1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

What happens when a religious leader goes haywire?

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by ShailRaghuvansh, Mar 4, 2010.

  1. ShailRaghuvansh

    ShailRaghuvansh Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    436
    Likes Received:
    78
    Trophy Points:
    70
    Gender:
    Female


    It has happened over the years. Time has tested innumerable people for their beliefs every now and then. Not all have come out successful. Some, because they have held on to beliefs because it was the in thing. Some, because they have found some spiritual or religious heads attractive. And yet again, the so called religious gurus themselves who have made a mess of our religious system by their immature, inflammatory and lucid talks and actions about what human beings should do or believe in. This tragic flaw is not only evident in Hinduism which is one of the most ancient religions in the world. We have had instances when priests and nuns in convents have crossed the line of ethics that has been charted out for them ages ago. The same applies to other religions as well.

    What is it that makes some spiritual persons who are able to transform the lives of thousands to not be able to change their own lives for the better? (unless they think that the fame, fortune and having innumerable disciples is their way of transforming their lives for the better!!)

    What is it that makes religious heads to go overboard when it comes to the issue of sex and women?

    Is it the suppressed desire that suddenly rises from within when a female devotee is willing to give her all to show her loyalty or gratitude to her spiritual/religious guru? Why are they not able to practise what they preach? After all, when they have been elevated to the status of spiritual/religious guru, they are surely expected to follow the laws of society themselves! Otherwise, how else will they advocate decency, fidelity, and faith to the disciples? Or, do some disciples already presume that a guru is above this all and even when he/she asks for a sexual favour, it must be considered good fortune as if the Lords of the Heavens have demanded it so!

    It is but natural for a person in extreme distress to either approach a psychologist or a spiritual religious head. In our country especially, a religious guru is preferred as it is believed that he/she can do miracles which cannot be assured of in the world of medicine and psychology. But, what is the price to pay for the removal of distress. Monetary and sexual favours? Money wise, some people do not seem to mind it as they feel they would have had to shell out money anyway, if they had tried to solve their problems through other means. But what about sexual favours?

    When self respect is gone, what else is left even if your main 'problem' has been treated? It is like one disease taking the place of another and this one being more threatening and dangerous to not just the body but also to the spirit and the soul.

    Let's realize that even the godmen are mere mortals and are susceptible to moh-maya, lust and greed. Gone are the days when the siddhars were there to preach what the Gods had taught them. Very few genuine spiritual gurus really exist in the country/world. And even those, who are true to their faith prefer to keep to themselves to avoid all this disgusting mess.

    But, what about the devotees and disciples? One day, you elevate the godman so high that he begins to think that he is the Almighty Himself. And when someone tells you that the godman is a sex maniac you throw him down hastily?

    What I ask of the ordinary human being is:

    Where is your sense of reasoning?
    Where are the values that you have been taught for ages about ethics?
    Why allow some strange person to brain wash you when you can't even accept a piece of advice from a genuine friend or mate?

    It is something like the TATA Tea advertisement where the youth say that people take (bribes) because WE give it to them!

    Stop following these godmen blindly. Use the brains that God has given you.
    Surf through the thoughts and beliefs of the leaders you like and then decide for yourself what to use in your life. Becoming associated with any religious institution need not be a necessity.
    Work from the confines of your home, mind and heart.
    And do not carry your belief on your sleeve![



    I would love to know what you friends feel about this.

    Somewhere, sometime we need to clarify what genuine devotion and blind brain washing really is. Don't you think so?
     
    Loading...

  2. Mindian

    Mindian IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,330
    Likes Received:
    3,346
    Trophy Points:
    355
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi Shail,

    a hearty welcome to you in our snippets column.do take part actively and make this a lively corner :)

    You have started with a very interesting topic.:thumbsup

    I couldnt agree more with you.:thumbsup you have said it all.i only wanted to add that there may be a small percentage of leaders who do uplift the people(sorry somehow i do not like the term godmen..:) I would rather use that term for human beings who are like GOD sometimes) .the majority are out to fool the people and are we so stupid that we do not learn from past cases?

    What I ask of the ordinary human being is:

    Where is your sense of reasoning?
    Where are the values that you have been taught for ages about ethics?
    Why allow some strange person to brain wash you when you can't even accept a piece of advice from a genuine friend or mate?

    I
    Stop following these godmen blindly. Use the brains that God has given you.
    Surf through the thoughts and beliefs of the leaders you like and then decide for yourself what to use in your life. Becoming associated with any religious institution need not be a necessity.
    Work from the confines of your home, mind and heart.
    And do not carry your belief on your sleeve!


    i REALLY liked your message to ordinary mortals :)
     
  3. ShailRaghuvansh

    ShailRaghuvansh Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    436
    Likes Received:
    78
    Trophy Points:
    70
    Gender:
    Female
    Thanks Mindi for the warm welcome. So nice of you! :cheers

    Yes, I do agree that there are people who really are contributing towards the spiritual upliftment of the masses but as I mentioned, either they are quietly doing their job (how it should actually be done) or they are just away from all this mess.

    See you soon!
    :wave
    Shail
     
  4. Meenupanicker

    Meenupanicker Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    235
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Shail

    Its a very interesting topic.A warm welcome to IL and also snippets.

    Another confusing fact is that eventhough many of these people claiming to be having unknown powers are punished why the soceity again prefer flowing towards so called ashrams.

