Saints and Sinners

Christian theology has clear definitions for saints and sinners. There are even manual-like guidelines on how one could be categorised as a sinner or, through Vatican's beatification processes, a saint.

In the Indian mythological context, however, as with everything else, such definitions are murky. Many things described as sinful were committed by the gods and saints. Likewise, sinners too were claimed to possess saint-like qualities. So Raavan was a great devotional singer and his veena recitation lauded as divine-inspired. He was an exponent of all four Vedas and his meditational powers were unrivalled. On the contrary, Rama was a jealous, insecure and chauvinistic husband and Krishna was a scheming liar.

People have been quite accommodative of such saints (and sinners) for centuries. Apart from long flowing beard (the whiter the better) and saffron or white robes, any other definition of identifying a saint is quite complicated. So is Baba Ramdev a saint, a godman?

Many think that Baba Ramdev has suddenly woken up to the issues of society and some even accuse him of trying to play proxy to the opposition. Some claim that swamis don’t have a place in politics and they are best relegated to teaching yoga to ardent followers, or to people with plenty of money.

Baba Ramdev has been exhibiting interest in socio-political issues for quite a while. He had even founded an organisation called Bharat Swabhiman that promotes nationalist and democratic consciousness. Just like any Indian, he is not a perfect person, and considering he had reached only eighth standard and is a proclaimed-religious teacher, many of his world views are archaic and even regressive. But does it really matter?

In the middle of all these atavistic clamours, we forget something important. Baba Ramdev is a citizen of India who is initiating a Satyagraha for a very serious problem that has been plaguing India since Independence; the problem that’s sapping our nation of all our economic energies and on which the present government has been dragging its feet in wilful negligence.

Vinod Mehta claims that saints have no place in politics. Ironically that’s exactly what the British complained about Gandhi! Mehta asks Ramdev to ‘go back’ to his yoga teaching. Let us say if a heart surgeon launches a political protest tomorrow. Would Mehta ask him to ‘go back’ to his operation theatre? What about teachers, plumbers, software engineers? Should Amir Khan have ‘gone back’ to his studios instead of writing a letter in support of Anna Hazare? Why is Vinod Mehta printing the anguished articles of Arundhati Roy instead of advising her to start another novel?

Just like others, the godmen too have a role in society. I don’t know if Ramdev calls himself a godman but at least he is an acknowledged religious figure. Indian mythology and history are littered with examples of politically motivated rishis. They have even participated in the wars. In one such war when the valiant archer cows down because he had to face his guru, a famed rishi, in the battle, the scheming liar eggs him on with his most popular motivational speech. Nobody asked what that rishi was doing in the middle of the greatest war ever fought on an Indian soil.

So Baba Ramdev may be an imperfect person, but what of his cause? The cause Ramdev has taken up is the most relevant and most important one. His method of protest is non-violent and the one that has been an indigenous Indian invention which even helped to liberate India. So there’s nothing wrong with what’s going on now. In the context of this topic, his other negatives don’t matter. Unfortunately the saints may not be clearly defined today. But the sinners are very clearly visible. They do not possess Raavan-like divine qualities. They are more like Christian-sinners (pun intended), with identifiable evil traits.

Only a second Satyagraha will rid the country of these sinners.