The writer (“ >India’s godman syndrome ,” Nov. 26) seems to have highlighted the wrongs by godmen in the name of religion and seems to be biased in his other observations. The word ‘godman’ in itself is wrong as there are only gurus. The media should take care to highlight the good work being done by many genuine gurus, instead of trying to scare the public into thinking that spirituality is dangerous. Spiritual wisdom is our nation’s wealth. Every profession has its fair share of fraudsters and traitors. In cricket, for example, we talk about the greatness of Tendulkar despite the murky dealings in the IPL.
Varun Vijaykumar,
Guruvayur
There is a causal connection between the rise of Hindutva politics and the increasing clout of godmen. The new breed of politician often identifies himself as a devotee, thereby providing godmen of all hues “visibility and respect”. For the perplexed common man steeped in perpetual economic misery, the godman is an ultimate straw to cling to. Nehruvian socialism and secularism have retreated with the scientific temper of the nation increasingly getting weakened due to the mindless infusion of regressive ideas in the curriculum and the thoughtless utterances of men in power. Unless obscurantist forces are beaten back and reason brought back to taking centre stage of the nation’s consciousness, godmen will continue to prosper by riding the wave of superstition
Manohar Alembath,
Kannur
It is the pursuit of answering the unanswerable that drives people to godmen. Science has its own share of limitations as it fails to quench queries regarding life and other related complexities. Scientists have confined themselves to answering worldly and material problems without reflecting on the inner-worldly despair of men.
I would also add that this is not entirely an Indian phenomenon. One can cite the example of Osho and his influence in America, which shows that all societies are vulnerable to such practices. While the theory of collusion between politicians and religious agents might be true, it has hardly influenced Indian voters.
Sudhakar Singh,
New Delhi
