The Bageshwar Dham: The Reality of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri
These last few weeks, a new Baba has entered the market, Bageshwar Baba. You’d wonder what’s special about this Baba. It is being claimed that this baba miraculously understands the problems of his followers and gives them equally miraculous solutions. but that’s not all, with an added angle of Hindu-Muslim, the media will automatically get you popularity. Satirist Rofl Gandhi had an interesting take on it. “The fraud employed by Bageshwar Baba is the same that’s used by Christian and Muslim conmen.” So, how is everyone censoring Bageshwar Baba? “Can’t Hindus get converted peacefully without others objecting to it?” Isn’t that right? Some people aim to be IITians, scientists, or IAS officers. But if some want to be fools, why shouldn’t they be allowed to? Everyone has the right to be fooled. and people of all religions are aware of this right. People might be divided on religion, but people from all religions are united on superstitions. You can find such men in all religions. and some people follow them very loyally. let us understand this Bageshwar baba. and let’s also understand the general phenomena of these cons.
Bageshwar Baba
Starting with Bageshwar Baba, the person donning the persona is Dhirendra Shastri. He is from a village in Madhya Pradesh. There, he runs an ashram called Bageshwar Dham. According to a report from Dainik Jagran, his real name is Dhirendra Krishna Garg. He is only 26 years old. Just imagine that. A 26-year-old man is now a baby. Perhaps, some years down the line, we’ll see teenagers dropping out of school to become babas. Anyway, let’s talk about Dhirendra. He was in the news for the first time because of these communally insightful speeches. In April last year, he was preaching in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar, where he called out to all Hindus to unite and have bulldozers run over the home of “Stone-Pelters.” obvious political reference to the actions being taken in Uttar Pradesh. after that he want on to ask everyone to take up arms, but id everyone takes up arms, what is the police for? Should the police vacate their offices and become babas? What about the lawyers, judges, and law and order? “Wake up, you cowardly Hindus, arm yourselves, and show the world that Hindus are united.”
It was quite obviously a communal speech aimed at disrupting public peace. but we’re familiar with the law and order in our nation now, no arrests were. A few days later, Dhirendra called himself a Dhaba. and admitted that he will continue making such hateful speeches. As if it wasn’t enough to insult law and order, Dhirendra was back in the news for allegedly practicing untouchability. Look at this image, where his devotees fall at his feet. and he puts his feet toward them. This is somewhat common. But in another case, when another person came to fall at his feet, he had a different reaction. coming to his recent episode. Recently, Dhirendra was in Nagpur for a Ram Katha. Here, he did what he normally does. reading people’s minds and giving them miraculous solutions to their problems. Here, Shyam Manav enters our story.
Shyam Manav is the national convenor of the Maharashtra Andha Shraddha Nirmoolan Samiti. an organization founded in the 1980s by Narendra Dabholkar. As you can understand from the name of this organization, the organization was founded to fight against superstitions. but in August 2013, unfortunately, Narendra Dabholkar was murdered and shot to death. where he was on a morning walk in Pune. Obviously, some fanatics were responsible for this. but thankfully, four months later, in December 2013, a law was passed in Maharashtra against human sacrifices, superstitions, and black magic. This was a huge win for this organization. They had been campaigning for years to have a law against superstitions and black magic. After Narendra Dabholkar’s death, Shaym Manav continued this work. He has been with the organization since its inception. He calls himself a Sanatani Hindu. in the same way Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda called themselves Sanatani Hindus. He says he isn’t against anyone’s god or religion. He simply opposed the fraud taking place in the name of religion. that he works in accordance with the Constitution of India.
A report from Dainik Bhaskar claims that “Shyam Manav has busted more than 200 such fraudababas.” His first major case was the legendary Shakuntala Devi, known as the “Human Computer.” Shyam Manav claims that he wasn’t against her mathematics programs, but eventually, she started getting into astrology and future predictions. then he had to take action for busting her ploys. Police registered the complaint, and an FIR was made. She had to flee the event she was supposed to attend in Nagpur. “Shakuntala Devi, whose name is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records, came to Nagpur once and was running advertisements saying, “God can correct fortunes, so can Shakuntala Devi.”” This case was so widely known that Shakuntala stopped practicing astrology and future predictions after this.
Another major case was related to foreign missionaries. He recalls how five missionaries were visiting Nagpur to conduct a session where blind people got back their sight. deaf people started hearing, they claimed to make such miracles happen. Back then, he used the 1986 Drugs and Remedies Act to fight these scams. He lodged a complaint against these five missionaries under that law. and it was the first time that four foreign missionaries were arrested in India.
