Nirmal Baba- not so ‘nirmal’ after alls

I have recently come across the latest BABA buzz in town and was a little sad to see how innocent people can be made fun of, on national television.

There was a time when every other channel i saw used to play baba ramdev’s CDs early in the morning. I was ‘lucky’ enough to witness the launch of a few ‘dharmik’ TV channels dedicated entirely to all the babas, behens and matas all over. Strange enough, i thought that these TV channels were actually syndicates( like the ones we have for freelancers), so that they may come together and preach in heavy words what my grandmother use to narrate to me in her stories.

Maybe these channels are like blogging platforms. ‘Come and speak’ being their motto.

Coming back to what i started the blog post with – Nirmal Baba. It all started one morning when one of my close relatives were home. Early morning he was flipping through channels in desperation. and as nobody at my home stays asleep till late, i have naturally cultivated this bad habit.

So i aksed him what he was looking for and i wished it was some news channel because i watch that in the morning and then surf through the cartoon channels and discovery and the likes all day long. To my surprise he said he wants to see babaji and he is getting late for his ‘darbar’. What? ‘Darbar’? Have the mughal emperors come back to power?

Anyway, the desired channel was found and he asked me to sit and see what ‘chamatkar’ baba does to his ‘bhakts’. Curiosity at its best was asking me to sit and my eternal expression of critique became dominant. Lets see what babaji has in store. Afterall, had i not been sitting there, somebody else would have taken the remote control later and i would have to wait for my turn to watch ‘kid vs. cat’.

A bhakt came over and told babaji that he had been facing problems. Babaji asked him to keep a black purse for money. That way money would stay in his household and he wouyld get of his financial troubles. Another bhaktan came over, she was very unhappy with her family life and wanted relief. Baba asked which state did she belong to. she was from bihar. so baba stopped for a a moment trying to remember the name of the nearest mandir to her place, told hger the name and asked her to go there once and all her probelms will be eradicated.

This trend continued. My relative was very delighted to see his dear babaji on TV. As if baba had cast a spell on him and that one hour inn front of the TV made him a better man. Not to forget, i obviously had an arguement over the ‘gospel of babas in india’.

In the end i was left wondering that just in case i went there to baba and told him i have some trouble( i dnt actually and even if i have, i can better look after them on my own), he would ask me where i was from and then ask me to either go to Daat Kali Mandir or maybe Tapkeshwar Mahadev. Are you kidding me?

The end of the program was bewildering. Yes, the baba asked for donations and was generous enough to give his various account numbers in numerous banks. Which saints asked for money? If they really did, would kabirdas and sai baba die in poverty? Should saints not leave all wordly pleasures and give in to a life of salvation or atleast try to get moksha?

पर क्या करें साहब? ज़माना बदल गया है.. सिर्फ श्रद्धा से तो भगवान् का भी पेट नहीं भरता, हर मंदिर में दान पेटी लगी है. ये तो फिर भी बाबा हैं. हाड़ मांस के इन्सान है. भूख तो इन्हें भी लगती होगी. ऊपर से महंगाई इतनी है. आम आदमी बेचारा कब तक कमा के खाता रहे. कभी तो मुफ्त की रोटियां तोड़ने का मौका मिले…

And what baba do you talk about? I have known a few people that sit in front of the tv with a ‘pooja ki thali’ and a water bottle because they think that baba would drink that water.

Amazing. This nation and its people deserve some praise. and what wonderful imapact does these people have on the commoners. Anybody and everybopdy can get fooled. look at that man’s body language, he sits like a maharaja and speaks while making faces. As if questions by these people are irritating him. These innocent fools who think that God can be found in a person who sits on a higher seat. these people who make rulers and leaders divine. The same people who are unable to find a God inside them. The very same people who do not believe that they are made by God and they have all the reasons to be perfect.

Problems and difficulties are a aprt of God. They are his messengers that make you a stronger person each day. You dont really need to go to a temple for some ‘prasad’. God gives you that every day, in every single breath. why not make use of it. Why not be better human beings than the worshipers of a man who thinks he has a higher authority.

I know half of the people who read this would call me an atheist and the rest half would not even understand what i said, but all in all one thing must be cleared, its my life and i dont run it on the teachings of a baba.

Post courtesy - Neha Joy Chauhan.

Neha is a brilliant writer on social issues. She is based out of Dehradun, India