A Godman struck Gold!

I’d say there is also another, Greed. Greed, as an aggressive action, when driven by blind faith shall prove to be a deterrent in the path of progressive evolution of man. Faith can definitely be categorized into rational and irrational. India, unfortunately is no nation for rationalists. The unholy nexus between godmen and politicians and godmen and bureaucrats, time and again tarnishes the superpower image of our country. The recent undertaking of a treasure hunt at Unnao poses a question that can never seek a certain positive answer- “What does India stand for?” Probably a wandering soul that lost its body!

Before we Indians claim our country to be a modern incarnation of the world’s earliest civilization still living, we need to leave behind our pan-Indian tradition of worshiping and patronizing just as anybody who practices yoga, speaks classic Sanskrit-Hindi, clads less clothes, sleeps on the floor and considering his every utterance to be a divine spell. There are apparently hundreds who indulge in such image crafting to attract respect and trust of religious-minded people. This is where the power of discretion comes to play a role in choosing rational and irrational beliefs. We worship 33 million Hindu gods, Allah, Jesus and the Buddha in our country, Don’t we have enough?

“When it is not our power to determine what is true, we ought to follow what is most probable”- Rene Descartes.

The Archeological Survey of India(ASI) has so far yielded nothing except broken bangles and earthen pots. The excavations are generally carried on a trail and hit method, so the ASI did not feel it was any ridiculous to follow orders of Mahant who believed in the seer’s gold dream. What a waste of resources! They could not recognize the derision in the issue even after Sarkar had been upset over the slow pace of digging work saying the treasure would disappear if they do not hurry up. Can there be no other way to investigate and validate proclamations of self adopted godmen? This further proves that the story of Asaram Bapu, which is still making headlines hasn’t shaken people’s conscience enough.

The reason I mentioned greed driven by blind faith is due to the reports of illegal digging at Adampur. The villagers left behind a three feet wide and four feet deep pit after their vein enthusiastic attempts to find the fortune. Immediately after the news of excavations spread, there have been claims on the yet to be discovered treasure from different quarters. Uday Singh Peshwa, a descendent of Peshwa claimed a right to the treasure. Another Rao Chandi Ram Singh who claims to be a descendent of Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh has come forward to claim a share. The same site at Unnao was once a Buddhists site, hence there is also a claim from their side. No wonder we have made a laughing stock out of ourselves.

Above all, the ones who are most amused in the scene are the de-facto pradhan of Daundiya Kheda, Ajay Pal Singh and its villagers. Singh’s family has been heading the village since three generations. The pradhan has been helping the ASI officials digging in the village by assisting them, explaining the topography of the land and also arranging meals. He seems to be enjoying the fame and opportunity to accompany MPs and MLAs to the site. The leaders have promised everything needed in the village. An engineer has already met Singh regarding laying of roads in the village. This is the fortune of the villagers I must say. There are number of destitute places in Bharat where people are awaiting leaders to address their plight, but alas!, they do not have a mighty prosperity hidden in their soil! The public display of negligence, greed and no consideration by these politicians even in the age if RTI is above all frustrating. Wish we could dream of the illegal money amassed by rhetoric politicians and dig that out to solve the country’s financial vows.

A country which had had a scientist as one of its Presidents should definitely be ashamed. Jawaharlal Nehru had expressed his strong advocacy for promotion of scientific temper in his book, The Discovery India- “The scientific approach and temper are, or should be, a way of life, a process of thinking, a method of acting and associating with our fellowmen”. Under the Article 51-A(h), the Scientific Resolution Policy,1958 was adopted as a constitutional obligation, as a fundamental duty of every citizen, which says “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform”. A police compliant has been files against the seer for spreading superstition. The ASI and the politicians involves shall be tried for entertaining such rumours and going against the spirit of the constitution. Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh may well have been a rich trader, but exploiting historical facts to mislead people and institutions is something which needs to trigger a serious action. Our good lies in not discovering any prosperity underneath as it will only lead to legitimising fraudulence of self styled godmen and unsubstantiated faith.