Every few billion years there walks upon this earth a messiah. A messiah who has been sent to change the world and its way of thinking, before it self destructs. And while we await this messiah, religions wax and wane, new thinkers, new apostles, new men of God arise anew, to resurrect and revive what has been and what has existed since genesis. Some achieve the mantle after years of penance while many burst upon the scene like shooting stars. 

Hinduism, due perhaps, to its inherent plurality throws up a few messiahs quite regularly. There are the thinkers and philosophers of the ilk of the great Sankaracharyas and Swami Vivekananda who achieved guru-hood after much self denial and many years of learning. And then there are the latter day propounders of the faith like Shri Satya Saibaba, Mata Amritanandmayi etc who achieve instant cult hood even before they’ve learnt how to write!  

And most of them have a few things in common. They have a higher calling, the gift of the gab and the urge to reach out to the common man who needs to be reminded of the word of God. They have also at some point in time had a vision or a divine realization of what their calling should be. Justifiably it is to help change the world. Make it a happier place .And they hope to do it through spiritual discourses, yoga, meditation, yatras, gimmickry and now increasingly by ‘spiritual healing’.  

It is perhaps Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh who first introduced the world to jet-setting swamis who offered ‘happiness’ for a price. And what they propounded in the sixties caught the imagination of the west and spread like wildfire among the youth of the day. Transcendental Meditation was the passport to heaven. Freedom to love and ecstasy interspersed with words of wisdom were next on offer. Pune became the Mecca for all nirvana seekers. Whether any one actually did find or experience it, is a moot point. Yet this quest for ‘eternal bliss’ continues and still has the propensity to attract young people from all walks of life. 

If superstition, poverty and illiteracy make for a common breeding ground in the search for a better life so does it seems extreme wealth and materialistic satiety!  

At an age when life should be an adventure, exciting and thrilling, many of today’s youngsters are already mentally bored, aimless and weary. And when someone garbed in the requisite colors reaches out, promising succor, healing and eternal bliss or offers you a quick fix solution, one-on-one, in a language you can relate to- Wouldn’t you go for it?

Anyone would. Especially if it is freely available at spiritual shops aka ashrams across the country at a price.

 It is what makes the young and the not so old today-till disillusionment sets in - discover the advantages of ‘spirituality’ and pass it on to others.  

It is also what makes a pampered 21 year old become a ‘sevika’ and follow the call or  highly paid CEOs give up their all to live lives without basic necessities. It is also increasingly today the call of a new kid off the block -Nithyananda Swami (hinduonnet.com). The latest of the current crop of Swamijis espousing the cause of a greedy mercurial world well lost for love- he sells “Bliss”!  

 Twenty two kilometers from Bangalore, in Bidadi is the Dhyanapeetam ashram. The headquarters of Nithyananda Swami. And amidst blowing dust and construction debris, in spartan surroundings, have gathered small contingents of believers from all over the world. Educated and well spoken they have come to attend a seven- day Spiritual Healing Course. Dressed in white they greet each other not with a hello or a good evening but with a ‘nithyanandam’ on their lips. They then listen in rapt attention to this young rustic 29 year old diploma holder in mechanical-engineering who tries to explain the nuances of individual consciousness, divine healing and eternal bliss. He holds their attention with simple anecdotes and everyday examples. Packaged as an all found cure for stress and most ills, his discourses and courses seem to find favor with the young despite being a few thousand dollars a piece. He lays great emphasis on the efficacy of spiritual healing and has most of his followers turning ‘spiritual healers’. That they are barely out of their teens does not seem to matter.  

  Yet it was Baba Ramdev who first strode that path. He burst upon the scene with his various TV programs- propagating ancient yoga as the modern day Viagra for good health and good living- taking yoga and the concept of yogic healing to the masses.  His Ayurvedically processed food and treatment is on offer at all his yoga camps and his brand of community yoga combined with spiritual anecdotes fosters a kind of almost hysterical kinship among his followers the world over. A commercially packaged guru, he is media savvy and equally clued up. 

 Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (wikipedia) took this commercialization to new heights. His brand of stress busting techniques made waves among the socializing elite. With his weapon of stress destruction- the ‘Sudarshan kriya’ and his ‘Art of Living Foundations’ he sought to save, heal and succor ailing minds and feeble bodies. Now being propagated and sold by groups of certified followers through out the world, it was he who put ‘deep breathing exercises’ on the commercial map. 

 And some one quite different but no less clued up is Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. Unschooled and untutored she commands a following unparalleled in recent history. She travels the world expounding her take on what needs to be done to ‘cleanse’ ones’ mind of all impurities to achieve spiritual growth and love. With a number of charitable institutions, hospitals and orphanages run by volunteers on the lines of Sri Satya Sai Baba she attracts the bright and the best of young minds to help her cause. Her USP- A hug!  

 Unfortunately for every one of those who have gained credence there are as many charlatans like Shraddhananda (Sentenced for life for having buried alive his wife), Premananda (convicted for rape and murder), and others on the make who are only interested in exploiting the innocent. Sadly tarring the whole tribe with the same brush. 

If sessions on the kundalini and discussions on the chakras can induce adrenaline rushes and activate hidden energy to give young minds the required fillip in the right direction then could these quick-rise swamis be the answer?

It is without doubt a better option than drugs, anti depressants and the like. 

Yet despite a plethora of such happiness vendors from every religion why is the world still an unhappy place rife with terror and strife?

After all aren’t these the same followers who inhabit today’s world?

If seeing is believing isn’t it evident by now that ‘happiness’ cannot really be bought? Why then do we still flock to people who place price tags on their knowledge?

 Why do we allow them to flourish and prosper? Why is it that with every new generation there are new vendors and new takers?   

What are we constantly seeking that cannot be got from books or gurus and spiritual teachers who impart knowledge for the sake of knowledge?

Scholars who have necessarily evolved into Swamis after endless years of study. Gurus whose usp is knowledge not smart marketing. Swamis whose fortunes would not shame a Mr. Rockefeller into applying for a dole.

Doesn’t experience teach us anything?

Why don’t we realize that happiness comes from within and cannot be outsourced?