Convicted rapist Asaram appears like a superhero on his website
Self-styled godman Asaram — born as Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani — was sentenced to life imprisonment on April 25, 2018. Affectionately called “Bapu” or “Bapuji” (father) by his devotees, Asaram was found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl in 2013. The victim had alleged that Asaram had called her to his ashram in Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013.
Heinous as this crime is, there are more cases against Asaram and his son. Of course, for his devotees, he is still as innocent as a lamb. Since his arrest in 2013, his devotees have not stopped trying to spread the word about his innocence. And why would they not. After all, the “godman” had built a cult around his divinity. A quick look at his website, Ashram.org, is enough to make you understand why.
A section on the website titled “The life-tales of Pujya Bapuji (revered father)” has illuminating (and clearly fictional) anecdotes from the life of Asaram — outside of prison, of course — that make him sound no less than a superhero.
The section begins like an instruction manual.
“How to obey the orders of SatGuru (a guru who shows one the path of truth)?”
The answer to that sounds thoroughly problematic and creepy now that the world knows what Asaram and his son are capable of (on multiple reported occasions). It reads: “The order of SatGuru is actually His blessing. The secret to our progress lies in whatever He points out. What He thinks appropriate for us, whether we like it or not, is good for us. The book Guru Bhakti Yoga states: ‘Know that what Guru, the exalted one, chooses is better than what you choose.’”
The cringe-fest does not end there.
The page lists a “heart-warming” tale of Santosh Bhai, a gardener in Asaram’s Ahmedabad ashram. Santosh recalling his interaction with the “godman” said, “Once, Pujya Bapuji came to the gaushala while taking a stroll in the morning. He saw the gate, and said, ‘How did it become slanted?’”
When the gardener informed him it was a tractor accident, Asaram supposedly instructed him: “Fix the elevated portion of the gate with a wire to any nail below, then the gate will become straight.”
All day long, the gardener tried in vain, to fix the gate with his own methods. He even tried to get help from others. Alas, he wasn’t able to fix it. Finally, having exhausted all other possibilities, he tried Asaram’s method. Voila! The gate was fixed.
The lesson Santosh learnt from the incident is a lesson no one should learn at all: “The success of life lies in following the method prescribed by the guru.”
The next "inspirational" Asaram tale on the site is one about man's willpower. And by Jove! What a tale it is. It recounts an incident from 1993 when the rapist baba was conducting a "satsang" in a newly built hall with a thatched roof. During the course of the evening, it started raining heavily, and the noise of raindrops falling against the thatched roof drowned the voice of Asaram.
But here’s where the superhero godman displayed his superpowers!
Asaram allegedly looked into the sky, and said, “Megharaaj (the lord of rain)! See, people are meditating. Stop the rains!”
And, of course, it stopped raining immediately and all his bhakts were able to resume their meditation.
But wait! This wondrous tale is far from over.
After the meditation, during the “kirtan” or prayers, Asaram allegedly looked up at the sky once again and commanded, “Rain rhythmically like the sound of music played in kirtan.”
Of course, it started raining as if a musical instrument was being played by someone. And after the kirtan was over, Asaram is believed to have told the devotees queuing up to meet him: “Be quick. I have halted the rains.” Once the meeting and greeting was done with, legend has it that Asaram made a gesture, while looking upwards, and said, “Rain heavily!”
The moment these words were uttered, torrential rain started.
Moral of the story? The man who can make rains start and stop at his will — the website claims that "nature is an obedient maid of such great men" — was sadly, unable to stop himself from raping a child. Nor was he, of course, able to stop the law from taking its course.
And finally, the generic godman-cures-the-incurable tale of 77-year-old Kanchan Ben Patel of Ahmedabad who recalled how Asaram cured her half-paralysed sister. Without getting into the unnecessary details of this obviously fictional account, Asaram said, “From today onwards, she will walk without any support,” and she did.
Apart from all these amazing stories, his website has weird trivia about his life and childhood, like:
You know they're all just bhakt crazy.