God’s own country plagued by fake ‘godmen’
Published May 27, 2008 | Kochi: With the arrest of Santhosh Madhavan, who had a meteoric rise from a nondescript temple priest into a mystical fortune teller and then into a multi millionaire by fraudulent means, more stories of fake godmen are unfurling. Kerala state police have already initiated a probe into the disproportionate wealth in many cases.
Santhosh Madhavan is charged with many offenses like rape, cheating, possession of narcotics, porn CDs, tiger skin and swindling huge amounts of money from unsuspecting clients has turned out to be a land shark. He owns thousands of acres of land all over Kerala in his own name and in benami. Married twice, he has taken many of his believers for a cool ride all these years.
Some of the other swamis in the investigation net include Divya Joshi, a self-proclaimed sanyasi in Thrissur district, Swamy Thapasyananda, a godman in Panthalam, Christian spiritual leader, Brother Thanku and many, many more. Police have also recovered documents of fraudulent land deals, fake passports, and many other incriminating documents from their possession. Their modus operandi has been to swindle money from devotees by promising to cure them from life threatening conditions like cancer or to ward off evil eye and bad luck.
Kerala holds the dubious distinction of having a superstitious populace in spite of being a fully literate society. Over stress and anxiety in an ever growing consumerist society has made them puppets in the hands of these godmen who prescribe cure for all their ills. Before falling prey to their tall claims, people need to be sensible rather than sensitive. Never bite the bait of the infectious, high voltage propaganda unleashed by these destructors.
With more complaints pouring in from different parts of the State, the government and the police force is leaving nothing to chance. Home minister reiterated that tough action would be initiated if any complaint is made against any spiritual leader, however mighty he might be.
Spiritual enlightenment should come from within and no devotee would ever need a fake guru to attain ultimate peace and mental bliss. Let common sense prevail upon the people of Kerala!