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He was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1986. Among other honours, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 by the president of India (he returned the decoration in 1984 in protest against the Union government’s siege of the Golden Temple, Amritsar).

His acerbic pen, his wit and humour, and, most of all, his ability to laugh at himself, have ensured him immense popularity over the years.

This book is a definitive guide to distinguish frauds from gods and con men from godmen.

He simply places his observations before the reader, allowing him or her to draw his or her own conclusions.

Well versed in all the scriptures pertaining to every religion he talks about – ranging from Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism to Judaism, Christianity and Islam – Khushwant Singh quotes liberally, and with perfect ease, from the Adi Granth, Adi Sankaracharya, Upanishads, Koran, Bible and other holy books to buttress his arguments.

Khushwant, in his inimitable style, tackles all issues related to religion, organised religion, faith, blind faith, new cults, and new movements – in other words, he charges like a raging bull to attack the epidemic of gods and godmen that has swept the nation in recent years.

About ten years ago, a book entitled Lord of the Air was published by Vikas. It was written by a young American disciple who had taught in one of Sai Baba’s institutions. It had many unpleasant things to say about him and the affairs in Puttaparthi. Within a few days of its publication the book disappeared from the market – all copies were presumably bought and destroyed. Why?

Within a few days of its publication the book disappeared from the market – all copies were presumably bought and destroyed. Why?

Within a few days of its publication the book disappeared from the market – all copies were presumably bought and destroyed.

But I am entitled to make my own guess.

Fortunately, he has given up performing magical tricks like regurgitating Shivalingas and producing vibhuti – holy ash from his hands, many magicians can do the same.

It can’t be denied that godmen and women have also done a lot of good work and brought mental comfort in the minds of their followers. Sai Baba has set up schools, colleges and hospitals. He could not have done so if he did not give his followers something in return.

The guruji replies: Bas, Ram nam japna/paraya maal apna. (Only to take the name of God/And the wealth of my disciples.)

Of the same ilk is Dhirendra Brahmachari who at one time had free access to the Nehru-Gandhi household, owned his own aeroplane, imported cars, a herd of Jersey cows and a gun factory.

It is estimated that any time there have been upwards of 500 men and women who were accorded the status of gods on earth.

mortals claiming to be Gods.

Why gurus flourish in India more than in any other country has been explained by Peter Brent in his classic study of the subject Godmen of India. He writes: “In. the west we are free to work for the approval of those we love and respect. Not so in India … for Indians of the middle class, there are only two directions they can go to prove that they can love, and be loved. One is towards homosexuality, the other towards the guru – the two not being mutually exclusive.”

I have come to the conclusion that gurus and godmen are meant for people who are unsure of themselves, troubled in mind and faced with problems which they are unable to solve on their own efforts.

I have come to the conclusion that gurus and godmen are meant for people who are unsure of themselves, troubled in mind and faced with problems which

have come to the conclusion that gurus and godmen are meant for people who are unsure of themselves, troubled in mind and faced with problems which they are unable to solve on their own efforts. Why gurus flourish

However, none of this has shaken my agnosticism.

had great respect for Acharya Rajneesh as a scholar and read whatever I can of his writings.

It continues to amaze me how men and women, otherwise with high intelligence quotients (e.g. Nani Palkhivala, a disciple of Sai Baba) continue to indulge in sadhu worship and believing in astrology. However futile the blessings they receive and however wrong the predictions made prove to be, nothing seems to shake their faith in the irrational.

had hoped that Rajiv Gandhi would not succumb to pressure from his superstition-ridden advisers, and like his grandfather, have nothing to do with these archaic practices.

Havans and other kind of religious rites began to be performed regularly. It was evident that she felt insecure and sought assurance from these men and performed whatever rites they prescribed.

It is significant that despite the blessings all three men lost at the polls that followed and Rajiv Gandhi had to step down from his prime ministership.

before the foundation-stone of the Hindu temple was to be laid in Ayodhya.

“There is one man here from Australia who asked me a question ‘What do you think about Mataji Nirmala Deviji?’

They talk as rivals in the god business: what they sell is the genuine stuff, what their rivals sell is spurious.

the Kundalini means nothing to me nor the various methods presented to rouse it to supreme heights. To me it is a lot of hocus-pocus.

A though professedly an agnostic I go out of my way to meet men and women who claim to have divinity and are worshipped by thousands as incarnations of the Divine

What lessons can we learn from the fates of such reform movements? First is that money corrupts men as well as institutions. And second, that men or women who preach religion should set an example by practising what they preach and refuse either to own property or have control over it. In short, money and religion don’t mix. It is easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle than preach morality from a pulpit.

Instead of carrying on the mission, most of these acharyas grabbed whatever they could lay their hands on (one ate out of a gold plate and drank out of a gold goblet) and treated their followers like slaves.

decided to spread the gospel of the Gita in the United States.

The Radha Soami movement started in Agra. It spread to the Punjab where a separate sect with a guru of its own was established in Beas. Then the Beas sect split and there is a third Radha Soami camp.

Gurudwaras became dens of corruption. Mahants and jathedars fought over their control for no other reason than grabbing offerings made by worshippers. We see the spectacles in all its sordidness in the squabbles over the control of the SGPC which has an annual budget of over Rs 12 crore and the wranglings between jathedars to preside over the takhts (thrones).

Mahants and jathedars fought over their control for no other reason than grabbing offerings made by worshippers. We see the spectacles in all its sordidness in the squabbles over the control of the SGPC which has an annual budget of over Rs 12 crore and the wranglings between jathedars to preside over the takhts (thrones).

There were a few exceptions like Sikhism which saw a succession of ten gurus. It narrowly escaped going on the rocks as rivals laid claim to guruship and their tax collectors (masands) mulcted followers for money. In the end the last Guru, Gobind Singh, had no option but to call a halt to the succession of gurus and vest guruship in the entire panth.

There were a few exceptions like Sikhism which saw a succession of ten gurus. It narrowly escaped going on the rocks as rivals laid claim to guruship and their tax collectors (masands) mulcted followers for money. In the end the last Guru, Gobind Singh, had no option but to call a halt to the succession of gurus and vest guruship in the entire panth. However, he only

If our self-styled Jagadgurus woke up to their responsibilities towards their flock, there would be less desertions to other faiths.

What the Sankaracharya and others of his way of thinking are not willing to face is that while Christian mission engage in social service of which Mother Teresa is the supreme example, no other religious organization – Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh – comes to work among the destitute, distressed and the discriminated against. Naturally quite a few people turn to Christianity as their last refuge.

What the Sankaracharya and others of his way of thinking are not willing to face is that while Christian mission engage in social service of which Mother Teresa is the supreme example, no other religious organization – Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh – comes to work among the destitute, distressed and the discriminated against.

I throw an open challenge to the Sankaracharya to name one individual who was converted to Christianity by Mother Teresa. What the Sankaracharya has alleged is a palpable lie.

I proved to be a very inept pupil. She sensed that I was not relaxed. “Have you emptied your mind of all thought? Or, are you worried about something?” she asked me. I replied quite honestly, “I was thinking that if my wife walked in and saw me holding hands with an attractive girl in the dark, no amount of explaining that this was a yoga lesson would appease her wrath.”

She gave me a short introductory talk on the mortality of the body and the immortality of the soul, the necessity of detaching the two by concentrating on breathing as if it had nothing to do with my body: the body depends on the breath to survive, not vice versa. Breath is made of the soul-substance which is immortal. Hence the first thing to do is to regulate breathing; the second to empty the mind of all thoughts.

Kanta Advani was not the same person I had met in Delhi’s dinner parties and played golf with

Colonel Pak maintained that it is not the role of science to prove the existence of God because science deals with matter and God is not matter. Matter has been broken down by scientists into particles, sub-particles, atoms, molecules – till nothing of matter remains except energy. Scientists believe in cause and effect and in the existence of a primal or first cause from which everything else follows. Einstein established that matter and energy are intraconvertible. When asked about the spirit, he said that it was not for scientists but for philosophers to answer questions about the spirit. Colonel Pak argued that all objects must have purpose and necessity; the universe was made by somebody who had purpose and design. It did not come about by an accident and therefore the power that made it must have had a purpose in doing so and the will to project itself. This was the cosmic mind which existed before creation. That cosmic mind is God. I found Colonel Pak plausible but came away as firm in my agnosticism as I ever was.

I provoked him by asking him that since he talked so much about God, he might tell us what God is like. There was nothing very original in the first part of his reply. God is good, almighty, omnipresent, eternal, unchanging, unique. Since these assertions did not answer my question the Colonel devoted the second part of his answer to expounding why he believed God exists and chastised the increasingly sceptical attitude that God is either dead or helpless. His argument went somewhat as follows: You cannot see or touch God; you cannot take His snapshot. But there are other phenomena which you also cannot see, touch or photograph whose existence you nevertheless accept. You cannot see the air or electronic waves and yet you can record the velocity of air and receive sounds emitted by electronic waves on your radio and television. Like other invisible phenomena the existence of God can be established by scientific experiment, reasoning and above all by experience. You cannot see or touch your mind, but you know it is there. You cannot see or touch your mother’s mind but you know her love for you is there. Similarly you can know that God exists by using any one or all three methods – the scientific, the logical and the pragmatic.

You may not agree with anything he says but once he starts speaking you stay glued to your chair till the end.

provoked him by asking him

You may not agree with anything he says but once he starts speaking you stay glued to your chair till the end.

their tan (body), man (mind) and dhan (worldly wealth).

India has been in the Godman business longer and continues to produce more of them than any other country of the world. Their pattern of business has not changed over the years: first they establish themselves in India, and having done so, extend their activities to foreign market.

I may have no religion myself but I am willing to take up cudgels on behalf of anyone whose right to propagate his faith is denied to him. All said and done there is not all that differences between believers and agnostics.

So far the Madras High Court has stood by them. But with envious neighbours, a supine administration and a corrupt police they fight against heavy odds.

More than that it has become valuable real estate worth many crores and cynosure in the eyes of their neighbours who know that all they have to do is to have the couple expelled or murdered to enrich themselves. They’ve tried both.

Yogi Manohar is a grihasthi (householder) with a wife and five children.

they are out hunting for an Indian guru who will put then on the right path of nirvana.

is no evidence of his having been ‘educated’. He ate almost nothing for months on end, yet his energy was boundless.

What distressed me more than my ‘closed mind’ was the realization that a person whom I had known as a friend for over three decades now spoke a language I could not comprehend. There was a total breakdown of communication.

He ate almost nothing for months on end, yet his energy was boundless.

She sent me a book on yoga and meditation. And was disappointed when I did not respond. She accused me of having a closed mind.

She held her ground and remained impervious to my arguments.

Being an agnostic I needled her about accepting Christian dogma without questioning some of its assumptions.

Amongst Krishna Datta’s followers are doctors, lawyers, and professors. Who am I to question their convictions?

He has his own interpretation of the Mahabharat and the Ramayan.

Even the sceptic would concede he is a master ventriloquist.

Even the sceptic would concede he is a master ventriloquist. What he says warms the hearts of his audience:

He may not have received any formal education, but he quotes Sanskrit scriptures extensively, and is fully conversant with Hindu mythology.

He may not have received any formal education, but he quotes Sanskrit scriptures extensively, and is fully conversant with Hindu mythology. He

The parents regarded him as a wastrel and often chastised him.

Last year my security guard, Sita Ram, a UP Jat, gave me some tapes of pravachans (sermons) by a man he held in great reverence.

The Shastris took me to many seances.

