March 29, 2024

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For too long the world has witnessed the emergence of godmen from India. Some have indeed done some good work, but most have been associated with some controversies or the other. From Osho to Asaram, godmen have been associated with not only religion, but also corruption and power.
But why does Hinduism sees the emergence of so many godmen unlike Christianity or Islam? If you might see, even in Buddhism, we have someone who becomes a Dalai Lama, and this Dalai Lama is then treated as a godmen. Every sect of Buddhism has one spiritual entity like a Dalai Lama who happens to be a spiritual head.
The structure of the eastern and western religions are different. Christianity and Islam have a singular concept of God and that there can be only one omnipotent version of God and no other. Islam goes even further and says that Jesus was a messenger of God and not son of God, while christianity has only one version of God and Jesus being the son of God.
While eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism have a very fluid version of God. Hinduism goes even further and says that each of us can find a god in ourselves, we can see a God in anything, even animals. So technically if there are 1.5 billion followers of Hinduism, we can have 1.5 billion gods. Buddhism, like hinduism, has increased their portfolio of gods and they have about 33000 gods like the millions of gods in Hinduism.
So is this fluid concept of Gods good in Hinduism? The answer is both yes and no.
Yes, if the society is intellectual enough to understand the empowering sense of this fluidity. We can all find a God within ourselves. We can all question God and debate with him. We can improve and adopt good qualities and become gods in ourselves. It is the positive side of egoism that it boosts. It is very empowering at an individual level. In christianity, if you might remember, when an angel questioned God he was sent to hell and termed a satan. Yes the angel is Lucifer, the name which means ' bearer of light' , and he was termed a satan. In fact, Lutherans, the people who questioned God, were also termed evil and sons of satan. Therefore, an individual is subjugated to being a second rate in Christianity and Islam. This is the reason why people in the west find Hinduism and Buddhism very seductive as it is very empowering.
But if the society is ignorant, then this fluid concept of god is manipulated into deceiving people. The concept is twisted and the people are told that it is God who chooses certain people to be born as his avatar, to take his form. And therefore, a highly powerful, holier than thou concept of godmen are born. An ignorant and uneducated society is incapable of feeling empowered and therefore is forced to look for a powerful being who can be their guiding star. Therefore, by serving the basic needs of the poor, these demagogues are able to manipulate them and create a powerful following. The poor follow blindly what these godmen say, to the extent that they vote according to the wish of these godmen. That is why during elections you see politicians getting comfortable with these godmen and worshipping them. And the bribery paid by these politicians becomes the main source of earning for these godmen, apart from of course, land capturing, selling drugs etc.

Thankfully, this evil version of godmen is coming to an end in this country and we should see the emergence of a better form of Hinduism.

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