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A world on BABA RAMPAL of Satlok Ashram..
What is
the real story behind Baba's fall, for the benefit of my friends, I present the
inside story as briefly as possible.
Born as
Rampal Dass on September 8, 1951 in village Dhanana in Sonipat district of
Haryana Rampal had a modest beginning. His father, Bhakt Nandram was a farmer.
and mother's name is Bhaktmati Indradevi. After acquiring a diploma in
Engineering he joined as Junior Engineer in irrigation department of Haryana
Government. He was fascinated with religious activities since childhood
Over a period of time he met 107 year
old Swami Ramdev Anand who took him in as his disciple. After serving the
government of Haryana for 18 years, he left his job in 1995 and started as a
full time preacher. He propagated the teachings of Saint Kabir. In 1999, Rampal
established his Ashram Satlok after a philanthropic woman Kamla Devi in
Karontha village donated to him some land. Some where in that year he in his
usual style made some controversial remarks against Arya Samaj founder Swami
Dayanand Saraswati. This led to him and his followers crossing swords with Arya
Samajis resulting in years of litigation's over the issue.
On
July 12, 2006 a violent protest broke out between Godman Rampal's followers and
Arya Samajis. In that clash a young man got killed and a murder case was lodged
against Rampal and his followers. He along with many of his followers were
jailed in the case and later bailed out by legal process. Then some group of
lawyers had a tiff with Rampal's followers and they challenged the bail of Baba
Rampal. Rampal skipped court hearings 43 times since 2010. Smelling some political conspiracy or perceived threat to his life or for reasons best known to him, he kept delaying his arrest but with the change in political guard in the year 2015, he was arrested and is behind bars. His arrest happened after a
high voltage drama involving a huge amount of government machinery. This is the
short and long cut of why all hell broke lose for him when BJP came to power in
Haryana ?
Rampal can said to be a victim of religio-political
rivalry. As a Baba he had his own method of operating. He used to expose others
to prove his own authenticity. His USP was to lay bare one and all Babas
operating in the region. He laid stress on Kabir Ji as the most authentic
source of spiritual, moralistic and ethical knowledge, which is absolutely true
for all Bhakti Movement saints in north India as they all drew from Kabir and
without doubt Kabir happens to be the Aadi-Guru of neo religious thought in
North India.. So far so good but Satpal never failed to comment on all
neo-Babas as mere copy cats who picked up Kabir ji's words, reframed them as
their own and pushed it as their own original stuff.
It is well known to all scholars that moments like
the Nirankaris and Radha swamis are nothing but break-aways from main stream
Sikhism or Kabirism. It is a generally accepted fact that Radha swami and
Nirankari sects were started as a breakaway moment from Sikhs and the rest of
the jing-bang are either breakaway offshoots from the Sikh congregation of Guru
Nanak Sahib or that of an equally large congregation of Kabir Sahib called
Kabir Panthies or further breakaways from the original Nirankaris of Rawalpindi
or Radhawamis of Agra. Rampal propagated this fact to the masses with a gusto
and energy of a crusader. His satsangs were always a mix of imparting spiritual
discourse to his followers as well as a verbal bashing sessions aimed at all
his contemporaries in the business of GOD and spiritualism.
Rampal was bold and outspoken to the extent of being
raw. With a rural appeal and straight talk which came naturaly to him. He
openly proclaimed in his congregations that Sant Nirankaris and Ram Rahim Sirsa
wala were mere charlatans and openly criticised the Arya-samajis. He would go
in to lengthy details, quoting out of books to drive home the point to his
audience that these Babas had nothing new to offer. That these movements
started as a result of Guru-Droh. [Going against the Master, explained as
disciples breaking away from their main stream master and his teachings as a
result of personal ambition, some disenchantment or a difference of opinion.]
Let me shoot as now it is time to shoot my
intellectual guns as I take some hip shots at these Babas. Almost all founders
of the neo-congregations ranging from Babas as Mega as Sri Sri R.S to many
others spread all over north and central India are in fact Guru Drohis with
none of them being an original master. They are neither great geniuses or
socio-scientific reformers like Nanak nor crusaders like Guru Teg Bhahdur or
Guru Gobind who laid down their lives fighting social injustice. They are
neither great moralist poets like Kabir or Baba Bulleh shah nor lost in
devotion to divinity like Meera or Rama Krishna Parmahansa. They are not even
close to Maharishi Patanjali as yogic scientists and in my opinion not even
proper yogis. The smartest of the lot have taken some stuff from Patanjli's
basic system, repackaged it and branded it as their own for the simple pleasure
of neo rich and the up and about middle classes. They are not even honest about
their own teachings as there is a difference in their words and deeds. (Kahni
kathni ka antar). They are in fact ambitious power seekers, who as rightly
pointed out by Rampal did not find favour with their original masters as a
result of personal ambition or disenchantment at being ignored for the top
slot. Very few of them have even moved forward with the blessings of their
master to carry forward the franchise thus spreading the business better. That
is how they started their own schools/ KhanGaahs, Ashrams/Monasteries/
Deras/Congregations, which with time grew in flock and became huge
organisations.
Now a word on how these congregations graduate from
being a mere Dera, Khangaah, Monastery or an Ashram to a cult, a spiritual
movemnet, a sect, a following or even a religion. The strategy is to present
their own holy books and own symbols as substitutes for established Scriptures
and symbols. Example of this strategy is presenting Avtar Bani by Sant
Nirankaris as a substitute or a parallel of Guru Granth Sahib, Geeta Ramayan
Quran etc and outer symbols like color of dress, rosaries and lockets like Ram
Rahim's no '1' Locket replacing the 5K's of Sikhs and janeus of Hindus.
Personally, I am neither for nor against this strategy as there is nothing
alarming or new about it. This has been the strategy of all major religious
moments in the past as well.
What worries me and needs to be noticed by a sharp
mind and a roving eye is as to how glitter and drama are added to these sects
and their Gurus. With political patronage and every trick in the book of 'Event
Management' put in to practice these Babas soon gather followings running in to
lakhs and properties and assets running in to thousands of crores. Their lavish
life styles and palatial ashrams and their rubbing shoulders with powers that
be, attract hoards of hero worshiping poor masses to them. With this method in
place these ordinary run off the mill Babas establish themselves, as very
powerful opinion leaders in the minds of rural, semi rural and marginalized
folks.
Rampal used to present his arguments against the
Dera Sacha Sauda, Radha Swamis, Arya Smajis, Nirankaris and others hitting
straight and hard at his competition as he picked this or that book to
authenticate his salvos. Thus as he grew in popularity, picking out flock from
these parallel movements, he picked up many enemies.
He was destroyed, or stalled so to say as a result
of a deep rooted conspiracy hatched against him by BABAs and their political
friends. In simple words all that happened was the result of business rivalry
born out of business of selling God and presenting one self as his most
authentic merchandiser.
Every business has its unique risks involved..............
So has Spiritualism and Religion. This is the truth right from beginning. Even
the well established and legally sanctified religions of today are and were
nothing more than rebellious offshoots of established religious traditions,
some of today's breakaway rebels could be major religions of tomorrow.
The irony is that more you prosecute a rebel more
his fortunes smile. A simple Rebel called Christ when hung on a cross by the
Romans grew in to a huge religion called Christianity. This is was and shall
remain an eternal truth.
....Guru Gurunay aka Poet Balwant Gurunay.
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