Today’s Godman is Tomorrows God?
The website for Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam quotes the founder Paramahamsa Nithyananda as saying that “I am not here to say I am God. I am here to say you are God”. I know who I am. The last thing I consider myself as is god. I have dreamed of myself as a cricketer, a rock star and even the Prime Minister but never god.
The job responsibilities of a god are too much for me to handle. I have to make a lot of conflicting and contradictory statements which is not my nature. I also have to make a lot of predictions which I am not good at (the current value of my stock portfolio is one good example). And the compensation package is not what it used to be. Most politicians and business people make more money.
Religious plurality is one of the many things that I love about India. Unlike the United States (a predominantly Christian nation) India has hundreds of different religions. Hinduism which is the majority religion itself is a loose group that incorporates many different belief systems.
Religion in India is also very dynamic with new gods coming in and older gods (those who failed to deliver) shown the door (there is very little following in India today for some of the major gods and goddesses mentioned in the Vedas). India also allows for new godman and godwoman to claim their fair share of the market place.
Some of these individuals like Sai Baba are extremely successful while others like Paramahamsa Nithyananda get tripped up. Only the strong and those with the right public relations and political connections make it all the way (notice I used the word “strong” and not the word “true”). This is religious evolution at its best!
Following these new religious or spiritual leaders provides a live look at how what we call mainstream religions came into being. There is an established religious and or religious order. As individuals grew disenchanted with either the whole or parts of the old order, new orders and interpretations came into existence lead by dynamic individuals whom we today call God.
This is not a big issue in a country like India. We are comfortable with following the teachings of old and new gods and spiritual leaders. It is very common to see images of individuals like Sai Baba and Amma in our houses right next to traditional gods. But this is a big issue in some societies in the Middle East and in North America.
Some Christian groups in North America (particularly the evangelists and the Baptists) consider groups like the Mormons (that have large worldwide following) as heretics. Any group that deviates from the norm are labeled as “sects” and then prosecuted. Today’s sects are tomorrow’s religion. By prosecuting them we are trying to prevent competition to the thoughts and ideas that we currently believe in.
The controversy surrounding Paramahamsa Nithyananda makes me wonder whether we as a society are acting fairly. Cheating, corrupt, amoral and dishonest behavior is nothing new to religion. In fact most of our religious texts have very many stories and proclamations from gods, saints, prophets, angels and other holy men and women that many of us will find repulsive. But we still continue to believe in the system and try to lead a life as these holy men and women want us to.
I think that the answer is that we have become very rational beings today. We are skeptical of the great claims made by these individuals and there are many including the media that are willing to spend considerable amount of time “exposing” them. Once exposed the news travels very fast. But why are we not using the same degree of rationalism and skepticism to the gods and religions of bygone years?
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Category: Culture & Religion