New Delhi: The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the apex body of Hindu sadhus on Sunday, released a list of ‘fake babas’ in the country, said a media report. The move seems to be in response to recent controversies that have surrounded some self-styled godmen.
The list includes 14 names, including Asaram Bapu, Sant Rampal and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, added the media report. The latter has been surrounded in never-ending controversy since his conviction for raping two female followers of his Dera Sacha Sauda.
Such controversies have, seemingly, displeased the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad. “Such hypocrite babas should be put in jails, also their assets must be probed,” Akhada Parishad National President, Mahant Narendra Giri said.
“We appeal to even the common people to beware of such charlatans who belong to no tradition and by their questionable acts, bring disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis,” Giri said while announcing the list.
There is a very strong feeling among saints that because of misdeeds of just one or two religious leaders, the entire community was being shown in a bad light, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain said.
The parishad is a council of akharas, which are monastic orders drawing their spiritual lineage from 8th-century seer Adi Shankara, who is said to have established orders of martial monks with the aim of defending the Hindu Dharma.
The move by the top body of Hindu religious leaders came close on the heels of the recent rape conviction and jailing of Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa, Haryana, and the violence that followed his conviction.
Along with releasing the list of ‘fake babas’, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, has also decided to put in place a mechanism to award the title of ‘sant’ in order to prevent people like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh from misusing the title.
“The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad feels that the title of ‘sant’ is being misused so it has decided to put in place a mechanism to award this title,” Jain said.
The title will be given after evaluating and examining an individual. “The Akhara Parishad will also observe lifestyle of individuals before conferring this title on them,” Jain added.
A senior functionary of the Akhara Parishad said that they had also decided that a saint cannot hold cash or has any assets in his name.
“All such things – assets and cash – should belong to a trust and should be utilised for the welfare of the people at large,” the functionary said.
The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad is the united body of 14 akharas, including the Nirmohi Akhara which is the face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in Ayodhya.
List of ‘fake babas’
Asaram Bapu
Radhe Maa
Sachinand Giri alias Sachin Datta
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
Icchadhari Bhimanand
Malkhan Singh
Narayan Sai
Rampal
Acharya Kushmuni
Swami Aseemanand
Brihaspati Giri
Om Namah Shivay Baba
Nirmal Baba
Om Baba