The photographer’s attestation bearing a date certified that he had taken the photograph of only Dr and the second Mrs Shastri but when he developed it, the first Mrs Shastri had mysteriously appeared on the negative.

He is up most of the day and night and only takes an occasional cat nap. The rest of the time he is talking or reading.”

I gave up the battle – he had too many words in his armoury for me to contend with.

He discarded my question as irrelevant as it was based on the assumption that everything had a cause

“I go along with you in rejecting accepted beliefs, but then how do we explain existence?”

Actually, it was more of a monologue than a dialogue. After saying that he had nothing to say, no message to give but only respond to questions put to him he proceeded to deliver a long oration denouncing Sai Baba, Rajneesh and their followers.

He is an incredibly handsome man and looks closer to 50 than the actual 72.

He is an incredibly handsome man and looks closer to 50 than the actual

What irritates UG, as he is known, is that despite his denunciation of religion and godmen, a growing number of religiously inclined men and women hang on to every word he says and regard him as a modern messiah.

I share many of his disbeliefs – in God, prophets, scriptures and organized religion – distrust of godmen and utter contempt for their gullible followers.

God, love, happiness, the unconscious, death, reincarnation and the soul are non-existent figments of our rich imagination;

The lady, Valentine deKerven, was in her early sixties. UG was 17 years her junior.

‘the biggest mistake’ of his life, he remained married for 17 years and sired four children.

He is handsome, into discourses and dialogues, writes books and has a philosophy to propound.

is handsome, into discourses and dialogues, writes

He writes under the name of Maitreya (compassionate friend). His first book of revelations is being widely discussed in esoteric circles. It is called the Gospel of Peace: Scripture for the Age Peace and Enlightenment

It was after the Handas migrated to Canada that tragedies struck the family. Their 23-year-old son was killed in a car accident; his wife deserted him, his father died of grief and his mother was stricken by cancer and he developed heart trouble. He describes it as the “Dark Night of the Soul”. His soul cried out, “I want to be an empty jar,” i.e. empty out the grief within him.

It was after the Handas migrated to Canada that tragedies struck the family.

“In an instant I saw a dot of light, light celestial somewhere far away but within me … for me a new dawn had began,”

On the surface all seemed well in his life but inside him was turmoil.

Once more she took me in her embrace kissed me tenderly murmuring, Namo Shivaye, Namo Shivayel" And once more, I had to hold back my tears.

Once more she took me in her embrace kissed me tenderly murmuring, Namo Shivaye, Namo Shivayel" And once more, I had to hold back my tears. As

“If there is God, tell me why bad things happen to good people?” She replied, “To the God-fearing it is fate; it is punishment for evil deeds done in past lives. To the non-believer it is an accident. If a child is born blind, the believer will ascribe it to sins committed in its previous life, the non-believer in some hormonal deficiency in the parents.”

“To the God-fearing it is fate; it is punishment for evil deeds done in past lives. To the non-believer it is an accident. If a child is born blind, the believer will ascribe it to sins committed in its previous life, the non-believer in some hormonal deficiency in the parents.”

Fear and Ploy

“Denying God is like lying on the ground and spitting to the sky. The spit will only fall on your face.” She replied gently but firmly.

“I don’t need God to make me good. We can sustain from others without believing in God.”

don’t need God to make me good. We can sustain from others without believing in God.”

Take a simple example. Mix sugar with white sand. You will not be able to sift one from the other but an ant will unerringly take the sugar and leave out the sand.”

“It is not only through personal experiences that you realize everything. You have to accept the experiences of sages and rishis who train themselves to attain mystic knowledge.

“You cannot totally rule it out,” she continued, “in any case, it serves a useful social purpose. You tell a child that if he lies, it will go blind. It is not true but a useful ploy to keep it on the path of truth.” “There may be some justification to keep the illiterate masses on the right path by frightening them of consequences. But that does not apply to a thinking person. I am quite happy to admit I do not know.”

“You cannot totally rule it out,” she continued, “in any case, it serves a useful social purpose. You tell a child that if he lies, it will go blind. It is not true but a useful ploy to keep it on the path of truth.” “There may be some justification to keep the illiterate masses on the right path by frightening them of consequences. But that does not apply to a thinking person.

“You cannot totally rule it out,” she continued, “in any case, it serves a useful social purpose. You tell a child that if he lies, it will go blind. It is not true but a useful ploy to keep it on the path of truth.” “There may be some justification to keep the illiterate masses on the right path by frightening them of consequences. But that does not apply to a thinking

“You cannot totally rule it out,” she continued, “in any case, it serves a useful social purpose. You tell a child that if he lies, it will go blind. It is not true but a useful ploy to keep it on the path of truth.” “There

“I ask because I do not know, I do not believe in life hereafter because there is no evidence to support it,”

I said before, is the enormous warmth which oozes

how while in a trance she was declared dead for eight hours.

Needless to say, much gossip and scandal was spread about the goings on in this math.

She was wayward and often went into trances.

She was born on 27 November, 1953. She was a precocious child and was able to talk when only six-months-old. And run around before she was two.

She is the second daughter of a family of eight children belonging to a tribe of fisher-folk.

She was a precocious child and was able to talk when only six-months-old.

This was the 36-year-old Sadhvi, worshipped by millions of her devotees as Mata

As I bent low to touch her feet, she hauled me by my shoulders and took me in her embrace. She kissed me on both sides of my chest murmuring Namo Shivaye, Namo Shivaye!"

“Death is no concern of ours, for when we are present, death is not present, and when death is present, we are not.”

He tried to overcome fear of dying and make terms with death.

He spells out the practical steps one has to take to discover one’s true identity. The best time is when you’ve had a serious setback in life: death of someone very close to you or rejection in a love affair. “Then is the time to go off alone. You cannot find yourself amid other people. You merely find them,” he writes. You are best alone in your own room on your own bed.

He spells out the practical steps one has to take to discover one’s true identity. The best time is when you’ve had a serious setback in life: death of someone very close to you or rejection in a love affair. “Then is the time to go off alone. You cannot find yourself amid other people. You merely find them,” he writes. You are best alone in your own room on your own bed. He writes:

Aubrey did not yield to his mother’s incestuous desire for him. But it obviously left a deep psychic impact on him.

After a terrible row with her husband, she came to her son’s bedroom for solace.

I was not upset. I held very advanced views about sex; in fact, I held very advanced views about everything. But I imagined that my father would be furious.’

She became exceedingly hospitable to visiting Indians, particularly students.

an adventure. She became exceedingly hospitable

“I first became aware that my mother had carnal thoughts about me when I was about 16.

What evidently contributed to the change was his mother who became flagrantly unfaithful to his father and even tried to seduce him.

I could sense there was something very effeminate about this handsome young man of light-brown complexion.

if he knew this man who spelt his name Menen.

the Brahma Kumaris have gone from strength to strength, remain united and no scandals, financial or others, have sullied their reputation.

Brahma Kumaris (and Kumars) are strict vegetarians (I approve of that) and take vows of celibacy (which I do not approve of) and spend some time of the day in meditation (which I do not understand).

A little later he had another mystic experience in his own home temple. His wife Jashoda and daughter-in-law were witness to it.

He felt it was time to let women play the leading role in uplifting humankind. A mystical experience caused him to abandon his business and take to preaching.

He felt it was time to let women play the leading role in uplifting humankind.

He got the call for spiritual regeneration in middle age.

Her reply is invariably the same: “I want you to give me not one but five gifts: your kaam (lust), krodh (anger), loabh (greed), moh (self-love) and ahankaar (ego).”

was intrigued by these ladies in white saris going about in groups asking for nothing besides time to listen to the message of their founder Dada Lekh Rai and accept them as your sisters.

This seemed to me somewhat farfetched. I refrain from passing judgement till I see her next year walking into my apartment without limping.

“Our cures are very simple,” she assured me. “If the right side of your nostril is blocked, you put your left hand in your right armpit and blow through your nose as hard as you can. It will be clear in a few seconds. If your ears are clogged, clinch your nostrils with your thumb and index finger and blow. They will clear.”

I am sceptical about such claims. I became more disbelieving as she spelt out her therapy. “Tension causes disease. First you locate the source of conflict inside you. Confront it and teach yourself how to relax. Then chant loud and clear “Om Aarogyam”. She chanted the two words several times till the echoes reverberated in my apartment. I became uneasy. Was she nutty?

You put me in touch with some foreign organization doing research on AIDS and I will prove the efficacy of my method.”

“The disciples were full of questions about God. Said the Master, ‘God is unknown and the Unknowable. Every statement made about Him, every answer to your questions, is a distortion of the Truth.’ The disciples were bewildered. Then why do you speak about Him at all?’ ‘Why does the bird sing?’ said the Master. How then does one get to know God?” De Mello answered the question with a fable about a temple on an island: The temple had stood on an island two miles out to sea. And it held a thousand bells. Big bells, bells fashioned by the best craftsmen in the world. When a wind blew or a storm raged, all the temple bells would peel out in unison, producing a symphony that sent the heart of the hearer into raptures. But over the centuries the island sank into the sea and, with it, the temple and the bells. An ancient tradition said that the bells continued to peal on ceaselessly, and could be heard by anyone who listened attentively. Inspired by this tradition, a young man travelled thousands of miles, determined to hear those bells. He sat for days on the shore, opposite the place where the temple had once stood, and listened – listened with all his heart. But all he could hear was the sound of the waves breaking on the shore. He made every effort to push away the sound of waves so that he could hear the bells. But all to no avail; the sound of the sea seemed to flood the universe. He kept at his task for many weeks. When he got disheartened he would listen to the words of the village pundits who spoke with unction of the legend of the temple bells and of those who had heard them and proved the legend to be true. And his heart would be aflame as he heard their words … only to become discouraged again when weeks of further effort yielded no results. Finally he decided to give up the attempt. Perhaps he was not destined to be one of those fortunate ones who heard the bells. Perhaps the legend was not true. He would return home and admit failure. It was his final day, and he went to his favourite spot on the shore to say goodbye to the sea and the sky and the wind and the coconut trees. He lay on the sand, gazing up at the sky, listening to the sound of the sea. He did not resist that sound that day. Instead he gave himself over to it, and found it was a pleasant, soothing sound, this roar of the waves. Soon he became so lost in the sound that he was barely conscious of himself, so deep was the silence that the sound produced in his heart. In the depth of that silence, he heard it! The tinkle of a tiny bell followed by another, and another and another…. and soon every one of the thousand temple bells was pealing out in glorious unison, and his heart was transported with wonder and joy. If you wish to hear the temple bells, listen to the sound of the sea. If you wish to see God, look attentively at creation. Don’t reject it; don’t reflect on it. Just look at it.

If you wish to hear the temple bells, listen to the sound of the sea. If you wish to see God, look attentively at creation. Don’t reject it; don’t reflect on it. Just look at it.

“The disciples were full of questions about God. Said the Master, ‘God is unknown and the Unknowable. Every statement made about Him, every answer to your questions, is a distortion of the Truth.’

Book

The Song of the Bird.

The Song of the Bird. The book did not carry the name of the author,

He did not believe in dogma nor the literal interpretation of any scriptures.

I am inclined to agree with Kamath that De Mello is worth his weight in gold.

He succumbed to a heart attack while on a visit to Fordham University. He was 56 then.

