Re: Sex crimes to sieges: India's controversial 'godmen'

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The godman is believed to be in intimate contact with ‘higher’ reality and has the power to make it accessible to his followers. He or she (for this also holds true for the godwoman) is the culturally sanctioned addressee of an ancient civilisational longing, a collective request for the transforming experience. His reputed ability to induce euphoric states in the follower carries a conviction of his divinity that is impervious to scepticism and disbelief. The follower cannot be shaken out of his belief in the godman with appeals to reason or evidence, answering anyone who would doubt with, “I don’t believe, I know.”

The promise of transformation, an entrance into realms of higher reality, goes beyond healing in its narrow sense. Yet, for the followers it is the stories of the godman’s miraculous healing powers that are the most convincing proof of his intimate connection to higher reality, helping in further swelling their ranks.

Apart from the godman, there is the appeal of the identity one gains by being a member of his sect. Between the vast traditional majority, ensconced in their caste and other group identities, and a small minority of the individualised, a large, transitional sector of India’s population, living in towns and metropolitan areas, is the natural reservoir of the godman’s sect.

Membership of the sect provides a person with a new group identity to replace the village or caste identities which have become shaky. Standing between the individual and impersonal modern institutions, the sect also offers substitutes for community and professional associations.

The mutual obligations inherent in sect membership are not limited to fostering each other’s spiritual progress but also extend, say, to the clearance of a fellow member’s income-tax return or helping him get an undeserved driving licence