Dhirendra Shastri comes to Nagpur
Dhirendra Shastri was in Nagpur. Shyam Manav found out that he was there for Ramakatha. He didn’t mind that, and in fact, he welcomed it. but then he found out that the Baba was holding his court over there. where he will apparently be performing miracles. This was to be held in Nagpur on January 7 and 8. Shyam Manav says, “I was informed that he had planned a Ram katha; I said it’s a good deed and should be welcomed.” But then people informed me that there were videos of him holding court as “Divya Darbar.” That’s when I started paying attention to him. “I had my team go through about 40 to 50 of his videos, and they noticed that there were several illegalities in them.” He informed the police about this with proof and asked them to take action against it. but the police took no action. later, Nagpur gave a clean chit to the Baba. claiming that after examining all evidence, they found nothing that went against the black magic act. Apart from informing the police, Shyam Manav challenged Dhirendra as well.
Two challenges
- first, to identify 10 people in a room, Dhirendra had to guess their names, father’s names, ages, and phone numbers.
- the second challenge was to predict 10 items kept in the room next door.
Shyam Manav claims that if the Baba could answer with even 90% accuracy, he would give him a reward of Rs. 3 million. If the baba wins, Shyam Manav agrees to bow down to his feet. apologize to him and disband his organization.
What happened to the challenge?
What happened next? Did Bageshwar Baba accept this challenge? On the poster for the event, it was mentioned that it would last until January 13. but Dhirendra left Nagpur on 11th January. Shyam Manav called him a deserter. Since he couldn’t accept the challenge, he fled from there. Some Hindutva organizations took offense at this. and they started burning Shyam Manav’s effigies. After this, death threats were made to Shyam Manav, saying that they would ensure that he met the same fate as Narendra Dabholkar. another Narendra Dabholkar. Fortunately, he has been provided security cover since then. in Dhirendra Shastri’s defense, his cousin Lokesh Garg came forward to claim that they received death threats too. that Dhirendra’s family was asked to prepare for his funeral. and Bageshwar Dham was given security as well. But what happened to the challenge?
In his response, Dhirendra claimed that he did not flee. the Ram katha was scheduled till 11th January. and that if Shyam Manav is keen on giving him a challenge, he can do it in Raipur. “On January 3, I had mentioned that the event would last only 7 days. That was the original schedule. So, I’d like to tell Shyam Manav that if he wants the experience, he should visit the Darbar in Raipur, or you can come to Bageshwar Dham.”
In response, Shyam Manav released a video on YouTube. He says that, “to ensure that no information reaches them, under the fraud and proof conditions, we cannot create such an environment.” This is why this challenge can take place effectively in Nagpur. There are two reasons for this, the police and the law and order situation in Maharashtra being one of them.”
Second, he claimed that Maharashtra’s home minister, Devendra Fadnavis, had visited Baba’s program, so Baba and the home minister already have cordial relations. So if the challenge plays out in Nagpur, there cannot be any shenanigans from either side.
What do you think?
I believe that Dhirendra Baba should accept the challenge. A person like Bageshwar Baba shouldn’t be worried about minor details. Nagpur or Raipur—what difference does it make? thousands of followers of Bageshwar baba live in the imagination that, Shyam Manav would have to eventually bow down to the baba.
Thoughts of Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand made an interesting statement. He asked the ones claiming to perform miracles to go to Joshimath and stop the land from sinking. He said that if someone could indeed perform miracles, he needed to prevent forced religious conversions, suicides, disputes, and domestic violence. any miracle that would benefit society and our nation. Only then can we call someone a miraculous person. I have some suggestions for Dhirendra. I think he should join RAW. He would be helpful in discovering secret information about other countries. He can help the police catch thieves and criminals.
In fact, he has claimed to cure cancer with his medicines and blessings. “It’s second-stage cancer. I will do a ritual and give you medicines as well. It’ll be cured, and I bless you. Your mother has been sick for 3 years, and the disease she has, cancer, will be no more. I bless you. “Light a fire, and in 50 g of cow urine from a domestic cow, add 2 turmeric sticks as paste, and have the sick person drink it; it will be 100% beneficial; I bless you.” I don’t know what he’s waiting for. Why is our government not doing anything? Why are hospitals wasting precious time? They should take lessons from this Baba to learn how to cure cancer and treat everyone. There are so many patients in India. but none of this will happen. because all of it is a fraud.
Canadian-American stage magician James Randi
James Randi is one of the most famous magicians in the world. Dhirendra’s petty tricks are nothing compared to James Randi. But James used his tricks to entertain people. and Dhirendra uses his tricks to con people. and to form a cult. James Randi founded the James Randi Foundation to promote scientific temperament. In it, he came up with a $1 million paranormal challenge. It was a simple challenge. If any person in the world could show him proof of the existence of supernatural and paranormal entities, like ghosts and such, he would win $1 million. but no one has won this challenge yet.