Printed on one of the pages was an excerpt from a review written by M.V. Kamath in The Times of India. It read: “If you ask me which two books I would care to take with me if I am stranded on an island, I would choose Wellsprings and The Song of the Bird. Not the Gita or the Bible,

read: “If you ask me which two books I would care to take with me if I am stranded on an island, I would choose Wellsprings

One afternoon I listened to three of them. I was enchanted.

why are some born in rich homes, others in poor houses? Why are some born healthy, others blind or sickly? If we accept the theory of only one life, we cannot explain such god-inflicted injustice.

why are some born in rich homes, others in poor houses? Why are some born healthy, others blind or sickly? If we accept the theory of only one life,

am sorry Swamiji, this does not convince me at all. I am happy to wallow in my ignorance and admit, I do not know where I come from, why I am here, where I will go when I die?

am sorry Swamiji, this does not convince me at all. I am happy to wallow in my ignorance

Bannerjee’s book on the subject listed cases of children who recalled incidents of their previous births which, according to Swamiji, were all found to be authentic. I also read Bannerjee’s book and met him. I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that not one of the cases cited by him could be established as authentic. Rajasthan University itself ordered the institute, to be wound up and instituted proceedings against Bannerjee. The so-called research into para psychology, extrasensory perception (ESP) was found to be a massive hoax.

We are left with only one of the three means of acquiring this knowledge viz. by inference (anumaan pramaan).

I am in agreement with him.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam, though they have the concept of the day of judgement, when the dead will rise from their graves, subscribe only to one life not an unending

The concept of birth-death and rebirth is unique to Indian-born religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, said Swamiji.

am I to be extinguished like a lamp never to be relit?

As the time for my own departure draws near, I find myself more and more tempted to believe in an afterlife: will I be around in the world 20 years from now in new vestments as the Gita assures me?

“What Bhoonathji hath brought together, let no man cast asunder!” A faint smile of embarrassment spread over Vimla’s lovely face.

He blessed the two of us and produced a stream of fresh cardamoms from his sleeves as prasad. We touched his feet and took our leave.

He blessed the two of us and produced a stream of fresh cardamoms from his sleeves as prasad. We touched his feet and took our leave. On the way back, I

He blessed the two of us and produced a stream of fresh cardamoms from his sleeves as prasad.

If she worked in the same office, it must be some kind of a liaison.

He tried to work out our relationship. She was too young to be my wife.

We were ushered into a room crowded with Bhootnathji’s admirers.

A meeting was set up for me at Shri Bhootnath’s temporary residence in Bombay.

One incident in which both of us were involved remains imprinted in my memory.

She was extremely conservative and put men who tried to take liberties with her in their places.

Then a buxom American lass who introduced herself as Uma Berliner came to see me and told me how she had been saved from drugs and permissive living by Muktananda. That made sense to me because I believe that our gurus and saints can heal sickness of the mind better than modern psychiatrists. Uma insisted that I have darshan of her guru in his ashram. “Any pretty girls around?” I asked trying to put her off. “Lots. Come and see for yourself,” she replied.

After Bombay’s ear-splitting noises, the peace and quiet of Ganeshpuri made it seem like a paradise on earth.

hot water sulphur spring added to its many attractions.

Whichever way you looked you saw temple spires rising above the green of the jungle.

There was a gentle knock on the door. It was Datta Bal and his cousin. I was acutely embarrassed. I did not have anything to offer them: no soft drinks, not even a bottle of cold water in the fridge. All I had was whisky which, in the absence of soda or ice, I was drinking neat. I explained my predicament. “Why can’t I have what you are having?” asked Datta Bal and quoted the Bible, “It is not what goes in a man that matters but what comes out of him.” We drank undiluted

There was a gentle knock on the door. It was Datta Bal and his cousin. I was acutely embarrassed. I did not have anything to offer them: no soft drinks, not even a bottle of cold water in the fridge. All I had was whisky which, in the absence of soda or ice, I was drinking neat. I explained my predicament. “Why can’t I have what you are having?” asked Datta Bal and quoted the Bible, “It is not what goes in a man that matters but what comes out of him.”

was acutely embarrassed. I did not have anything to offer them: no soft drinks, not even a bottle of cold water in the fridge.

His name was linked with a lady of Kolhapur and once he had trouble with the police for trying to break into the Mahalaxmi temple at midnight.

His commitment was to Hinduism

Taalash-i-haq mein na dunya ko chchor ai zaahid Kaheen ka bhee na raheyga agar khuda no mila (Good man, do not abandon the world in search of God, If you do not find Him you will be neither here nor there.)

He was somewhat nervous of meeting a host of editors and Dr Dharam Vir Bharati (Dharamyug) added to his discomfiture by asking him bluntly: “So you call yourself a godman?” Datta Bal denied the charge and added modestly: “I am only a seeker. “ The lunch was not a great success.

He was somewhat nervous of meeting a host of editors and Dr Dharam Vir Bharati (Dharamyug) added to his discomfiture by asking him bluntly: “So you call yourself a godman?”

He was a short, stocky, sturdily built Maratha sporting a trimmed beard.

I also hoped that in the years to come he would become a power for the good and his voice would be heard all over the country. Alas!

also hoped that in the years to come he would become a power for the good

hold them spellbound for hours with his powerful oratory.

Yeh bandey bandagi kar ke bhi bandey ban naheen saktey

Also there will be many who will mock my metamorphosis from a sinner to a saint.

You may find this laughable.

I could also learn a few sleights of hand like producing vibhuti out of my empty palm.

I have the necessary accoutrements: unshorn hair, a beard which I can let down (after the black dye has worn off), I can quote the scriptures if needed as well as the Devil at times as well as any of the current Bhagwans.

“If it does not do you any good, it cannot do you any harm.

“Mataji has not been able to turn her brother into a teetotaller,” I interrupted.

This went above my head.

I interrupted: “Surely kundalini and chakras are notional concepts, You can’t see them through X-Ray or in a post-mortem examination.” There was a chorus of protests “No, no, no. Not notional. Real. Their existence can be established scientifically.”

From the number of cars lined outside I could guage Sahaj Yogis were well-to-do and Mata Nirmala Devi had no money problem.

I conceded that meditation and yoga reduce stress and are perhaps the most efficacious method of restoring balance in unbalanced minds. Mind and body interact on each other: a sick mind will induce sickness in the body.

The next time I go to Jaipur I will visit her grave at the Hathroi Fort to strew rose petals and some tears.

She had been given away in marriage at the age of twelve.

I asked Shraddha Mata about this man. She dismissed him with scorn. She told me she was born into a zamindar family (very distantly related to Union Minister for External Affairs Dinesh Singh). As a child she was named Parvati but was addressed as Bacchasahib.

“This woman was not even born a virgin.” I asked Shraddha Mata about this man. She dismissed him with scorn. She told me she was born into a zamindar family (very distantly related to Union Minister for External Affairs Dinesh Singh). As a child she was named Parvati but was addressed as Bacchasahib. After she became a sadhvi, she took on the name Shraddha Devi Jijnasu. Everyone called her Shraddha Mata. She had been given away in marriage at the age of twelve. She refused to live with her husband and instead went off to join Gandhiji who advised her to return to her husband or her parents. She did neither; she turned into a sadhvi.

After she became a sadhvi, she took on the name Shraddha Devi Jijnasu. Everyone called her Shraddha Mata. She had been given away in marriage at the age of twelve. She refused to live with her husband and instead went off to join Gandhiji who advised her to return to her husband or her parents. She did neither; she turned into a sadhvi. Although I met Shraddha

“This woman was not even born a virgin.” I asked Shraddha Mata about this man. She dismissed him with scorn. She told me she was born into a zamindar family (very distantly related to Union Minister for External Affairs Dinesh Singh). As a child she was named Parvati but was addressed as Bacchasahib.

Shraddha Mata was more taken up by Raghu Rai than me. He was, as he is still, a handsome fellow. She invited him to spend the night at the Hathroi Fort to get the atmosphere of the place. Raghu funked accepting her invitation.

From the time she became a sadhvi she took to wearing a leopard skin round her middle weaving her hair in a chignon like those seen in pictures of Lord Shiva and carrying a trishul in her hand.

Trans

There were lots of dogs and snakes about.

There were lots of dogs and snakes about. We climbed the stairs to the first floor. Shraddha

There were lots of dogs and snakes about.

She spoke for over an hour. Her tone changed to one of affection. I was enchanted by her rough, loving tone. When I took her leave, I touched her feet and received her blessings. It was too dark for me to see what she looked

“But you met Panditji many times,” I ventured. “Yes, many times. He wrote many letters to me. If he had married again, he would certainly have married me. I put him in his place. I told him “Yeh my dear nahin chalega (addressing me as my dear in his letters won’t do). You are a Brahmin, I am a Kshatriya. How can there be anything more than friendship between us?” “How is it that Indiraji does not know anything about you?” “Bewakoof? Koi aisi baat apne beti ko batata hai? (Fool, will any father tell his daughter such things?)”

I told him “Yeh my dear nahin chalega (addressing me as my dear in his letters won’t do). You are a Brahmin, I am a Kshatriya. How can there be anything more than friendship between us?”

I was cut to size. When she beckoned to me to sit down on the floor, my feet touched her wooden sandals.

was cut to size. When she beckoned to me to sit down on the floor, my feet touched her wooden sandals.

ground. I made my way there and saw an elderly lady in a saffron kurta-dhoti sitting cross-legged on a wooden takhtposh counting the beads of her rosary.

Several corpses were burning with a few mourners sitting here and there.

According to Mathai, Panditji had a liaison with Shraddha Mata and fathered an illegitimate child who was born in a Catholic hospital in south India.

However, it was the first encounter with her which remains imprinted on my mind.

I was aggrieved to hear of Shraddha Mata’s death a few weeks ago in Jaipur.

He denounced renunciation and celibacy: “Celibacy does not mean not using sexual organs. It means to be in Him. What does sexual intercourse mirror? Absorption, relishing the taste of His Love.”

does sexual intercourse mirror? Absorption, relishing

“All the universe is my ashram,” he said. He travelled round the world talking to small groups. He resented attempts to deify him.

holy men to return to their homes, work, marry and beget children.

He materialized a watch of Japanese make and put it on my wrist. Then he put his hand on the watch and murmured some mantra. The watch which had borne the legend ‘citizen: Made in Japan’ was now imprinted with the words: ‘Given to Khushwant Singh by Dadaji’. He materialized a bottle of Scotch with a label bearing the message ‘Made in the Universe. Given by Dadaji to K. Singh.’

“In 1979 I first heard about Dadaji from a friend, and in 1982 met him at the airport in Bombay, when he arrived from Calcutta. Upon disembarking, someone placed a lovely garland of colourful flowers around Dadaji’s neck.

1979 I first heard about Dadaji from a friend, and in 1982 met him at the airport in Bombay, when he arrived from Calcutta. Upon disembarking, someone placed a lovely

He grabs me by my shoulders and draws me towards him almost knocking the turban off my head. With his fingers he traces patterns down my spinal cord and runs them through my beard. A shiver runs down my body and the aroma of a thousand agarbattis envelops me. “From now on you will not think of death,” he commands. I nod my head, touch his feet and take my leave. I thread my way through the throng of admirers, locate my chappals out of the hundreds of pairs and walk away with a jaunty step. Dadaji has made me mukt of deathphobia. In the evening I find myself wrong about dying and death.

He grabs me by my shoulders and draws me towards him almost knocking the turban off my head.

He grabs me by my shoulders and draws me towards him almost knocking the turban off my head. With his fingers he traces patterns down my spinal cord and runs them through my beard. A shiver runs down my body and the aroma of a thousand agarbattis envelops me. “From now on you will not think of death,” he commands. I nod my head, touch his feet and take my leave. I thread my way through the throng of admirers, locate my chappals out of the hundreds of pairs and walk away with a jaunty step. Dadaji has made me mukt of deathphobia. In the evening I find myself wrong about dying and death.

