Swami Scandal Continues

Posted On Monday, April 26, 2010 at 05:35:20 AM
According to research, an average man sleeps with around seven women in his life time.

Give or take a couple of escapades in a dark corner here and a dimly lit stairwell there. Average men can never, in a thousand lifetimes, even hold a candle to any of our randy swamis. Again, research says that only 7 per cent of average men have sex 4 or more times a week (and they are supposed to be a rare breed of ‘average men’). If you mention this figure to our Swamis they will laugh you out of their perfumed-satiny-red-boudoirs. Scientists say that human beings are pre-wired to want and think about sex. Our randy swamis believe it to be the gospel truth. However, they would cut off their, you-know-what, before they acknowledge it in public. They’d rather prefer to lead a double life - celibate, spiritual guru by day and a randy, sex guru by night. Some are known to have matinee shows too. They continue, blissfully, leading this parallel life till one day they become a 70 point size headline in newspapers or simply ‘Swami Nithyananda’. Nithyananda, who has a penchant for draping himself in silk saris and have his disciples address him as ‘Mother’ on Mothers’ Day, is currently in a police lock-up — a far cry from his queen-size bed and a lanky Ranjitha doing him ‘seva’.

Swami Nithyananda is not the first swami to entertain us with his libidinous life and will not be the last either. Before him there were other holy men leading unholy lives.

It is said that the famous Naked Naga Sadhus who are such a tourist attraction at the Kumbh Mela and those who practise cult religions such as Shakta or Naga live a detached life, but they are not necessarily devoid of the pleasures of life.

Celibacy is merely a personal choice. Holiness has nothing to do with celibacy. But holiness has everything to do with Dharma. But Dharma has nothing to do with celibacy. Go figure that one!

Sssss — Icchadhari Bheemananda Swami

Earlier known as Shiv Murat Dwivedi, his naagin dance can put sexy Sridevi’s Nagina to shame. He usually danced to the song Man doley, mera tan doley, with his devotees matching him step for step. An ex-security guard at a hotel and massage parlour, Dwivedi became a yogi. And sought enlightenment in the flesh trade in Delhi. He had an entourage of 600 women working for him and amassed more than 600 million rupees in a ‘holy’ career spanning 10 years. Also known as Ichchadhari Swami, he was caught when one of his girls was busted in a raid by police.

Twist of Faith — Swami Premananda

He had the frizziest hairdo amongst all swamis. Born in Sri Lanka, he set up an ashram near Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu and was noted for taking in orphan girls from refugee families from Sri Lanka. Allegations about his exploits with the girls under his wing soon surfaced and after an in-depth investigation in 1997, he was convicted on several counts of rape, a single count of murder and possession of unaccounted foreign exchange. Eminent lawyer and former law minister of India Ram Jethmalani was one of his devotees.

Sex Crimes — Ram Rahim Singh

The head of Dera Sacha Sauda, he created a controversy after he donned a central Asian frock coat which resembled that of Guru Gobind Singh. In 2002, a woman accused him of trying to outrage her modesty. There was also some talk about a local journalist being murdered for writing a series of articles on the Dera in his newspaper Poora Sach. After much delay, the CBI chargesheeted the holy man for raping two sadhvis and conspiring to murder two people in 2007. The Baba reportedly referred to Lord Krishna while trying to justify his coming on strong to his female followers.

Hurt Locker! — Swami Amrita Chaitanya

Also known as Santosh Madhavan, with his eyes on the stars, this part-time astrologer and self-proclaimed godman was on Interpol’s radar for his frauds in the UAE. He was reportedly guilty of paedophilia and filming himself while molesting underage girls. Arrested from Kerala for his crimes, he was sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment in 2009. According to police reports, he kept his dubious CDs safe in a bank locker in Kochi.

Hand of God — Osho aka Chandra Mohan Jain

He was the original Sex Guru. And he was a class apart with his mesmerising eyes and a high IQ. Calling himself Bhagwan (God) Shree Rajneesh, he later took on the name Osho and became famous for his sex sutras. As a spiritual teacher who believed in meditation and celebrating love, he attracted international following. According to reports, his ashram in Pune embedded the free spirit of human soul with no boundaries on group sex, naked existence and having a jolly good time. Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna, a devout follower, was an ashram regular, so much so, that his movie career took a severe beating. After his deportation from the United States, where he spent some years, Osho was denied entry by 21 countries. He travelled the world before returning to Pune in 1990, where he died.