“When you feel the need for a Master, you will find one.” These are the words of a particular Sadhguru (A self realized man), when someone asked him, “How do I find my Master?”

It was a few years ago, when I first felt the need to see what these celebrity guru’s are all about. I went and checked myself into one of the very well known, spiritual organization in this country. The experience was really one of a kind.

After signing a mandatory agreement, that I would refrain myself from anything intoxicating including tea and coffee during my stay there, I was checked into a fancy room. I had paid a handful for it, including the course. The aura in the far away ashram was that of peace, tranquil and excitement. The ashram was like a mini township. There was a hotel and travel booking office for the foreign guests, a restaurant which served European food, a book shop, an ayurvedic spa, a state of the art cinema hall, a shopping centre which sold “spiritual” cosmetics and designer clothes to perform yoga and meditation.

And by the fourth day of the program, I was already bent out of shape. That evening, we were told we were lucky to have the “guru” amidst us for a discussion. With a very feminine walk and botoxed smile, he came and sat on his throne. His followers did “aarti” to him and worshipped his feet. He sat and spoke of love, truth, peace and service. But have we not heard that all our life? The crowd praised him.

When the time for Q & A came, I raised my hand with a burning urge to ask him about several things, and was curious to know what he had to say. But the volunteer’s carefully choose the ones who can ask questions, it’s the sad faced, desperate looking, about to break down kind of people. With their palms wide open, they asked him, how will they find happiness? How will they be free of problems? And several such questions. Same old questions of life for which every man wishes to know the answer. And like a parrot, the guru’s answers to them all revolved around embracing love, truth, peace and service.
The constant feeling of being in a place cut off from reality, the forced luxuries and simple plain philosophy being taught there as something life changing and charging for it, made me lose my mind, and I ran away from there.

Spiritual tourism is the name of this game, with agents sitting across the globe to rope in spiritual tourists to India every year. And in the tag of social service, the young and old are lured in, while politicians and government and celebrities endorse and encourage this.

When one walks around in crisp white and pastel shade clothing, do yoga in the morning, breathe the country air, eat satvik food, sweep the floors as part of the service, it does make one believe, that the place/course has transformed them.

In this regard, my concern is especially about the young energetic minds, who are getting involved in the business of religion and encouraging these institutes by offering everything from their money, to brain power to management skills to talent and devotion, to aid in running these Multi National Organizations.

Ours is a country which wombs innumerable Godmen and spiritual leaders. And they all do more than just what they claim to be good at. Apart from answering questions about life, teaching the path of self realization, and stress management (This should really be called, stress removal. Why would someone want to keep and manage the stress?), do you see, how they are all into rural development, education, social projects across the world, media and marketing, PR and all of that. In the name of donation, money is made in millions of dollars.

My in depth analysis of various such men and institutes, by personally going there, listening to their discourses, understanding their psychology and behavior, raised many doubts in my mind.

Comprehend this. There is a place where a saffron robe clad man walks into a hall, waving his palm and performing magic, while thousands of men and women, demurely bow their head and sit, as if they are all lowly beings and he is the true master. His duty as a Master is to just give darshan.

There is another place where, hundreds thong to hug a woman, for free. She sits on a couch, over weekends for hours together and hugs thousands of people. Only the hugs are free. Everything else needs to be paid for. People buy miniature dolls of this lady and talk their problems to that doll. One finds men and women, being reduced to little kids who play with their dolls, and a sense of paranoia sets in them. Even better, there is a couple, an ex-LIC of India agent and wife, who now claim to be Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi reincarnated, as the next avatar in this yuga, and run a university of sorts. I wonder, why he had to be a government employee before announcing to the world, that he is an incarnation and indeed God.

All these people travel business class, stay at luxury hotels and drive expensive comfortable cars and have a flair for everything material. People throng at these centers despite this, almost putting all logic and rational thinking aside and spend much time and energy in encouraging such deceitful acts.

Let us think deeply. A master is someone, who stirs the very core inside us, and brings out the best in us. A master should ignite the fire in us, to become better individuals. To break us down of our misconceptions, misunderstandings and fears and mould us to become the best we can be, through his enlightenment and understanding of the world. A Master and a disciple should have dialogues, share knowledge, and debate and argue and explore facets of life and its understanding.

Do you think bowing down our head, believing we are all sinners and then, sitting in a mass gathering to catch a glimpse of a man, who is surrounded by security and then roaring in excitement, just because we are lucky to be a part of this crowd, and begging in our mind for atonement is the way to realize our self?

Not at all! We young minds have much vigor and energy in us and we should try to be in the company of those who can impart knowledge, stimulate us from within and hone our skills. A book, a learned teacher, our parents, a friend, our partner, an experience and life itself can be our Master. In order to look inside us, we do not need to wait in queues to receive a hug, sit in a jam packed hall to listen to someone, pay money and take up courses or follow any cult. We can lead a normal life, do all things we need to, and look inside ourselves, anytime, anywhere!