Paakhandi (Fake) Guru

1. Have the wisdom  and courage to get rid of a pakhandi guru without any delay.

Its human to seek support during most tumultuous, unbearable circumstances.  Its human to look for someone who may help one tackle problems and find right solutions.  Its human to feel weak during challenging times.

Its human to seek Divine Grace for strength to face life.  But this, certainly, is most unfortunate to have met someone who, in the name of Maa, Divine, and Sadhna, manipulates simple minds. Minds who are already confused, get more so.

Its certainly heart breaking to have come across a pakhandi, who uses emotions of pure hearts for his own Agenda.

This is my first hand experience spread in six months.

Once, I was very tired of handling life. I had  touched the bottom and seeking some  worldly solutions to worldly problems.  During this time, I approached a NGO where I could offer my services and get some solace.  The head of NGO was an educated, working professional, exceptionally soft spoken. He encouraged me to visit a small spiritual  centre he was running parallel.

I immediately decided to do so.  It was Maa Kali’s Sadhna centre.  Never before I had ever visited such a pooja sthal where regular  murti pooja and abhishek would be performed with all the ingredients.   The experience of pooja with so many rose petals was new and somewhat joyful as it started to keep me physically busy, which, in turn, would  help my mind to calm down.

A kundalini awakening exercise/practice was also being taught and marketed by him, even having a website and youtube discourses.  I didn’t have any faith in such outwardly / materialistic methods of spiritual growth.  His speaking skills were good, laced with politeness. My requirement of some  solution to my ongoing problem was at peak. I decided to mindfully deep dig into the processes prescribed by him. My heart was not into his prescribed procedures. But my faith in God, sincerity while doing chanting and pooja-arti, were all very genuine and pure.  He claimed many high flying  results of following his instructions. He tried his best to impress me by talking about  his so called meditation and chanting sadhna, about his own spiritual journey, his charity work, bhandara and seva at gaushalla. 

I had enough spare time with  me. I started to invest 3-4 hours every day at the centre, doing his prescribed procedure for kundalini awakening. He said, “all your problems will be taken care of once you devote yourself fully to Maa and this centre.” He had found an almost ripped  fruit as me and wanted to give my bali for his own aspirations. He tried his best to brain wash me to become a care taker  of his centre. As my heart was not into it, I decided to follow him mindfully. It was giving me good time pass as well since nothing objectionable or uncomfortable was happening in the centre. Regular havan (yagya), regular chanting, pooja, arti and prasad was a routine.

Slowly, I started to gather the scenes behind the curtain. I had already started giving regular monetary donation, most willingly. It was my way of doing RAKs. With full purity of heart I gave him 30,000/- to plan a group pilgrimage, which never happened. Every month 5,000/- for six months, as contribution for evening bhojan after pooja. Along side, utensils, bed sheets for floor, and helping with more money  also happened. He was so tricky and such a smooth talker that he started to regularly  send his followers for free treatment to my doctor husband.  He also took 31,000/- from  my husband as  donation for his upcoming centre.

Slowly, his real side became more apparent. His hypocrisy, his shrewd ness, his hidden agenda, everything  surfaced within 5-6 months. I was the first one who  courageously left him despite the feedback that he might harm me with his powers, and such people don’t easily let go someone.

 Those who were  in his emotional trap since years, also started to analyse his wrong doings. First the intellectual ones came out of his so well woven spiritual  grip. Later even those who were innocent enough to put their pure blind faith in him, also got the courage to NOT support his totally false and pakhand poorn agenda.

Our colourful country is full of such damp colours. Not  only in rural, even in urban, not only illiterate but well educated, – so many are into this task of  making spirituality a business. Religion, already, is being used to make a  fool of  simple hearts. Now spirituality is also not spared. 

I wish I could name such people.  I got to know that after being unable to succeed in his planning in urban surroundings, he has now targeted a rural village and shifted his shop there. Our simple minded rural folks are sure to get impressed with his  well cloaked outer persona of a soft spoken, english speaking, rich, professional  intellectual.

Its painful. Really it is.