Don’t be misled by all these charlatans who pass of as Bhagwans and Jagadgurus. How can mortals, on whose carrion vultures will peck at, be gods?” And so on.

“The Dharamakshetra and Kurukshetra that the Gita speaks of is your body

What makes Dadaji more enigmatic is that while he denounces all godmen, gurus, bhagwans, maharishis, swamis and sadhus, his innumerable admirers worship him almost as their deity.

I was spellbound by his sparkling hypnotic eyes and explained away the objects he materialized out of the air as due to my drugged perception.

I can’t make anything of her Tantric jargon but love to hear her berate me as a self-opinionated ass.

Tantric jargon but love to hear her berate me as a self-opinionated

In no other country will you find so many people with such blind, unquestioning faith in another human being. Why?

He is also a patron of music and dance.

Four years ago when some young men forcibly entered the Sai Baba’s personal quarters, there was a shoot-out and some lives were lost. The matter was hushed up.

Four years ago when some young men forcibly entered the Sai Baba’s personal quarters, there was a shoot-out and some

He goes on to explode the assumption that the Guru is the Indian version of a psychoanalyst. The Guru is not a doctor but a teacher, he nurtures spiritual aspersions not psychological problems. If anyone is to be put on a shrink’s couch it is not the godman but his followers who look upon him as God to find out what is missing in their lives which they hope to fulfil by associating with their chosen godman. It is not producing vibhuti (sacred ash), materializing watches and medallions from the air or regurgitating sivalingas – all such tricks can be performed by magicians and cannot stand the test of scientific scrutiny. The devotees’ faith has more solid foundations. They have unquestionable belief that their guru can do no wrong.

“In the West we are free to work for the approval of those we love and respect and whom we would like to love and respect us. Not so the Indians For Indians, particularly those of the middle classes there are only two directions they can go to prove that they can love and be loved. One is towards homosexuality, the other towards the Godmen – the two not being mutually exclusive.”

We have always had men and women claiming to be incarnations of God, or even god Himself in human form.

So we have many Bhagwans (Gods), Swamis (Lords), Rishis (sages), Maharishis (great sages), Acharyas (teachers), Sants (saints) and Gurus with large followings.

If there is one man who can draw larger crowds than Atal Behari Vajpayee without aficionados rounding up villagers, loading them on trucks and buses to transport them to meeting grounds, it is Sathya Sai Baba. Why?

He has undoubtedly much the largest following than any other man or woman claiming divinity.

this sometimes happens without the grace of a Guru but the experience is “extremely short-lived and abortive.”

ascent up the ladder to godhood.

“Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is no yogi or saint. He is the incarnation of God. He is Lord Krishna. He is Lord Shiva. He is Lord Jesus Christ. In short, He is everything.”

I am dismayed by the fact that Sai Baba’s worshippers include highly literate men (amongst them Chief Justice Bhagwati and Nani Palkhivala), scientists and doctor.

Like mortals they age, fall sick, and die but are nevertheless regarded by their followers as immortal.

It is estimated that upwards of six lakh devotees will assemble at Prashanti Nilayam Ashram at Puttaparthi to pay him homage over a fortnight of celebrations.

Despite what I came to know about him, I had a sneaking affection for the old rogue. One is compelled to admire a man who with little learning could take the mightiest of the land for a ride.

amassing wealth by every means possible – government grants, real estate, private air taxis, film studios, a gun factory and lots more.

I certainly did make fun of him because I never took his pretensions of asceticism or brahmacharya seriously.

certainly did make fun of him because I never took his pretensions of asceticism

certainly did make fun of him because I never took his pretensions of asceticism or

I certainly did make fun of him because I never took his pretensions of asceticism or brahmacharya seriously. He was no more an ascetic than Kubera, amassing wealth by every means possible – government grants, real estate, private air taxis, film studios, a gun factory and lots more. He was no more a brahmachari than a Mughal emperor. He was cited a correspondent in a divorce case filed by the husband of one of the women working with him. And if M.O. Mathai is to be believed he replaced the stenographer-secretary in the affections of Nehru’s daughter. He became the Rasputin to the Tsarévitch of India – Indira Gandhi. Despite what I came to know about him, I had a sneaking affection for the old rogue. One is compelled to admire a man who with little learning could take the mightiest of the land for a ride. 20/7/1994

certainly did make fun of him because I never took his pretensions of asceticism or brahmacharya seriously.

“No,” he replied and explained, “You see our ladies are reluctant to bare their bosoms before strangers. Besides that, women’s bosoms are of different shapes and sizes. Some have very big bosoms; others very small. Some are taut and firm; others droop. So in the case of female patients I measure the distance between the naabhee (navel) to the toes.”

He went over the nipple-toe diagnostic method. With an innocent expression on my face I asked, “Do you apply the same method with women patients?”

“Once I know what is wrong, I can prescribe its cure.”

We were constantly disturbed by his buxom secretaries bustling in and out to say some minister or the other wanted to speak to him.

Then prescribed what yoga asanas I should do and what kind of food and drink I should avoid.

Brahmachari was draped in a thin muslin dhoti which others would wear in summer. He was a tall, handsome man with jet black hair curling down to his beard, clear sparkling eyes and an athletic figure.

also know frauds (Dhongis) and imposters (pakhandis) like you who hunger after pretty girls and wine.”

No sooner did Mrs Gandhi get back into the saddle than Dhirendra Brahmachari was back in business and on Doordarshan.

Instead he began to cultivate people in power, in turn became powerful, and let power go to his head. For many years he held Mrs Gandhi and her family in a hypnotic spell.

I envy his looks, his physical well-being, his being immaculately turned out in diaphanous kurta-dhoti which he wears come snow or sunshine.

I envy his looks, his physical well-being, his being immaculately turned out in diaphanous kurta-dhoti

I hope by now he must have learnt that a face-flatterer and backbiter are one and the same person. We are a nation of fence-sitters, face-flatters and backbiters.

fence-sitters who fear that he may stage a comeback. I hope by now he must have learnt that a face-flatterer and backbiter are one and the same person. We are a nation of fence-sitters, face-flatters and backbiters. Stumbling on Yoga I have always had a soft spot for Dhirendra Brahmachari because I have never taken his yogic pretensions or brahmacharya seriously. I envy his looks, his physical well-being, his being immaculately turned out in diaphanous kurta-dhoti which he wears come snow or sunshine. If he had stuck to yoga, I would have had nothing to say against him. Instead he began to cultivate people in power, in turn became powerful, and let power go to his head. For many years he held Mrs Gandhi and her family in a hypnotic spell. And as always happens in our country most of her Cabinet colleagues fawned on him till the spell was broken by her fall from power. For years he hogged yoga programmes on Doordarshan. Far from leading a simple life we associate with yogis, he went into the business of acquiring

hope by now he must have learnt that a face-flatterer and backbiter are one and the same person. We are a nation of fence-sitters, face-flatters and backbiters.

I was reminded of Akbar Allahabadi’s biting satire: Poochha ke shughal kya hai? Kahney lagey Guruji Bas Ram nam japna, Cheylon ka maal apna. (When I asked what do you do? Came the Guruji’s reply “Nothing but taking the name of the Lord and the disciples’ property.")

I was reminded of Akbar Allahabadi’s biting satire: Poochha ke shughal kya hai? Kahney lagey Guruji Bas Ram nam japna, Cheylon ka maal apna. (When I asked what do you do? Came the Guruji’s reply “Nothing but taking the name of the

There were a bevy of bosomy young ladies to receive the calls.

I have yet to meet anyone including those who once fawned on him who has now a kind word to say in his defence.

have yet to meet anyone including those who once fawned on him who has now a kind word to say in his defence.

With the going of Rajneesh, India has lost one of its greatest sons. India’s loss will be shared by all who have an open mind throughout the world.

It is impossible to do justice to this great man in a few words. I would exhort my readers to read his sermons now printed in hundreds of books.

“This is the only planet we have, and this is the only time we have, and this is the only life we have,” he wrote. So make the best of it, get the most you can out of it. Meditating on these problems will help you to clear the cobwebs of irrationality and bring you peace of mind.

“This is the only planet we have, and this is the only time we have, and this is the only life we have,” he wrote.

Rajneesh did not believe in any religion. “All the religions have reduced humanity into beggars. They call it prayer, they call it worship – beautiful names to hide an ugly reality,” he wrote. “All beliefs are blind, all beliefs are false. They do not let you grow up, they only help you to kneel down like a slave before dead statues, rotten scriptures, primitive philosophies,” he wrote.

Neither Jain Mahavira nor the Buddha believed in God: only some of their stupid followers do so.

I was truly grieved to hear of the passing of Acharya Rajneesh. In my opinion, for whatever it is worth, he was the most original thinker that India has produced: the most erudite, the most clear-headed and the most innovative. And in addition, he had an inborn gift for words, spoken and written. We will not see the like of him for decades to come.

I was truly grieved to hear of the passing of Acharya Rajneesh

Rajneesh trod a lonely path. But he was convinced that it was the only one: “Truth can never become collective; only lies can become collective. Even a single man of truth is enough to put fire to the whole forest of lies, because even thousands of lies cannot face a single statement of truth.”

“I am preparing my people to live joyously, ecstatically. So when I am not in my body, it won’t make any difference to them. They will still live the same way – and maybe my death will bring them more intensity.”

His closest disciple who was by his bedside when the end came says that he simply lay back quietly while he felt his pulse. “Slowly it faded. When I could hardly feel it, I said, ‘Osho, I think this is it.’ He just nodded gently and closed his eyes for the last time.”

kept. Among his last words were, “I leave you my dream.”

I rated him very highly as a thinker, writer and as a human being.

I rated him very highly as a thinker, writer and as a human

books. I rated him very highly as

books. I rated him very highly

It is difficult to accept Rajneesh’s views on death. Having allowed himself to become a Bhagwan, he has forfeited the right to say, “I do not know. Nobody, not even Bhagwan Rajneesh knows what happens to us when we die. And as long as we do not know that we will continue to dread its coming.”

“These are the ‘three Ls” of my philosophy: life, love, laughter. Life is only a seed, love is a flower, laughter is a fragrant. Just to be born is not enough, one has to learn the art of living; that is the A of meditation. Then one has to learn the art of loving; that is the B of meditation. And then one has to learn the art of laughing; that is the C of meditation. A meditation has only three letters: A,B,C.”

It is not fair on the part of the Acharya to ask us to take his word and accept the theory of transmigration of souls. “It is my experience … when I say that the soul transmigrates, to me it is an experience. I remember my past lives have transmigrated; there is no question of doubt for me, but I am not saying you to believe it.” He talks of dejavu (already seen) – an experience some people have when they visit a new place. They feel they have been there before because they have in fact done so in their previous lives. No sceptic or rationalist will buy this argument.

It is not fair on the part of the Acharya to ask us to take his word and accept the theory of transmigration of souls. “It is my experience … when I say that the soul transmigrates, to me it is an experience. I remember my past lives have transmigrated; there is no question of doubt for me, but I am not saying you to believe it.” He talks of dejavu (already seen) – an experience some people have when they visit a new place. They feel they have been there before because they have in fact done so in their previous lives. No sceptic or rationalist will buy this argument. I go along with the Acharya in his general

He goes on to reassert that “those who die unconsciously will be born on some other planet, in some other womb.”

he in saying that death is a “beautiful sleep, dreamless sleep, a sleep that is needed for you to enter into another body silently and peacefully?”