Surprisingly, despite all this, people all over the world are attracted to it. We see Babas producing gold chains from thin air. Someone turns water into gasoline. To an extent, superstition can be accepted as harmless, or rather, a self-harming thing, but many of these babas have been found to be involved in heinous crimes. murders, sexual harassment, tax evasion, kidnapping, and human trafficking. Interesting enough, such conmen often have some political connections.
Akhil Bhartiye Akhada Parishad
In 2017, the topmost body of Hindu sadhus, Akhil Bhartiye Akhada Parishad, issued a list of 14 fake babas. The president of this parish warned people to beware of such conmen. because these conmen are a blight on sadhus. There were several popular names on the list. Aasharam, Radhe Ma, Nirmal Baba, Gurmeet Singh, and Narayan Sai There are several other Babas who have been found to be involved in crimes. Nityanand, Mirchi Baba, Jalebi Baba, Premanand, Chandraswami, and Amit Chaitanya This problem isn’t limited to one religion. You can find Muslim fake babes as well. Shaykh Abdul Rahim, Akmal Raza, Hakeen Baba, and Asif Noori Akmal Raza told a woman that if she wanted to cure her husband’s medical condition, she needed to hand over her daughter to him. Deen Mohammad is a black magic practitioner. He was caught doing similar things.
Similarily, you will find some Christian Babas as well. In a tragic case from Kerala, a woman was blackmailed using her secret confession. Normally, when you go to church, you can confess your sins in confidence to the priest. but her confessions were used to blackmail her. and then they took advantage of this woman. And then there are some Christian Babas who claim to be able to perform miraculous cures. Bajinder Singh has more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube. Similar to Bageshwar Baba, he too can guess names, dispel evil spirits, and even cure disabilities. “How long have you had this problem?” It has been a year. Look at my hands. Believe and try to get up. You can do it, Hallelujah! You can do it. “Look at the brave guy; hold his hands; walk; yes, walk; very good.” A film was made on such Christian Babas. “Trance,” directed by Anwar Rasid The film is a masterpiece.
While talking about such cons, let’s not forget about those who speak English. because some educated people believe that if a baba is speaking in English, it makes them credible. Whatever they say must be true. One such baba tells people not to eat during an eclipse because food gets rotten. Another time, he claimed that if you look at water angrily before drinking it, it will make you sick. Another video claimed that after death, nails and hair continue growing for 11 days. and miraculously, such Babas are even invited to IITs for Iectures. This shows you how much India lacks a scientific temperament.
Why do people fall for these conmen?
Illiteracy can be said to be a reason. but this cannot be the only reason. because we see several instances where educated people, employed in good jobs, are getting conned by these fraud Babas. and the second reason can be the faults in our Indian education system. It does not focus on people’s critical thinking abilities. Children are forced to learn without question. This is why we see YouTube influencers who are IIT graduates but claim that lighting wood on fire for worship can purify the air. Though they’ve studied the basic laws of combustion in chemistry at school, written them down on their answer sheets, and passed exams with good marks, they still do not understand them. The third reason is faith. Faith means blindly believing something. There is no need to think, question, or doubt. Simply believe in it. People believe because they want to believe. Often, these conmen exploit the poor emotional state and problems in the lives of these individuals. People are frustrated in their lives. They see no solution. normally, people go to a therapist or psychologist for mental problems in most of the developed countries. But this culture hasn’t gained traction in India yet; people have no one they can turn to with their problems. and so they go to these cons.
Mentalists Karan Singh magic and Suhani Shah do the same thing that these conmen do. reading people’s minds. The difference is that they do it for entertainment. They do not claim to provide cures for their problems. but they are only tricks. It bears mentioning that the concept of Babas is inherently good. It is a nice concept. People who study the scriptures have a spiritual understanding of life, and they act as life coaches. as a personal counselor. This was commonplace in the olden days. but no fees were charged for this. It was selfless service by real Babas. Hindu saints, Buddhist saints, Jain saints, and Muslim saints History is full of such people: Adi Shankaracharya, Baba Farid, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Baba Bulle Shah, Shah, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda, and Jiddu Krishnamurti.
But the recent trend has been jobless, good-for-nothing people pretending to be babies. These fraudsters have no life advice to give to people. They just know how to fool people and run their businesses. The concept of asking for alms has now turned into begging. This is why it is crucial to expose these conmen. It is important to protect people and society from their ill intentions. This will benefit both religion and science.