Online petition to the Election Commission re Communaly Sensitive Posters in Indian Railways run Trains

It has been brought to our notice that hundreds, if not thousands of posters (Image Pasted with petition ) have suddenly been observed in all trains leaving Gujarat state. The contents of these posters with the provocative heading “Why is There a Conspiracy Against Sadhu Sants in Bharat?” is a clearcut effort to communalise the atmosphere ahead of the state elections in over five states and also

India: All manner of propaganda being used by godman Asaram Bapu's team to defend him| report in India today

India Today  Legal options closing, Asaram Bapu tries charm on believers Akash Deep Ashok  New Delhi, October 15, 2013 | UPDATED 00:09 IST   With the long arm of the law around him and unwilling to relax, self-styled godman Asaram Bapu wants an appeal in what he calls the highest court: the court of the people.

On his official website, in a new section

Meera Nanda on India’s superstition industry | Frontline

Frontline, 18 September 2013
Cover Story

In the name of faith

Asaram Bapu’s alleged sexual assault on a young girl offers an opportunity to throw light and lift the veil on the state-temple-corporate complex. By MEERA NANDA

http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/in-the-name-of-faith/article5137396.ece?homepage=true&css=print

India: Inside Asaram's Evil Empire by Uday Mahurkar and Asit Jolly (India Today)

India Today





Archive / 

The Big Story / 

September 23, 2013 







Inside Asaram's Evil Empire



Uday Mahurkar and Asit Jolly
 NA, September 13, 2013 | UPDATED 17:52 IST






"I salute Bin Laden," he proclaimed just three days after the world
witnessed unprecedented televised horror as Mohammad Atta and his men
brought down the World Trade Center in New York on September

The psychology of how godmen come to contol the minds of millions of devotees (Debarshi Dasgupta)

godmen
The Hold
The psychology of how godmen come to contol the minds of millions of devotees
Debarshi Dasgupta

How Devotees Are Brainwashed Into Fandom

Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in the person
Control the physical and social environment; control the devotee’s time
Keep the person unaware of what’s going on & how he is being changed step by step
Manipulate

USA: Life At An Austin Ashram, A First-Person Account (Karen Jonson)

From Outlook Magazine, September 16, 2013

godmen
Life At An Austin Ashram, A First-Person Account
The author of Sex, Lies and Two Hindu Gurus shares her experiences

by Karen Jonson

In 1991, American writer Karen Jonson wasn’t in love and was in a dead-end job when she joined an ashram, the Jagad­guru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) in Austin, Texas, attrac­ted by local guru Prakashanand Sara­swati’s

India: Who is Asaram Bapu and what keeps his cult going? Jay Mazoomdaar tracks the controversial godman

The saint and his taint



Who is Asaram Bapu and what keeps his cult going? Jay Mazoomdaar tracks the controversial godman’s legacy from his base in Ahmedabad







Jay Mazoomdaar





Tehelka, 2013-09-07 , Issue 36 Volume 10


















Once his name is mentioned, almost everybody seems to have an Asaram Bapu
story. A popular

India: The place is carmmed with “godmen”, quacks hawking dodgy medicines and palmists (The Economist)

From: The Economist
Banyan Blog

Atheism in India
He’s not the son of God
Aug 22nd 2013, 13:23 by A.R. | DELHI

INDIA is so crammed with colourful “godmen”, quacks hawking dodgy medicines and palmists to trace your fate, it is easy to miss the mild-mannered rationalists in the scrum. Extreme followers of Kali, the goddess of power, occasionally still leave a decapitated human sacrifice at one of

India: Yoga salesman says stay away from all women | See also Ninan Cartoon

Ramdev advises sages to maintain distance from all women
Times of India-Sep 2, 2013
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-02/india/41687757_1_yoga-guru-ramdev-mothers-hindu-scriptures

also see Ajit Ninan's Cartoon in The Times of India, 3 September 2013

India: Business of Faith - Arrest of Asaram Bapu by Ram Puniyani

Business of Faith

Ram Puniyani

Our society has seen severe turmoil’s in the name of religion during last three decades in particular. While on one side we see that issues related to religion’s identity are trying to occupy the center stage, we also are witnessing the emergence of thousands of self proclaimed ‘Godmen’, supposed to be having divine powers. They do also claim and sometimes the

India: The Advantages of Being Asaram Bapu

From: India Ink / NY Times, August 30, 2013
The Advantages of Being Asaram Bapu
By SNIGDHA POONAM
Strdel/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu during a ceremony in Jodhpur, Rajasthan on Aug. 11.

Asumal Sirumalani, a popular Indian spiritual leader who is known to his followers as Asaram Bapu, has fought a long battle against sex.

At his crowded satsangs (spiritual