That, according to him, is why westerners who subscribe to these religions are always in a hurry to get things done and have never grasped the concept of meditation. Whereas Indians, because they believe in rebirth, don’t feel the pressure of time, are non-achievers and meditative.

one life. That, according to him, is why westerners

The Acharya proceeds to make further assertions which leave me flabbergasted.

I go along with Rajneesh when he says that life should be lived as intensely as possible

“People who are afraid of death cannot relax in sleep, because sleep is also a very small death that comes every day. People who are afraid of death are afraid of love also, because love is a death. People who are afraid of death become afraid of all orgasmic experiences, because in each orgasm the ego dies.” I am out of my depth. I am not afraid of love; I also regard an orgasm as the ultimate in physical exaltation. Yet I fear death.

Acharya Rajnessh assures us that death is not the end of man’s journey but a door to God. The death of a loved one certainly creates a vacuum but since life itself is meaningless, there is nothing to mourn about. One should not fear death but regard it as a long, relaxed sleep from which you waken to a brighter dawn.

enough.” Then she burst into a song.

On the way the grandfather, barely 50, gave up the ghost. His last words were: “My Lord, this life you have given me, I surrender it back to you with my thanks.” No one in the cart shed a tear. When told that her old man had stopped breathing, the grandmother reassured Rajneesh, “That’s perfectly okay as he had lived enough, there is no need to ask for more … Remember, because these are the moments not to be forgotten, never ask for more.

The Acharya has an inimitable style of simplifying the most abstruse themes and illustrating them with pithy anecdotes.

Death is not a fiction; it is a profound reality, more real than anything in life.

The Acharya has now put all his thoughts on the subject together in a small 100-page booklet entitled Death: The Greatest Fiction.

“My definition of man is that man is the laughing animal. No computer laughs, no ant laughs, no bee laughs; it is only man who can laugh.

That will make you roar with laughter.

“Practised every morning upon awakening, it will change your whole day. If you wake up laughing you will soon begin to feel how absurd life is. Nothing is serious; even your disappointments are laughable, even your pain is laughable, even you are laughable. When you wake up in the morning, before opening your eyes stretch like cat. Stretch every part of your body. Enjoy the stretching; enjoy the feeling of your body becoming awake, alive. After three or four minutes of stretching, with your eyes still closed, laugh. For five minutes, just laugh. At first you will be doing it, but soon the very sound of your attempt to laugh will cause a very genuine laughter. Lose yourself in laughter.”

“Practised every morning upon awakening, it will change your whole day. If you wake up laughing you will soon begin to feel how absurd life is. Nothing is serious; even your disappointments are laughable, even your pain is laughable, even you are laughable. When you wake up in the morning, before opening your eyes stretch like cat. Stretch every part of your body. Enjoy the stretching; enjoy the feeling of your body becoming awake, alive. After three or four minutes of stretching, with your eyes still closed, laugh. For five minutes, just laugh. At first you will be doing it, but soon the very sound of your attempt to laugh will cause a very genuine laughter.

Whoever is bored is wrong. Whoever is dancing, singing having a good belly laugh is right.”

“Seriousness is illness. Spirituality is laughter, is joy, is fun.”

The opposite of song and laughter is seriousness. Osho ridiculed seriousness: “I have not seen a serious tree … a serious bird. I have not seen a serious sunrise. I have not seen a serious starry night.

“Laughter brings strength. Now even medical science says that laughter is one of the most deep-going medicines nature has provided to man.”

“One should go on laughing the whole of one’s life. I am not saying don’t weep. In fact, if you cannot laugh, you cannot weep. They go together, they are part of one phenomenon of being true and authentic.

“My definition of man is that man is the laughing animal. No computer laughs, no ant laughs, no bee laughs; it is only man who can laugh.

“You don’t see donkeys laughing, you don’t see buffaloes enjoying a joke. It is only man who can enjoy a joke, who can laugh.

“Laughter is prayer. If you can laugh you have learnt how to pray. Don’t be serious. A serious person can never be religious. Only a person who can laugh, not only at others but at himself also, can be religious. A person who can laugh absolutely, who sees the whole ridiculousness and the whole game of life, becomes enlightened in the laughter.”

“If you can decide that every year, for one hour, at a certain time, the whole world will laugh, I think it will help to dispel darkness, violence, stupidities … Just the touch of laughter can make something worth living, something to be grateful for.

To the best of my knowledge, of the hundreds of godmen and god women we have had in recent years, it was only Osho Rajneesh who understood the message of Sri Krishna and propagated a religion full of fun, laughter and goodness. Every sermon he delivered (and they were most erudite and well-spoken), ended with a bawdy joke leaving the congregation in splits of laughter.

“Nasiruddin said, ‘I would definitely make those mistakes, but I would also make all the others that I was not able to make. That is the only change I would make. In this life, I began making mistakes very late in life. If I were to live my life all over again, I would get an earlier start.’

India My Love: Fragments of a Golden Past was released by Dr Manmohan Singh, as saintly a politician as any Indian has seen since independence.

He brought his vast knowledge of the world’s scriptures and lives of saintly men and women to convey his message. What made him different from other world teachers was that while they made religious subjects boring, Osho made them enjoyable.

He brought his vast knowledge of the world’s scriptures and lives of saintly men and women to convey his message. What made him different from other world teachers was that while they made religious

He was hounded out of India. He then sought asylum in the United States where he met the same fate. Egged on by church dignitaries, the US administration ordered his arrest and deportation.

Osho exposed the humbug in Indian life and the double standards observed by its self-styled godmen and political leaders.

A man unfairly maligned by Indian bigots and misinformed foreigners was Acharya Rajneesh (Osho).

Never have I slept without sweetheart Nor have I spent a single drop of sperm.

Tsanyang Gyatso was not moved about his sexual prowess: Never have I slept without sweetheart Nor have I spent a single drop of sperm. The sex act, as in the case of Krishna, was a Tantric exercise in whom the bindus’ latent

Never have I slept without sweetheart Nor have I spent a single drop of sperm.

For him it was the monastery and prayer by day time; taverns, drink, songs of love and pretty Tibetan maidens at night:

The Desi kept the news of his death secret for 15 long years till he discovered the reincarnation and successor in the person of the sixth Dalai Lama who was enthroned in 1697. He was a gifted child, scholarly and of a poetic bent of mind.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was about love, fornication, and pleasures of the tavern flowing with chhung, rice wine.

“I have only one,” she replied in impeccable English (Tibetans seem to have the gift of tongues; Urdu, Hindi, Hindustani or English, they speak it without a trace of an accent).

We took our leave. I was exhilarated by being with him. He extended that aura of goodwill, cheerfulness and crystal-clear honesty that envelops you long after you have left his presence. The Nobel prize committee has done well in awarding him the peace prize because he is a man of peace. He has suffered many wrong but never uttered an angry word in protest. He has brought solace to millions of people who are troubled by the way the world is going today.

We went on to other questions, like why wickedness so often triumphs over goodness, why innocent people suffer while evil people prosper.

“Yes,” replied the Dalai Lama. “If scientists can prove that there is no next life, we Buddhists will accept it.”

“Why then persist in propagating unprovable theories till we can prove them?”

“Then why not say that till such time as the scientists have found out we withhold our judgement.” “I agree. Buddhism is quite clear on the subject: investigate till you find out the right answers. Do not accept anything and take it for granted. The Buddha himself said, ‘Do not accept anything said by me out of respect for me.’ If it does not appeal to you, reject it.”

“There are two kinds phenomena. One are provable by science

I protested. “Since you cannot adduce rational, scientific explanations for certain phenomenon, wouldn’t it be more truthful to say ‘I don’t know’. As for me, I go further and say not only I do not know the answers, nobody else knows them either.”

protested. “Since you cannot adduce rational, scientific explanations for certain phenomenon, wouldn’t it be more truthful to say ‘I don’t know’.

The Dalai Lama laughed heartily. “Scientific proof is what you want?” he asked. “But certain things are beyond scientific proof. I have many thoughts going on in my mind, it is difficult to give scientific explanations for them.

The present travails of the Tibetan people are due to both kinds of Karmas. Some for acts done by individuals at some time or place, now come together in common suffering.

“We Buddhist believe in Karma", he replied. “Life is a continuous circle without a beginning or an end. Deeds done in one life, one’s Karmas, determine one’s fate in the next. Even in one’s lifetime bad deeds produce bad effect.”

put the dilemma to the Dalai Lama.

live in exile in India? I put

“Can you explain why there is so much injustice and cruelty in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people?”

He elucidated his views further.

In Tibetan mythology there is a story that the Tibetan race came into being through the mating of a monkey and an ethereal being.”

“The real creator is one’s own mind. The universe and all its galaxies were created or happened at a certain period of time.”

Questions to Theists

How did life originate? Is there a God? If so, why is there so much injustice and wickedness in the world? Are there rewards and punishments for good or evil deeds done in life? What is death – the destruction of body and mind or only the body? Is there a life hereafter or a rebirth after death?

However odd this system of locating successors may sound to sceptical ears, it has an enormous advantage over other political or social systems: from childhood a boy is trained to take over the responsibilities of a spiritual and secular leader of his people.

“Do not believe in anything merely because I said it. Be like an analyst buying gold, cutting and burning the substance to test it in every way. Accept it only when it meets the full criteria of reason, and when it proves to be of benefit to you.”

“For those types who want to follow a path of sceptical inquiry and reason, rather than a path of faith, Buddhism may prove useful.”

was more intrigued by his claim that Buddhism is a more sophisticated religion than others as it strongly stresses rationality and is very modern in its sensitivity

Rulers of China are not bothered about political morality nor yield to pressures of world opinion.

Prayer addressed to onself

Role of Prayer

My mother-in-law, stricken by stomach cancer and having been declared unfit to be administered general anaesthesia, asked the surgeon to allow a Sikh attendant to recite aloud the Sikh morning prayer Japji while her stomach was being cut open. She went through the ordeal without showing any sign of the pain she was suffering or shedding a tear. She came through the operation successfully. Many people pray to have peace of mind; they get peace of mind. This is all that the Bard meant when he said: “More things are wrought prayer than the world dreams of…” Prayer does not produce miracles, it only gives us reassurance and self-confidence to help us face adversities.

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry!”

Many people pray to have peace of mind; they get peace of mind. This is all that the Bard meant when he said: “More things are wrought prayer than the world dreams of…” Prayer does not produce miracles, it only gives us reassurance and self-confidence to help us face adversities.

My mother-in-law, stricken by stomach cancer and having been declared unfit to be administered general anaesthesia, asked the surgeon to allow a Sikh attendant to recite aloud the Sikh morning prayer Japji while her stomach was being cut open. She went through the ordeal without showing any sign of the pain she was suffering or shedding a tear. She came through the operation successfully.

My mother-in-law, stricken by stomach cancer and having been declared unfit to be administered general anaesthesia, asked the surgeon to allow a Sikh attendant to recite aloud the Sikh morning prayer Japji while her stomach was being cut open. She went through the ordeal without showing any sign of the pain she was suffering or shedding a tear. She came through the operation successfully. Many

“O God, assist our side: at least avoid assisting the enemy, and leave the rest to me.”

Prayers, though ostensibly addressed to God are, in fact, addressed to oneself. There is nothing intrinsically good in prayer: prayers come from the same mouth as oaths. Dacoits are known to pray before they rob and kill people. Combatants in battle pray for victory; only one side wins.

third’s marriage broke up within a few weeks of its celebration.

I know of at least two Sikh families which turned dramatically from being extremely orthodox to atheism.