    In kerala the most recent scandal resulted in prisoning of the culprit and a lot of **** cds were captured by police from his residence.These included kanya pujas

    conducted by him which make those nude ladies (who were revealed by the media to be celebrities) famous.

    How pathetic is the situation??
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2010
  5. Tubelight

    Tubelight Bronze IL'ite

    Messages:
    584
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi Shail !

    You have given us a well written, lucid, comprehensive analysis of the shameful malady confounding our society. Bravo ! My response to it is a resounding "Aye" !
    Since I am congenitally biased against all swamis proclaiming themselves to be God or God's secretary, I declare without hesitation that people stupid enough to put their trust in every upstart that comes along, inspite of repeated exposures of fraud, deserve to have their trust breached. I see no 'betrayal' here. If you voluntarily install men of straw on divine alters, they have the right to throw dirt on your face.

    Our hoary traditions require sanyasis to lead spartan lives of severe austerity for good reason. A human body is a human body, till the Mind transcends it. This transcendence is not such a easy thing to achieve. We never hear of such misdeeds committed by seekers living in isolation ( himalayas,caves etc) because they have removed themselves physically from all intimations of sensory pleasures. Our Urban Godmen talk like ascetics,preach deprivation but live in the midst of sensory overload. Good food, plush mansions, classy travel and the ultimate intoxicants, Fame and Money. How can the mind control such a pampered body ?
    I would say, a dharmic householder enjoying all worldly pleasures who lives a virtuous, useful life is a bigger saint than rascals in religious masks.

    Nice to see you here, Shail. Hope to read more from you.
    :thumbsup
     
  6. ShailRaghuvansh

    ShailRaghuvansh Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    436
    Likes Received:
    78
    Trophy Points:
    70
    Gender:
    Female
    Thanks Meenu for the welcome and for sharing your views.:)

    Yes, I have read about that specific bit of news that you have mentioned in Kerala.

    The problem lies with the public that blindly believes in such stuff and such fake swamis who are nothing but selfish people out there to satisfy their carnal and materialistic desires.:evil:

    Why do women make their own lives miserable? Only when they start drowning :drowning in the mire of hurt and humiliation do they realize that they have been cheated. By the time, it is too late. You won't believe it. Still so many people believe that that this Swami was not in the wrong!:rant

    As you rightly mentioned, 'how pathetic is the situation!"

    See you soon Meenu!
    :wave
    Shail
     
  7. ShailRaghuvansh

    ShailRaghuvansh Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    436
    Likes Received:
    78
    Trophy Points:
    70
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi TL!

    Thanks a lot for sharing your views. I agree fully when you say,:iagree

    "a dharmic householder enjoying all worldly pleasures who lives a virtuous, useful life is a bigger saint than rascals in religious masks."

    The pity is that these so called swamis have learnt half baked vedic/spiritual knowledge. A moment comes in the course of their spiritual lives when the line between the spiritual and sexual ecstasy that they experience becomes too thin and it is here that they falter. No wonder, we hear of many cases where after years of practising austerity some priests, swamis and even nuns have gone back to a householder's life.

    It becomes disgusting when they influence thousands of people into this mire of blind faith and sex.:eek

    Hope to see you soon TL.

    Shail:wave
     
  8. Deaf woman

    Deaf woman Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    452
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    20
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi Shail,
    :welcometo IL and snippets.Watching tv last two days about the latest horror story of a guru,I too felt the same as you.I agree the problem lies with the followers but not with those tricksters.Let me put forth :my2cents here.
    I feel believing these guys is same as buying lottery ticket and imagining the instant riches .People are easily hoodwinked by these guys because they beleive these guys can change their lives instantly for the better.Its same like blaming lottery people for selling tickets.
    Stop following these godmen blindly. Use the brains that God has given you.
    Surf through the thoughts and beliefs of the leaders you like and then decide for yourself what to use in your life. Becoming associated with any religious institution need not be a necessity.
    Work from the confines of your home, mind and heart.
    And do not carry your belief on your sleeve!
    Thats the best advise .If everyone follows ,we will be free of these conmen .You conveyed a very good message .I would like to nominate this post for FP of the month.

     
  9. ShailRaghuvansh

    ShailRaghuvansh Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    436
    Likes Received:
    78
    Trophy Points:
    70
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi Viji,

    Thanks a lot for the welcome. It feels good to be welcomed by warm persons like you.:cheers

    I too watched the tv programme on the sex scandal and was disgusted to say the least.:rant
    Not that I hadn't heard of cases like these in the past, but every time it happens one hopes that this will be the last one, that people will not make such fools of themselves, that the world will not make use of religion and the sacred word to cheat people, that ethics will prevail, that at least good sense will prevail!!:bonk

    I am happy that you found my post worthy of nomination. :thankyou2:

    See you soon!

    Shail:)
     
  10. radsahana

    radsahana Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,218
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Shail,

    Believe it or not, while reading this thread, i was speaking to my mom in India, and she gave me news about "Nityananda Swami".:bowdown

    Even i hate, all so called godman, swamis and gurus. Somehow, from childhood, my mother had instill in us, that no swamis, or any human being parading as swami is greater and above God. Have faith in God.

    I dont know, why we people make ourselves of mockery:bowdown in front of such cheats and rascals. Why people throng them to seek what, i failed to understand that.?????
     

Share This Page