It is good that a Tamil television news channel exposed the sex scandal involving godman Nithyananda. That people go after so-called swamijis whose numbers are growing by leaps and bounds is a shame. There are very few who contribute to the welfare of society. Most others build palatial ashrams with vast sums of money collected from the public and lead a comfortable life. They travel by luxury cars, go abroad frequently and spend time in luxury resorts conducting lectures and meditation camps. Their organisations get tax exemption and no one monitors their expenses.
It is time the government enacted a law making it mandatory for all charitable organisations and trusts to publish their audit reports on the Internet.
Murali Raghavan,
Cordova
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has done well to give sensible and much-needed advice to the media. His appeal to them to exercise restraint in telecasting visuals (such as those involving Nithyananda) which have a far-reaching effect on the youth is welcome. In the name of exposing misdeeds, the electronic media should not go overboard. It would perhaps be better to impose censorship on them to make them more responsible.
R. Madhavan,
Salem
Mr. Karunanidhi has rightly stated that the media should weigh the effect of the news reports they carry on society. It is not healthy to air obscene visuals during primetime to be watched by the whole family. Most families like mine, I am sure, were caught unawares during the Nithyananda exposé and had to frantically reach for the remote control device.
R.P. Durai Jasper,
Vellore
There was no need to show the disgraceful piece in such an elaborate manner. How many impostors a la Nithyananda we have seen! Yet people worship godmen blindly. The media should stop giving undue publicity and importance to such things when so many important issues need to be addressed.
R.P. Senbaga Poonguzhali,
Palakkad
The incessant telecast of the Nithyananda sex scam with an actress was unwarranted. The content should have been censored before being aired. The television channel should have spared a thought to the effect it would have on the minds of children who watch television during prime time. The government should issue strict norms on the telecast of sensitive issues.
S. Gangadharan,
Chennai
There is nothing surprising about one more godman being exposed. It is unlikely that anyone could have forgotten Premananda who is serving a double life sentence for murder and rape.
Anyone who claims to be a godman is likely to own a swanky car and lead a luxurious life in a huge house, which he calls an ashram. The educated and rich fall prey to his charms. Most godmen are of no use to anyone other than themselves. All those who went on the rampage on Nithyananda's ‘ashram,' I am sure, would have been his diehard followers. Shouldn't they have known that godmen are but human?
B. Thiagarajan,
Coimbatore
The ire of those who attacked Nithyananda's ‘ashram' is understandable. They probably felt let down. But then, Nithyananda is no god — he is human. The repeated telecast of the shameful episode involving him and an actress was in very poor taste.
P. Immanuel Amirtharaj,
Tiruchi
It is most unfortunate that a respected Tamil television channel, instead of giving importance to the immediate needs of the people, wasted its prime air time on an individual who is irrelevant to society and whose action, no doubt, deserves universal condemnation. Visuals such as those aired by the channel would have certainly polluted the minds of youngsters.
C.A.C. Murugappan,
Kothamanagalam
Nithyananda is the latest in the series of godmen who have been disgraced. Such men are a disgrace to society as they betray the trust of those who place faith in them. It is not that one has to be a celibate to preach spiritualism. But to extol the virtue of renunciation, on the one hand, and abandon oneself behind closed doors to pleasures, on the other, is bound to draw ire. Nithyananda's acts should strengthen people's resolve to stay off modern gurus or godmen.
R.G. Subbramanyam,
Vellore