One might well ask, what then is achieved by praying to God? Should we thank Him if our prayers are answered and curse Him if they are not? Is prayer any different from flattery of the big boss? Those who treat prayer as a kind of saudeybaazi – a commercial transaction – are usually disillusioned and turn hostile to God and religion.

He is the Vadda Beparwah – the Great Unconcerned.

He does not seem to care very much whether the good are rewarded or sinners punished in their lifetimes.

He sends an avatar – a reincarnation – to punish wrongdoers, restore righteousness and bring the people back to the path of dharma.

What did the devout have to say to the affliction visited on them by the same Allah who had answered their prayers a few days earlier?

He is Daata, the Giver, Anna-daata, the Provider of Food, Vad-daata, the Most Bountiful

A week later Bangladesh was struck by a cyclone which took a heavy toll of life: over 10,000 people perished and many more were rendered homeless.

The devout felt reassured that Allah never lets the prayers of the faithful go unanswered.

prayer asking for Allah’s bounty.

As a desperate last measure, President Ershad called on his people to pray to Allah to send them rain.

Last month, many parts of Bangladesh were stricken with drought. Rains were long overdue and the transplanted paddy seedlings had begun to wither. It was clear that if rains did not come the season’s rice crop would be lost and Bangladesh would once again be faced with the prospect of famine.

“the unbearable repartee”

“Beware of a man who does not talk and of a dog that does not bark.”

Bernard Shaw described it as “the most perfect expression of scorn”.

“the unbearable repartee”

These savants were concerned with the mystic value of silence. Not being a mystic, I can only command the virtues of silence in worldly affairs.

“No lamp I saw brighter than silence

“We learn speech from men; silence from the Gods.” You can avoid speech, but true silence has to be cultivated.

cultivate stillness of the mind.

But I am fortunate enough to be able to spend long hours (sometimes days) alone with myself. I can vouch for the difference not speaking and not listening to anyone can make.

Those who could, retreated to mountains or forests to get away from the clamour of cities; those who could not, shut themselves in their rooms and meditated.

There is more to silence than keeping one’s mouth shut. You have to shut out external noises as well as the tumult within you to realize what immense power it can generate.

He is the light that dispels darkness and purifies impurities

Om Bhur bhuvah swah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat Literally, the mantra means: “Let us mediate on God, His glorious attributes, who is the basis of everything in this universe as its creator, who is fit to be worshipped as omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient and self-existent conscious being, who removes all ignorance and impurities from the mind and purifies and sharpens our intellect. … May God enlighten our intellects.”

Amongst Hindus, the mantra regarded as the most powerful is the Gayatri from the Yajur Veda. To me it appeared as an invocation to the sun and I could not decipher any hidden meaning in it.

was kind enough to illumine my mind.

Amongst Hindus, the mantra regarded as the most powerful is the Gayatri from the Yajur Veda. To me it appeared as an invocation to the sun and I could not decipher any hidden meaning in it.

He who turns away from the forces of evil and believes in God,

Neither does somnolence affect Him nor sleep.

Neither does somnolence affect Him nor sleep. To Him

The Muslims do not have any single word to match Aum, but they do have some which, like Allah-o-Akbar, are repeated while telling the beads of a rosary.

does Aum among Hindus. The Muslims do not have any single word to match Aum, but they do have some which, like Allah-o-Akbar, are repeated while telling the beads of a rosary.

The Muslims do not have any single word to match Aum, but they do have some which, like Allah-o-Akbar, are repeated while telling the beads of a rosary. They

All religions have a few words believed to have powerful, protective and curative potential. It is difficult to unravel the mystery behind them.

We have similar situations arising in our country, as for instance, when a doctor performing an operation on a Sikh, advises that he or she be shaved to avoid infection. Who then is to decide what is more important, adherence to religious belief or the life of an individual?

Russel also believed that taking others’ blood into one’s body was a sin as venal as rape.

Christ did not bother to return to Earth and redeem it from evil.

two-year-old child stricken with leukemia. Doctors were of the opinion that if she did not get a blood transfusion, she would die. Her parents rejected medical advice on the grounds that belonging to a Christian sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, they regarded blood transfusion as a sin.

two-year-old child stricken with leukemia. Doctors were of the opinion that if she did not get a blood transfusion, she would die. Her parents rejected medical advice on the grounds that belonging to a Christian sect known as Jehovah’s

Doctors were of the opinion that if she did not get a blood transfusion, she would die.

how far can you permit a religious belief to put the life of a person in jeopardy?

In India whenever religious rites and commonsense are in conflict, you can be sure that the rite, however irrational and irritating will win.

Why can’t such sensible compromises be arrived at in India? Why should gurudwaras and temples wake up people at unearthly hours of the morning through kirtans and chantings over loudspeakers?

Atul Kumar assures me that the mantra is ‘life giving’; it wards off accidents, deaths from snake bite, lightening, fire etc. It can heal the sick, conquer death and grant salvation because it is Lord Siva’s mantra. If you repeat it 108 times every day, it will ensure you a long, happy and prosperous life. One essential precondition is that you must have faith. Where can one buy faith?

Mahamritunjaya Mantra which runs as follows: Om Trymbakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam Urvaarukamiva bandhanaam Mrityormuksheeya Maamri taat. (We worship the three-eyed One (Lord Siva) who is fragrant and who nourishes all beings: may He liberate me from death for the sake of Immortality, even as the cucumber is severed from its bondage (of the creeper.)

The mantra most frequently used by Hindus is the Gayatri. Translated literally it is more than a hymn in praise of the Sun.

Before retiring to bed for the night it is the Kirtan Sohila. Children are told that if they recite this they will not fear the dark and be free of nighmares.

No other religious system has an equivalent for Om (or Aum): Guru Nanak’s ekAumkar is derived from this.

I will fear no evil

Such passages then gain importance in ritual, get inscribed on tablets, amulets and are recited in moments of crisis.

From reasons unknown, and results unverified, every religious scripture has passages which its followers endow with magic powers of healing or protection against harm.

We have a memorable example in a beautiful psalm:

“It is such a stupid world! Mohammedans pray in Arabic, which they don’t understand; Hindus pray in Sanskrit, which they don’t understand; and now Buddhists pray in Pali, which they don’t understand – for the simple reason that priests have been very much insistent on keeping the dead language because those prayers are very poor if they are translated into the language which you understand. You will be at a loss – you will not be able to see what there is to pray in them; they will lose all the mystery. The mystery is because you don’t understand them. Hence Latin, Greek, Arabic, Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit – dead languages which nobody understands any more. Priests go on insisting that prayers should be in those dead languages. “You are saying something the meaning of which is not known to you. What kind of prayer is that? To whom are you addressing it? You don’t know anything about god. And what you are saying is not arising out of your heart, you are just being a gramophone record – His Master’s Voice.”

Osho Rajneesh has his own unique explanation (with which I concur).

Are we any closer to finding God? No. I take shelter behind the Urdu couplet: Too dil mein to aataa hai Samajh mein nahin aata Bas jaa gayaa teyree pahchaan yahee hai. (I have you in my heart But do not comprehend you, Maybe that is the best way of knowing you.)

God is not a person, but a timeless abstract principle that implies something like meaning or purpose behind physical existence

goes on to exhort people to discard primitive

“an epidemic of God has broken out in the West and even the most rigorous of scientists are tracking God.”

pursuit of God.

He is said to be omnipresent but no one has seen Him; religious teachers bamboozle us by asking us to look within ourselves and we will find Him in our hearts. People like me don’t know how to look within ourselves and therefore cannot find Him. They say He is the creator of the cosmos. When we ask them who created Him? They reply, no one. He created Himself. Now, that does not make sense as nothing is created by itself: that is the inexorable law of cause and effect.

What should clinch the issue about God is that belief in his existence does not make a person a good man nor disbelief in his existence make him a bad man. I have known more saint-like people among agnostics than I have among God-fearing believers. In the personal religion I expound there is no place for God.

However, no one can get round the conundrum that if God is the cause and universe the effect, who or what was it that brought God into existence? What was the primary cause, the Causa Causans? No answer.

The closer I get to the time of meeting my Maker the more sceptic I become of his existence:

had turned agnostic.

had turned agnostic. The closer I get to the time of meeting my Maker the more sceptic I become of his existence:

The closer I get to the time of meeting my Maker the more sceptic I become of his existence:

was charmed by the child’s outburst of faith in God’s existence. I wrote back to her:

It is impossible to shake their faith.

He takes him away from me. What had I done to deserve this cruel treatment?”

He takes him away from me. What

What had I done to deserve this cruel treatment?” This

Ultimately something made me overcome my lethargy and

I was not sure whether it would be worth my while stepping out in the heat

I came to the conclusion that they knew no more than I.

I refused to be bamboozled with words and formulas like ‘the truth is within us only if we seek it’. Or ‘the body dies but the soul is imperishable’.

Both of us were described as agnostics but both retained our socio-religious identities. Though non-believers he remained nominally Muslim, I nominally Sikh.

Perhaps politics is responsible for this evil. But irrespective of that, liberals among the major religious communities of India should strive so that the various ethnic and other groups may live in peace and harmony.”

But irrespective of that, liberals among the major religious communities of India should strive

Sikhs also cremate their dead and the funeral pyre is lit by the son or near relatives as in the case of Hindus. The ashes are then immersed in sacred rivers, again as Hindus do. The majority of Sikh names are of Sanskrit and Hindu lineage.

You state that a Sikh marriage is patterned after the Hindu marriage and differs from it only in minor detail.

Sikhs also visit Hindu temples. I have myself seen many Sikhs visiting our temple at Delhi and prostrating themselves before the deity with the same devotion as Hindus do. Many Hindus too visit Gurudwaras. Even otherwise, whenever devotional songs are sung on any occasion in a Hindu family, the bhajans of Guru Nanak are sung with the same fervour as the bhajans of any other Saint.

‘As mentioned by you, Sikhs observe all the festivals celebrated by the Hindus of northern India. The

Guru Gobind Singh did regret the slaughter of kine and advocated the protection of cows, as you have admitted. That the killing of cows was strictly forbidden under the Sikh rulers follows from the example of the Sikh Gurus who never ate beef.

Sikhs also venerate the cow and abhor eating beef. If the Granth Sahib is silent on this, the reason may be that the non-slaughter of kine was so apparently a part of the religion and so much a way of life with Hindus that it did not seem to be necessary for any of the Gurus who, in opinion, did not differentiate between Hinduism and Sikhism, to specifically ordain that cows should not be slaughtered.

“The Granth Sahib contains a larger number of verses from Hindu saints and scriptures than from any other religion. This shows the close affinity of Sikhism to Hinduism.”

“When the purely religious and pious Sikh community turned militant, one of its missions was to save Hinduism and help in its upliftment and propagation. One of the Gurus said: Jagas dharam Hindu, sakal Bhand bhajae (Hindu religion should awake. Let all the false doctrines flee.)

“Many Hindus willingly gave their daughters in marriage to Sikhs. Likewise, Sikhs too gave their daughters in marriage to Hindus. Which other communities did so?

“Till recently, many Hindu families of the Punjab brought up one of their sons as a Sikh. Why? Surely because Hindus did not differentiate between the Hindu and the Sikh religions.

“You have stated that most of the Hindu families of the Punjab respect the Gurus and read the Granth Sahib. Which other religious communities do that?

Hindus believe in the doctrine of rebirth and the theory of ‘Karma’. Sikhs also believe in these philosophies. In fact, all religions that have branched off from Hinduism like Jainism and Buddhism believe in the doctrine of rebirth and theory of ‘Karma’.

