Books and ME.

My Experience with Godmen and God women of India

Man is God's best creation and religion is man's worst creation. I am not an atheist, or I have no fight against any God or religion. There are many debates, fights, and senseless posts by social media by many about his conflict. But few have the guts to speak out the truth about it.

A few weeks earlier, I read a book by my favourite author, Late Khushwant Singh, and this week I would write about that book. 'Godmen and God women of India' is the self-explanatory title. A fearless writer like Khushwant Singh could even dare to poke the ship of self-proclaimed Godmen and God women of our country.

The book is a take on various Godmen, God women and various religious organisations in our country. The author talks about his interaction with them in the form of notes which are divided into chapters. The writer takes you on a journey spread across decades of meetings with such persons. He has also shared his experience of talking with persons who believed in such persons.

The beauty of this book is, this book does not talk about forming an opinion about anyone or anything. This book is a source where you can get to know about all the prevailing scallywag things going on around us. The writer has mentioned the excellent things which were preached by these persons and also the things which should be unacceptable by the normal society.

The book talks about Rajneesh to Dhirendra Brahmachari to Shraddha Mata to Shri Datta Bal Desai to Muktananda to the Brahma Kumaris. Each interaction of the writer with the persons led him to know many new things and sometimes busting the myth about them. He always used to go with an unbiased mind to meet them and that helped him in knowing them better.

Khushwant Singh never believed in any religion, but he had read all the religious scriptures and could quote verses from all the books. He believed in a policy that you do not have to be a part of a religion to know about it. They reflect his knowledge about the religious texts and people involved around it in this book. The discussion with various Godmen and God women shows his knowledge about all the texts. He always used to ask them about life and every Godmen and God women had a fresh approach towards it. The author has beautifully carved the thoughts in his book.

The topics discussed in this book can offend too many, but the way it is written wards off that feeling. There are parts in the book when the writer has openly ridiculed some God persons, which in a way is the truth. Many of them are attracted towards the popularity and the glittering world attached to it. They pass on different pearls of wisdom to their followers, but deep down they never practice it. But the author has made a note of those persons who believed in helping society in many ways. He spoke highly about some personalities who had a tremendous impact on his life. He liked some of their thought processes.

Even though he found Rajneesh to be oddly different but still Khushwant Singh was impressed by some of his teachings. He used to read his books, which were Rajneesh's teachings. He was never a follower of any cult or organisation, but he used to pick up the suitable points from all and used to follow it. More precisely, he was impressed by it.

His encounter with the Brahma Kumaris people is one highlight of the book. His interaction with them impressed him so much that he could not find any flaw in them. He was happy to see such an organisation who worked for the welfare and the words of wisdom were very well resonated by all the followers. Except for one point, Khushwant Singh agreed that all of their teachings were perfectly right and should be followed by all.

A lady tantric, a renowned Indian politician, and an illicit affair. This is not a film story; it is the story of Shraddha Mata. It raises many tough questions against our history. People talk about the story a lot and I would not give away much about it. One should read the book and know about it.

Dhirendra Brahmachari is another interesting person in the book. A person who used to teach 'Hastha Yoga' to his followers had made many high-profile friends. His lifestyle of maintaining himself on two sides made his life difficult.

Out of the many letters which he used to get from his known acquaintances, the unique was when he received from a small girl of one of his known people asking him questions about God and religion and the transformation she went through after this discussion. These are some life-changing interactions which he has shared in this book, refreshing to see.

There are a lot of interactions in this book, which is a delight to read. One should read this book with an open mind. The things mentioned in this book are nothing but the truth but mentioned in such a way that it would offend no one.

In many chapters, Khushwant Singh shows the people the mirror of reality of all religions. Being an expert of many religious scriptures, he could quote them in the right context and that was the beauty of the entire book. Condemning the false propaganda and resting his facts on the correct wisdom makes Khushwant Singh the perfect person to write about this topic.

At 245 pages, the book is a delightful read and different from the books we find nowadays glorifying some Godmen and God women. The book provides you with many unknown facts and knowledge about religion and life. The experiences shared by him is quite interesting and it would be more delightful to read the book. Khushwant Singh has always been my favourite author and his writings have always intrigued me to look at life differently. He has influenced my life in a better way.

Until I upload my experience with another book, till then take care, be safe and keep on reading. Cheers.