As you may have already read in the
news Commander Selvam is "accused" of separating money from his flock
(link). It is important to note
that he is innocent till proven guilty. However this does bring up an
interesting set of questions regarding "god men/women" and their
ability to influence people by exploiting their fears to amass large sums of
wealth.
If you have not heard of Commander
Selvam he is a self anointed Godman (About)
who promises various cures and remedies with a combination of religion and
pseudoscience, and has been instrumental in the construction of various Hindu
temples in North America.
Up until his recent fall from fame
he was a very popular figure amongst the Indian American community and his
magazine 'Karma' was a free pickup staple in all Indian grocery stores. The
website (Link) makes for amazing and
hilarious reading.
Some examples are :
a) In the Fees and Dhakshina section
there is this gem - "Atharva
Vedic Rituals Dakshina fees varies from US$501.00 to US$10 Million depends on the rituals, time involved,
priests involved and the various specialized Vedic items to be used etc.., The
atharva Vedic Rituals cannot be canceled for any reason, once agreed to start, We have 100% no return policy.
No guarantee for any results or outcome of any rituals"
Makes one wonder what Vedic Ritual
costs US$10Million and a 100% "no return" policy! (Cut to Homer
Simpson praying to God with a plate of cookies " Dear God if you 'don't'
want me to eat these cookies give me NO sign").
b) The organization runs a 'temple M&A' operation
that is surrealistic. This is from their website - "Also, if you know
any temple which needs financial support to manage the Hindu temple in any part
of the Universe, we are ready to adopt"the temple and we will make sure that the
temple will survive for generations.
c)Among the various
nuggets of wisdom he has imparted over the year:
- Types of women
that men should avoid (Link)
- This beauty
titled " Mantras for Delayed Marriage" (Link)
In any case, there
are too many to name and list, you can find the entire offering here Link.
Now that the Feds
have indicted Mr. Selvam on 32 counts of swindling his congregation, credit
card companies and the IRS, one wonders what is going through the throngs of
"devotees" that have invested their faith, time and money with this
Godman.
I have always
wondered the reason for the Godman fascination. Full disclosure - I grew up
attending one of these popular "missions" in India and was on a
healthy diet of astrology for a long time till I reached my own personal
catharsis. I can understand the value in imbuing principles from philosophers
and thinkers but there is definitely a huge fall (off the proverbial logic)
cliff when one ascribes to using Godmen to ward off evil spirits, resolve
marriage disputes and as Dr. Selvam colorfully articulates - "Any and All kinds of problems created by any Human and or by
deadly evils"
Today God men/women
are pervasive in every culture and country. Be it the Indian Guru that is
pedaling pseudo science by mixing parts of scripture, yoga and medicine or the
Pastor that purports he can heal the evil spirits of Satan's minions that is
the cause for homosexuality. The common themes always revolve around money, power and ability to influence, but most important of all is money.
This Washington Post Article explores
the rise of Indian Godmen and their accrual of wealth and power. However this
is no different from the Jerry Falwells or Ted Haggards of this country. Same
MO.
So here is my list
of "Signs you are
intricately involved with a God man/woman or group"
a) You are required
to attend religious sessions of ANY frequency (daily, weekly, monthly).
(Entropy should be your friend here).
b) There is a
direct or indirect implication of monetary contribution of any kind.(dead
giveaway - Your God person is getting richer by the day and you are not).
c) You are
absolutely convinced that he/she materialized objects right in front of you (or
some other "miracle" that defied the laws of physics (also google-
"image of Jesus on the tortilla chip").
d) You readily on
board vague pseudo scientific concepts into your worldview ex. hugging a God
person will bring you good luck, "getting a good view of the god person in
a crowd' is a sign of good times etc.
e) You are very
easily able to succumb to the cognitive dissonance that as long as there is
evidence of "charity and social good" being implemented all other
shortcomings/departure from law are fine.
f) Finally...you
lead by faith in places where you should have led by reason.
One can aspire to
be free from the burden of fear, superstition and God men/women. Only then
as Mr. Selvam eloquently depicted on his website - we will all
be..............................