“There are however some sects of Hinduism which do no believe in Devis and Davatas and worship one God – that too as a formless Being.

Take the case of Arya Samaj which is very much a part of Hinduism. Arya Samajis believe in one God, like the Sikhs. They recognize only one Holy Book – the Vedas; like the Sikhs, they believe neither in caste nor in idol and image worship.

But even according to these mythologies the three main deities are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. But if one were to go deeper into the matter it is clear that three gods are, in fact, only different names of the One Supreme Being. That is why the Upanishad says: Ekam Sad Vipra Bahudha vaaanti! (God is one. But Brahmins, i.e. the learned, call him by different names.)

It is correct that, according to Hindu mythologies, there are perhaps 33 crores of gods – Devatas and Devis.

“Many Hindus regard Sikhism as a part or offshoot of Hinduism.

I came to this conclusion because of the Sikh Gurus’ emphasis on monotheism, rejection of idol worship and the caste system, all of which are basic to Islam.

We can, if we have the will to do so, make our country green and prosperous.

This is almost unknown in India. In Israel, on the other hand, you can see miles of dense forests of pine and fir lining both sides of the highways. All of them were planted in memory of the dead. That is how Israel has become green while its Arab neighbours dwell in the desert.

No school or college student should be issued a school-leaving certificate, his degree or diploma unless he or she can produce evidence of having planted a specified number of trees and nourished them. Tree planting should also be given the top priority in bequests for charity.

Tree planting should be made a religious obligation as well as incorporated in our educational system.

In coastal towns and cities, the dead should be immersed in the sea.

In coastal towns and cities, the dead should be immersed in

Annadurai and M.G. Ramachandran were buried. Many Hindu communities in south India bury their dead. Most Jain munis are also buried.

Enormous amount of wood is wasted in cremating the dead. There is nothing in the Hindu or Sikh religion requiring cremation by wood.

Trees were an object of worship in olden times: some communities like the Bishnois of Haryana and Rajasthan still venerate trees and forbid them being cut down.

We have to impose an immediate ban on the felling of trees and the use of wood for making furniture and buildings.

Our second highest priority is to conserve our environment.

Our second highest priority is to conserve our environment. Our

Legislation has not proved very efficacious in controlling our population. Perhaps a religious code enshrining necessity to restrict bearing of children may prove more effective.

Our highest priority is to control our explosive birthrate. Our slogan used to be ‘two and no more’. Now it has to be ‘one and no more’.

Our highest priority is to control our explosive birthrate. Our slogan used to be ‘two and no more’.

Only the physically disabled should be permitted to retire. Religious holidays should be cut down to the minimum and everyone compelled to work as long as his mind and body are able to do so.

Our new religion must be based on work-ethic. Those who do not contribute materially to the well-being of society should have no rights.

We have to evolve new moral codes, a new religion which takes note of our present problems.

Nevertheless a sizeable proportion of this population continues to do nothing and live on beggary

The world is overcrowded

All religions are creatures of their time and were meant to meet existing social problems.

Prayers are best said in solitude and should be addressed to oneself. The most effective form I have discovered is to look yourself in the mirror before retiring for the night as it is very hard to stare into your own eyes and ask yourself, “Did I wrong anyone today?” You will be surprised how effective it is in preventing yourself from doing it the day following.

Without exception they have become places of commerce from which professional purveyors of religious dogma earn their livelihood.

One does not have to go to places of worship like synagogues, churches, mosques and temples to pray.

Even dacoits and thugs are known to pray before they embark on their nefarious errands.

In addition to being largely incomprehensible some passages of religious scriptures are invested with magical powers to ward off danger, heal the sick, exorcise spirits and banish fear.

We should also take a closer look at the traditional attitude to our scriptures and prayers. You will notice that more obscure the text, the more religious fervour it rouses in the readers’ minds. Hence the use of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Pali, Sanskrit and Santbhasha – understood by a small minority of adherents of the faith. Read them translated into a language you understand and you will find them repetitive, banal and boring.

Abraham and Moses over Jehovah, Zarathustra over Ahuramazda, Rama and Krishna over Ishwara, Jesus and Mary above the Lord, Mohammad above Allah, Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh over Waheguru. This is entirely understandable because while we know nothing of God, we know a lot more about the founders of our religions. They were mortals like us: born to women, ate and defecated like we do, were subject to diseases. And died. We do our best to distort their human qualities by making legends about their superhuman powers to distance them from ourselves and make them as powerful as God as His vicegerents. They had undoubtedly enormous powers to sway the people and bring about revolutions in their thinking and ways of living and thus contributed to our perception of them as akin to God, sacrosanct and beyond searching inquiry about their human frailties. You can jest about God but never about His Prophets. The attitude is well expressed in the Persian adage: Ba Khuda Diwana Basho/Ba Mohammed hoshiar! (You can say what you like about Allah, but beware of saying anything (derogatory) about Mohammed.) It is time we took a more objective view of the founders of different religions. By all means give them the respect due to great thinkers, philosophers, poets and leaders of men but worshipping them is neither fair to them nor to your own intellect.

In short, God’s human manifestation is given more importance than God himself

Bujh rahey hain chiraagh dair-o-haram Dil jalao ke roshni kam hai I have burnt my heart thinking about the existence of God. And the more I think the more I am convinced that He is an illusion. And even if there be an all-powerful creator and a destroyer, He is not a just preserver according to the norms of justice as I understand them.

The stars have gone out in the sky.

I go along with Job in believing that God (if there is one) is above notions of fairness and moral rules, that apply to us mortals.

There is no evidence whatsoever of Samskara, it is no more than what Ghalib described: Dil bahlaaney ko khayaal achha hai (It is a good idea to befool the mind)

A four-year-old boy, the only child of his parents was on his way back from school. As usual with children on their return journey, he was impatient to get back home. Without bothering to look on either side, he ran across the road and was knocked down by a speeding truck and killed instantaneously. The truck driver sped away and was never traced. An innocent life was lost, the man who took his life escaped punishment. Is there a God? An all-powerful and just God? The Holy Book promises: “No ills befall the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble” (Proverbs). The Holy Book asks: “Consider, what innocent ever perished, or where have the righteous been destroyed?” (Job). Let those who believe in God and in His infinite mercy explain why a child whose parents had committed no sin had pain inflicted on them and then the man who caused them suffering went scot free. I will not buy the theory that we pay for sins committed in a previous life or will be compensated in the life hereafter.

As usual with children on their return journey, he was impatient to get back home. Without bothering to look on either side, he ran across the road and was knocked down by a speeding truck and killed instantaneously. The truck driver sped away and was never traced. An innocent life was lost, the man who took his life escaped punishment. Is there a God? An

As usual with children on their return journey, he was impatient to get back home.

Arvind is an erudite scholar of Hindi.

Every village has its own favourite deities. Even buildings like High Courts and hospitals have their patron gods and goddesses to whom offerings are made.

Every village has its own favourite deities. Even buildings like High Courts and hospitals have their patron gods and goddesses to whom offerings are made. I pleaded with David Davidar of Viking

No Country has produced as many gods and goddesses as ours.

That makes sense to me. Or how do you explain catastrophes like earthquakes and cyclones which take heavy toll of the innocent, upright and the God-fearing as they do of others? Why are so many children born blind, retarded or stricken with cancer? When there is so much injustice and cruelty in the world, why does not Almighty God punish tyrants and the corrupt? Explanations like paying for deeds done in past lives or punishments to be meted out in lives to come have no provable rational basis and should be rejected.

go one step further and hold that his existence or non-existence is of no consequence to human beings.

That makes sense to me. Or how do you explain catastrophes like earthquakes and cyclones which take heavy toll of the innocent, upright and the God-fearing as they do of others? Why are so many children born blind, retarded or stricken with cancer? When there is so much injustice and cruelty in the world, why does not Almighty God punish tyrants and the corrupt? Explanations like paying for deeds done in past lives or punishments to be meted out in lives to come have no provable rational basis and should be rejected.

Indeed, in common Punjabi parlance, God is often described as vadda beparvaah – the Great One who could not care less about human suffering.

Indeed, in common Punjabi parlance, God is often described as vadda beparvaah – the Great One who could not care less about human suffering. That makes sense to me. Or how do you explain catastrophes like earthquakes and cyclones which take heavy toll of the innocent, upright and the God-fearing as they do of others? Why are so many children born blind, retarded or stricken with cancer? When there is so much injustice and cruelty in the world, why does not Almighty God punish tyrants and the corrupt? Explanations like paying for deeds done in past lives or punishments to be meted out in lives to come have no provable rational basis and should be rejected. So what is the answer? Iyengar does not give one. But from the way he argues I am inclined to conclude that we do not know whether or not God exists or ever existed. I go one step further and hold that his existence or non-existence is of no consequence to human beings. 22/1/2000

the Hindic approach is in the Vishnu Purana: “O! who can describe him who is not to be apprehended by the senses; who is the best of all things and the Supreme Soul, self-existent, who is devoid of all distinguishing characteristics of complexion, caste or the like, and is exempt from birth, vicissitudes, death or decay; who is always alone; who exists everywhere and in whom all things here exist; and who is thence named Vasudev – the resplendent one in whom all things dwell.”

Nevertheless the feeling persists that there must be someone or some power which created the earth and life on it, and then take it away we know not where.

Nevertheless the feeling persists that there must be someone or some power which created the earth and life on

Iyengar starts by asserting that we are nurtured on religious beliefs from day one as we start imbibing our mother’s milk. By the time we are old enough to think for ourselves, we are thoroughly brainwashed into accepting the existence of God and incapable of questioning it.

He was logical, lucid and examined the subject from different angles.

He was logical, lucid and examined the subject from different angles. He spelt out his doubts and wrote to the

Most of them are in the form of assertions without reasons to back them up. I pity and envy them for having blind faith that God exists.

Since I have often questioned the existence of an Omniscient (all-knowing), Omnipotent (all-powerful), Just and Merciful God, I get a lot of letters from believers who denounce me as an ignorant, self-opinionated man ever bent on mischief-making and provoking controversy.

My top favourites remain the two Bapus – Murari and Asa Ram. Both have the gift of the gab.

What I find disappointing about these purveyors of religion and morality, be they Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Sikh, is that they have nothing new to say because they do not tackle problems of our times. Have you ever heard any of them tell you of the perils of our exploding population or the denigration of our environment?

Asa Ram Bapu intersperses his sermons with humorous anecdotes which raise laughter and clapping.

My top favourites remain the two Bapus – Murari and Asa Ram. Both have the gift of the gab.

In the evenings, theologians expound meanings of Gurubani.

You can hear keertan from dawn (amrit vela) to dusk from the Golden Temple and the morning services from different gurdwaras.

Some ragis are first-rate

‘Love thy neighbour’

Hoardings came up along major highways exhorting people to attend church regularly.

Being a non-believer, I find them hilariously comical.

Being a non-believer, I find them hilariously comical. I am amazed how antics of evangelists are taken

find them hilariously comical. I am amazed how antics of evangelists

I watch Pak TV

A Paradox I have not been able to explain is why in two countries as poles apart as the US and India, religion is good commerce.

A Paradox I have not been able to explain is why in two countries as poles apart as the US and India, religion is good commerce. America is among the richest of the rich nations

A Paradox I have not been able to explain is why in two countries as poles apart as the US and India, religion is good

Rafiq was apprehensive that I would subvert their faith in Islam.

Rafiq was apprehensive that I would subvert their faith in Islam. He

The process of coming to an understanding between contending faiths has continued.

