticed the rajmata of Gwalior sitting in the audience, listening to him with rapt attention. Another time, it was Uma Bharti in the front row. At the end of Bapu’s discourse, Bharti stood up and said loudly in English: “Bapu, I love you.” Bapu beamed a rapturous thank-you smile. I wonder if Bharti still loves Asaram Bapu as she did a few years ago.


Sir,

I am surprised to read your piece "The Godman in Trouble" in your weekly column "This Above All" in The Telegraph of the 16th, January.
First of all I take offense at your calling him godman.
Is Jesus called godman or is Mohammed called godman?
They too were preachers.
Then why do you call Hindu religious preachers, godmen.
They are preachers(we call them Gurus and just for your information, "godman" is not a translation for Guru) who bring the word of God to you, just like Jesus or Mohammed.
It seems we Indians like to belittle our Hindu culture to ape the west and show we are forward looking, to win their acclaim and maybe some Booker Prizes. They would not dare do that with the Muslims. All their broadmindedness and secularism begins and ends with Hindu bashing.
Being connected to the media I thought you would have more sense to go deeply into any news before expressing your opinion.
First of all, I do not know from where you got the news that Asharam Bapu owned a cycle shop or perhaps a chai stall, maybe you had got your cycle repaired or taken a cup of tea. Talking so casually of a person who crores of people hold in esteem is the height of irresponsibility.
I would like to inform you that his father was a reputed businessman in village Vairani, Dist.Nabab in the Sindh province in Pakistan. They migrated like many other Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan after independence and settled in Ahmedabad. There they had a grocery shop where they sold mainly sugar..
Yes, he preaches religion like many other religious preachers in India.
Although you try to belittle these people whom we call Sants, they are the people who have kept our religion alive in India.
All other civilizations have been wiped out with time, be they the Greek, Roman, Egyptian or the Chinese.
In spite of being under subjugation first by the Muslims for four centuries and the British for three centuries, we have kept our culture, just because of these people.
Regarding the growing of beard, I don't see what is so offensive about that. You too sport a beard. At least he does not colour it like you, probably because you still have a weakness for girls and would like to hide your age.
He did not build a single Ashram.
All his Ashrams have been built on land donated by his followers and constructions made from donations by his followers.
Any expansion done has been necessitated to accommodate his increasing number of followers.
Instead of just depending upon the news purveyed by some channels. if you would have cared to look up his site at http://ashram.org/ , you would have got a more balanced view.
The campaign has been initiated by some disgruntled ex-sadhaks of the ashram who were sacked by Asharam Bapu for grievous misdeamour. They together with the owners of "Sandesh" paper have declared what the Muslims call a Jehad to defame Asharam Bapu.
An accidental death of two students of the Ashram Gurukul, in Ahmedabad, was seized by these people, with the "Sandesh" newspaper, with great alacricity to defame him. The main culprit was one Raju Chandak.
His intentions were exposed by a sting operation, conducted by two Sadhaks, at a great risk to their lives.
The result of the sting operation was aired by A 2 Z TV Channel. If you have not seen the programme, you could go to the Ashram site and see the video or I could send you a CD, which the Asram has made.In the telcast, he unwittingly boasts of his connections and his intention to defame Asharam Bapu to gain control of the Ashrams. He also states how the owners of "Sandesh" paper were involved with him.
When Raju Chandak found that his intentions were exposed, he stage managed the firing to again lodge an FIR to gain sympathy and harass Asharam Bapu.
Now, after this exposure, when the owners of "Sandesh" have more a less withdrawn from the disinformation campaign, I find that Raju Chandak has found a new sponsor in you.
Media people are known to publish news items of people if they supply a bottle of drink. How many bottles did Raju Chandak give you?
Regarding your snide remark that "he attracted huge audiences, composed largely of women, with a sprinkling of men", I would request you to visit one of his ashrams before making such frivolous comments. The men are there in equal numbers, if not more. However, you with your distortd and blinkered vision for only the fair sex, sees only the ladies everywhere.
He is amusing, he sings, he mimics and he also gives you ideas on health, both physical and spiritual.
Is it his fault if the monkeys see only the mimickery?
He holds your attentions for the full two to three hours that he is on the Vyaspeeth. It is a complete package to keep his audience spellbound in his discousrse.For you he sings in a totally unmelodious voice but for his sadhaks, nothing is more melodious. For you the tinkling of wine glasses and the mujras of baijis are more melodious.
Yes, the Rajmata, Uma Bharati, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi, L K Advani, Kamalnath, Lalu Yadav and many other leaders of all political parties have gone to his pravachans. I don't give much importance to that because politicians are fair-weather friends. As long as they they feel that by going to Bapu's pravachan and paying their respects, his followers will vote for them, they will go. Politicians going anywhere does not say anything.I consider them the worst scum of society
But the common man.
You go to any of his pravachans.
You will find people from all walks of life, sitting on the floor, listening to him attentively and participating with him in his bhajans.
Why?
Because they find peace when they are with him
Unfortunately, you find peace only with the bottle and the frock.
While Bapu purveys gyan, you purvey pornography and bawdy jokes.
How can you understand him?
I don't blame you.
At least have the sense of listening to the other view before expressing your opinion in bombastic language as if you are God.

Yours sincerely,

Radheshyam Sharma
188, Bangur Avenue,
B-Block,
Kolkata - 700055
Cell: 9331259878