End of a stand-off

Is Sant Rampal a godman or a goonda? The way the crisis played out and the stand-off ended shows the dangers of political patronage for shady personalities. Human gods appear to be taking many for a ride. Incidents in the recent past show that many of these ashrams and retreats are but dens where vices of all kinds are practised.

Devadas V.,

Kannur

It is a pity that such self-serving gurus are able to accumulate a large following of the gullible and the spiritually-starved using the gift of the gab and political clout. Such gurus do more damage to religion and spirituality than adding any credit to the faith to which they belong. Central intelligence agencies need to keep their eyes and ears open.

S.V. Venkatakrishnan,

San Jose, California

When I was posted as an agriculture officer of a nationalised bank in Barwala, Hisar, I often met villagers and farmers, most of them unlettered, who were in awe of Sant Rampal and other self-styled godmen like him. I asked them why this was so, and the answer was simple. They were uneducated and had the urge to instantly unburden themselves of their daily problems. They found hope in such godmen.

Dheeraj K. Suthar,

Kanpur

While it may have been surprising that the police took so long to nab the godman, it was rather unwise for the media to have created such a furore. We must trust the abilities of our state forces within our territorial borders. With political backing they will prevail. We are not a failed, lawless state.

Srikant Sekhar,

Bengaluru

Did Swami Vivekananda, Nanak or Kabir ever have an army? Did they ever live a lavish life? People need to ask themselves why this is happening and stop supporting these modern godmen. If these godmen claim to have such stellar powers, why is India still experiencing poverty, hunger, corruption and inequality? There is no substitute for hard work. Godmen like Rampal are harming the economy by not paying taxes and wasting the time and money of people with their unproductive lectures. India needs good men, not godmen.

Varun Ghai,

Jammu