In India we had Mahavir and Gautama the Buddha. Neither really accepted the existence of a God but laid down norms of social behaviour and acquired large followings.

and sought to impose their views on others. In India we had Mahavir and Gautama the Buddha. Neither really accepted the existence of a God but laid down norms of social behaviour and acquired large followings.

Right From the time life began on earth people have been asking themselves who or what made us, what was his, her or its purpose, where do we go, when do we die? Nobody has yet been able to give satisfactory answers to these questions. All we have are assertions about a God who one fine day decided to create life, gave different creatures different names, different spans of life and then made them disappear forever.

Right From the time life began on earth people have been asking themselves who or what made us, what was his, her or its purpose, where do we go, when do we die? Nobody has yet been able to give satisfactory answers to these questions. All we have are assertions about a God who one fine day decided to create life, gave different creatures different names, different spans of life and then made them disappear forever. At first, they conjectured that elements

rules about the direction the entrance gate should

no rational person can subscribe to theories of the origin of life or to conjectures of life hereafter put out by different religious systems

We have in India a growing number of rationalists who have rejected all beliefs in the occult and the unprovable.

And now we have the craze for Vastu as asinine as any of the irrational junk to clutter our minds.

Stupid people are impervious to reason.

self-styled godmen in saffron robes.

“The question is not whether there is God or not. What worries us more is the blind belief in godmen.

“Morals are and have always been independent of religion. If there are no independent moral standards, religions turn themselves meaningless. How do we know God is great unless we know what is God?

“Morals are and have always been independent of religion. If there are no independent moral standards, religions turn themselves meaningless. How do we know

Jayakrishna Sahu, an advocate in Orissa, writes in the recent issue of Indian Skeptic of his dismay at the alarming increase in the number of “fake swamis, sadhus, babas and gurus”. He goes on to say “the growth rate of crime and corruption is directly proportional to the rise in the number of such frauds and charlatans.” Strong words to which I subscribe.

Take it from me it is hundred per cent rubbish and sooner our media stop off-loading this nonsense on a gullible people, the better.

“In the year 1938, one evening, I was going up a hill near Matunga in Bombay, sunk in thought, quite oblivious of the surroundings, with rain pouring on my head. There was a purple flower in a plant in a cleft in a rock: the eye registered it but the brain didn’t, being otherwise engaged. I sat on a rock and looked back at the flower. “Why,” I pondered “does a plant have a flower?” The flower is the sexual part of the plant. Like some animals, flowers exude a powerful and seductive odour when ready for mating. This attracts a multitude of bees, birds and butterflies to join in a Saturnalian rite of fecundation. In case, the odour fails to attract, the flower also has a different colour and produces honey. That is, it tries every device to get itself fertilized. What beautiful patterns and variegated hues in the flowers! Flowers that remain unfertilized continue to emit a strong fragrance for as long as eight days: whereas once impregnated, the flower ceases to exude its fragrance. “After fertilization, the flower ceases to exist. It drops off and in its place appears the green stage of the fruit. When the seed which contains the immortality of the plant is ready for propagation, the fruit which contains it undergoes a remarkable change. It changes colour, it emits a scent, and it has an inviting taste so that any of these qualities may attract a bird or beast to come to the fruit, pick it and eat it. The seed is enclosed in a hard shell and is often unpleasant to taste, so the eater of the fruit drops it. Down comes the rain, and from the seed comes a replica of the plant. The huge banyan tree is contained in a seed which can be packed thousands to an ounce. The blueprint is there in the tiny seed. And given the right conditions, the banyan has reproduced itself. “Am I to understand that a plant that has neither brain nor a nervous system thought up or evolved this intricate system of propagating itself? No. Even a Nobel prize winning scientist cannot produce a leaf or a blade of grass in his laboratory. It is not the plant as we see it that is producing this marvel. A power beyond our comprehension is manifesting itself through the plant, through the bee that pollinates its flower, through the bird that eats the fruit and disperses the seed and as I the observer, who is overwhelmed at the sudden unexpected insight into the mystery of life.”

“Why,” I pondered “does a plant have a flower?” The flower is the sexual part of the plant. Like some animals, flowers exude a powerful and seductive odour when ready for mating. This attracts a multitude of bees, birds and butterflies to join in a Saturnalian rite of fecundation. In case, the odour fails to attract, the flower also has a different colour and produces honey. That is, it tries every device to get itself fertilized. What beautiful patterns and variegated hues in the flowers! Flowers that remain unfertilized continue to emit a strong fragrance for as long as eight days: whereas once impregnated, the flower ceases to exude its fragrance. “After fertilization, the flower ceases to exist. It drops off and in its place appears the green stage of the fruit. When the seed which contains the immortality of the plant is ready for propagation, the fruit which contains it undergoes a remarkable change. It changes colour, it emits a scent, and it has an inviting taste so that any of these qualities may attract a bird or beast to come to the fruit, pick it and eat it. The seed is enclosed in a hard shell and is often unpleasant to taste, so the eater of the fruit drops it. Down comes the rain, and from the seed comes a replica of the plant. The huge banyan tree is contained in a seed which can be packed thousands to an ounce. The blueprint is there in the tiny seed. And given the right conditions, the banyan has reproduced itself. “Am I to understand that a plant that has neither brain nor a nervous system thought up or evolved this intricate system of propagating

“Am I to understand that a plant that has neither brain nor a nervous system thought up or

The Taittiriya Upanishad affirms that it is beyond the reach of speech and thought: Yato vacho nivartante: sprapya manasa saha. (From where speech returns: even the mind (thoughts) without reaching it.

Moral: Never make a private pass at a girl who publicly proclaims her adherence to God.

“How does a young and pretty girl like you get so deeply involved in the clap-trap of religion?”

conerzed her at a coffee-break and asked her: “How does a young and pretty girl like you get so deeply involved in the clap-trap of religion?”

No amount of temple going, chanting mantras and recitations of scriptures is going to help us from committing mass hara-kiri.

But the more I thought about it later, the more convinced I was that there was a lot to what he was saying. If we go on destroying our forests, polluting our streams with noxious wastes and fouling our air with poisonous fumes of petrol and coal, we are in fact destroying all that has been given to us – by God or some yet undiscovered power.

He said, somewhat feebly I thought, that the religion of the future must be concerned with ecology.

people should have and the limits to its ritualistic observance so that it did not become an imposition on others.

He was evidently after the Marxists. But to describe the godless as immoral is a gratuitous falsehood. Most men and women who deny God are to my knowledge more truthful, helpful, kinder and more considerate in their dealings with others than men of religion.

Most men and women who deny God are to my knowledge more truthful, helpful, kinder and more considerate in their dealings with others than men of religion. What surprised me most was that the youngest and the comeliest of the participants,

People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, But people will never forget How you made them feel.

God’s hands shook and we were silent for a while. Then I asked … “As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?” God replied with a smile, “To learn that they cannot make anyone love them; what they can do is to let themselves be loved. To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. “All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis! To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love and that it takes many years to heal them. “To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings. To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally differently. To learn that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them … and likes them anyway. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves.”

“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?” God replied with a smile, “To learn that they cannot make anyone love them; what they can do is to let themselves be loved. To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. “All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis! To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love and that it takes many years to heal them. “To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings. To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally differently. To learn that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them … and likes them anyway. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves.” I sat there for a while enjoying the moment.

God answered: “That they get bored with being children; are in rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health; That by thinking anxiously about their future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor for the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived…”

“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?” God replied

“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?” God replied with a smile,

God answered: “That they get bored with being children; are in rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health; That by thinking anxiously about their future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor for the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived…”

“What surprises you most about mankind?” I asked. God answered: “That they get bored with being children; are in rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health; That by thinking anxiously about their future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor for the future. That they live as if they will never

“What surprises you most about mankind?” I asked. God

Aruna Kapur of Kolkata has sent me a delightful little piece of an imaginary interview with God entitled ‘High On Waves’. I would like to share it with my readers:

the best way to spend your life on earth is to create something worthwhile which may live after you

no rational person can subscribe to theories of the origin of life or to conjectures of life hereafter put out by different religious systems

Dhoondta phirta hoon main as Iqbal apney aap ko

I bade them farewell with their own greeting: ‘Om Shanti’.

However, I have to concede that I found Brahma Kumaris and Kumars more at peace with their environment than members of any of the other cults I have encountered.

(she could marry any Prince Charming of her choice)

An atmosphere of genial goodwill pervaded the campus.

Vegetarian food cooked by Brahmakumaris was wholesome and tasty.

bad people holding wine cups with scantily clad women ministering to them.

Rarely have I met one who would make me say, “What a good person his guru has made him!”

the deportment and conduct of their followers.

Consequently, although I study scriptures of all religions, I do not judge them by the loftiness of their teachings but by the impact they made on the taught.

It is not very important to find out who was greater – Rama, Mahavir, Gautama, Christ, Mohammed or Nanak: they were perhaps equally great, but which community – Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims or Sikhs produced more honest and courageous citizens.

This is utterly lopsided.

When they discuss God or religion, they emphasize their own religiosity or denigrate others as sanctimonious humbugs; when they talk of money it will be of their prowess in making it or of the unscrupulous methods adopted by those who have made more; when it is politics the undercurrent is always that politics is dirty business because it does not attract cleaner people like themselves. And when it is sex, although it is others that we strip naked, what runs though our tittle-tattle about it is the refrain that given the opportunity we could do better. The I is always triumphant.

Manobuddhi, chittani, Ahamkara naham Chidananda roopa Shivoham, Shivoham. (I am not the mind, I am neither intelligence nor egoism I am the joy of intelligence, I am Shiva, I am Shiva.)

the primary source of all evil is the ego, or ahamkara, the I runs through like a thread in the garland of all our conversation.

When they discuss God or religion, they emphasize their own religiosity or denigrate others as sanctimonious humbugs; when they talk of money it will be of their prowess in making it or of the unscrupulous methods adopted by those who have made more; when it is politics the undercurrent is always that politics is dirty business because it does not attract cleaner people like themselves. And when it is sex, although it is others that we strip naked, what runs though our tittle-tattle about it is the refrain that given the opportunity we could do better. The I is always triumphant.

Since most Indians have sex on their minds rather than in their groins it finds more expression in speech than in action.

When a catastrophe strikes or things start to go wrong, God tops. When all is tranquil, money manages to push God down to the second place. Politics (or the better Indian equivalent partibaazi) is a national obsession and at election time gets the better of both God and money. Likewise, sex, though it seldom gets the top ranking (few are willing to admit that they have sex on their tongues), manages to insinuate itself in most conversations whether it be about God and religion, money and the status money brings, politics and partibaazi.

Patriotic Indians be they Muslims, Hindus, Christians or Sikhs must rally round him and frustrate evil designs of backward-looking fanatics.

No administration which adheres to secular ideals should yield to arm-twisting by bullies in the guise of upholders of religion – mazhab kay theykeydar.

Whatever be one’s views on the subject, there can be no two opinions on the principle that it is for an individual to affirm or deny what he believes to be the truth and no one has the right to denounce another as an infidel.

In common Muslim parlance it refers to people who deny that Koran is the word of God and Mohammed was His Messenger.

one who hides or covers up the truth.

unthinking mob which makes louder noise and has more votes.

there was nothing wrong in Muslims abstaining from eating beef to avoid hurting Hindu sentiment.

In every religious community there are two distinct groups: one which strives for accommodation with other communities, the other which asserts its exclusiveness and superiority. Since the first group preaches peace and reasonableness and the other fanatical intolerance, the latter makes more noise, is more aggressive and succeeds in creating the impression that it is the real voice of the people.

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