Fake Hindu swamis, sanyasis, babas, gurus and godmen thrive in a society which has not understood the true teachings of Sanatana Dharma (Hindu Religion). Therefore Hindus and other sections of the society which provide the opportunity and fertile ground for fraudsters in the guise of swamis to thrive in the name of Hinduism are equally at fault. Ignorant, miracle and fortune-seeking followers are the ones who help such fake swamis to prosper in our Hindu society.
Before Going to a Swami Read the Bhagavad Gita - the Greatest Guru
The Bhagavad Gita which narrates the essence of Hindu spirituality contains only 700 verses. There are excellent translation and commentary of Bhagavad Gita which cost less than 100 rupees. But majority of the Hindus have no time to read the 700 verses but spend thousands of rupees, hard earned money, energy and time visiting ashrams and spiritual centers of such fake babas and gurus.
If you make this an issue, immediately comes the answer, Bhagavad Gita is hard to digest for common people like us, we are ignorant.
It is for the common people that the learned and holy men of yesteryears have translated the Gita into all regional languages. They have provided excellent translations and have interpreted the great dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna into the simplest language.
Reading and understanding the Bhagavad Gita is not the real issue. If one has time and patience this can be easily achieved.
The real issue is that Gita doesn’t talk about methods to become super rich overnight. Neither do Gita have mantras to find treasures hidden underground or to get promotions or provide miracle cure to diseases. Gita also does not recommend pujas to destroy your enemies. And above all Gita does not predict the future.
Gita only teaches to you to attain Moksha and how to live a life of bliss on earth.
But the fake swamis and godmen only talk about future, money and predictions, pujas and innumerable homams to cure diseases where medical science has failed. Sadly, this is what many Hindus want to hear.
Majority of Hindus who go after Swamis are fortune seekers
Daily we get to hear about such fake swamis and their notorious activities – which include rape, illicit relationships, amassing wealth through dishonorable means – but this has not deterred many Hindus from approaching fraudsters in the guise of Swami. Why?
Both the fake Godmen, his followers and those who go after such swamis are fortune seekers. Godmen is using religion to become rich and conduct other antisocial activities. Followers are fortune seekers who want the help of an outside agency to reach God and bribe God and amass wealth, cure diseases, solve social problems and above all know the future.
The True Sanyasi
Shri Krishna never fought for Arjuna in the Mahabharata. Arjuna had to do all the fighting in Kurukshetra. Krishna is always there to remind us the Truth and give sane advice. The ultimate truth is that we have to do our work and no God will come to do it. Sadly this is not acceptable to many.
A true Sanyasi will never advertise. He/She is like a flower. People reach them following the fragrance. They will not even bother to talk to fortune-seekers. Silence is their best weapon which frustrate most fortune seekers in minutes. They might open up the knowledge treasure to a genuine seeker whom a true Sanyasi will easily identify – just like Ramakrishna identified Vivekananda.
A true sanyasi lives in the present - he will not have possessions - he might not even have the money to buy his next meal.
There is nothing new to say
Sanyasi and Godmen does not say anything new. Everything is found in the Hindu scriptures. All their words are borrowed from the Upanishads, Gita, Ramayana, Yoga Vasishta and Mahabharata. All these Holy Scriptures are readily available in shops and now on the internet for free. Pick any of these Holy Scriptures and read a few pages daily. Soon we will realize the futility of going to such fake gurus.
Hinduism believes in individual self realization and not borrowed or rented or bought self realization. Always remember the Brahman (God or Supreme Truth) that resides in the most respected guru or spiritual leader also resides in us. The only difference is that we have not bothered to realize it.
If we are falling into the trap of fake Sanyasis and Godmen, it is our fault.
And if you find that a swami is fake, never hesitate to report it to the authorities and write about it on the internet. Such fake swamis and God men should not find protection in Hindu religion.
