The Organiser has a special issue titled ‘Beacons of Hindu Spiritual Mission’. In his editorial, R. Balashankar says: “our Hindu organisations, temples and institutions (have) become the beacons of hope, sustenance, national pride and most significantly sentinels of patriotism. Bhakti is a defensive mechanism and an offensive weapon. .. In this Independence Day special we track some of these great men and their mission. Unlike the missionaries and the venom-spewing terror merchants their appeal is universal, their message is for peace and prosperity and they serve humans as a whole. They are winning hearts not harvesting souls for demographic invasion.” He adds: “but for such men, the shenanigans of the UPA would have produced faster results. For today, for a Hindu to remain a Hindu — other than his tradition-loving family elders, the good work of thousands of our iconic spiritual leaders who have become cult figures of universal appeal and the great service activities they have taken up in the length and breadth of the country — there is nothing left. It is a disadvantage in a professional sense to be a Hindu.”

No moral compass

In another article, columnist Sandhya Jain offers a counter-view. She writes: “In an age with a plethora of god-men, gurus, preachers, some so popular as to have ashrams in many states and even in many countries, it is an astonishing truth that society is rudderless, adrift on an ocean of hedonism, without spiritual and moral guidance ... The fault lies with Star Gurus who seek self-aggrandisement by building huge cult followings and five-star ashrams where rich Indian and foreign devotees can practice yoga and meditation in comfort, in salubrious, resort-like environs. Justifying the Marxist slander of religion as the opium of the people, they peddle lullabies to frustrated millions seeking release from life’s myriad problems. Such vicarious redemption is totally un-Hindu, and extremely harmful, as it turns a blind eye to festering evils and allows them to multiply under cover of a guru’s benign gaze.”

... contd.