FRANCOIS GAUTIER SPEAKS OUT

Francois Gautier Speaks out Against Guru Bashing

Many of my Hindu friends, intelligent, cultured people, whom I respect, have loved the film PK. This set me thinking: I know that most Hindus do not mind being made fun off and that their religion allows for near unlimited tolerance.But nevertheless, as a friend of the Hindus here are my arguments:

1) Obviously amir khan would have never dared making fun of Islam and its Prophet Mohamed. Not only Amir is a Muslim, who though he married a Hindu, brings up his kids as Muslims and goes to Mecca, but he also knows that there would have been all India riots against him and the cinemas that showed PK.

2) Where does the tradition of making fun and running down Hindu Gurus originate? Not from Amir Khan, not from Bollywood, not even from Nehru – but from the British, who found that Hinduism was the biggest stumbling block to their conquering the hearts, bodies and minds of Indians. Had not Hindus survived the biggest Holocaust ever of our human history – that of the Islamic invasions and kept their faith? How to undermine Hindus?

Macaulay and a few peers, such as the redoubtable Lord Curzon, found that the best way was to go after their gurus and demean them. As French historian Alain Danielou noted in his "Histoire de l'Inde": "the British missionaries and the English Media kept on floating rumours in British controlled newspapers about Hindu gurus performing black magic, of financial fraud, of sexual scandals, etc". Has anything changed today? Today those who attack Hindu gurus, are just blindly following like puppets a trend set by the British, without understanding what they are doing.

3) What is the truth about Hindu Gurus? The majority of Hindu gurus I have met in 45 years in India, are all genuine I remember how Osho (formerly Rajneesh) was made fun of in the Indian Press, his Rolls Royce's, his sex affairs, how he was imprisoned in the States, etc. It's only today when you read his books or listen to his tapes that you understand how deep the guy was.

There is always talk of castes abuses in India by western Indologists, but look at Amrita Anandamayi from Kerala, who comes from the lowest caste possible & is illiterate: all kind of Brahmins & upper caste Hindus have been bowing down at her feet for decades, she has built one of the most modern hospitals in India, schools, a full fledged university and keeps radiating love around the world.

So much trash has been poured on Sathya Sai Baba by the Indian Media, but whoever met him, could not help feeling that he or she was in the presence of something greater, and unexplained. Swami Ramdev is a genuine guru, who has millions of disciples, yet the Congress maligned him repeatedly and even imprisoned him, albeit briefly..

Many of our friends, intellectual people; think that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a 'commercial' guru. What is the truth? Sri Sri is the most selfless person I know: his whole life has been spent doing sewa, he has so many charity projects, including a remarkable university in Orissa, that he is always stretched for money. He himself lives in a simple cottage and uses an ordinary Innova. He has helped countless people, from naxalites to kashmiris and even recently made a dangerous trip to Iraq to meet the persecuted Yazidis. The man deserves the Novel Peace Prize, because he does a hundred times more what Kailash Styapathi does.

4) If you have an enemy, wish him to be a guru. There is no tougher job in the world, you never have a moment for yourself, you have to give something all the time, you sleep little, you have no privacy, people chase you up to your bedroom and ask the most ridiculous things: about their daughters' marriage, sons exams, love life… Today Hindu gurus they are thrown into jails at the least accusation and stay there, while mullahs who preach secessions are allowed to remain scot free and corrupt politicians who have looted the country of thousands of crores, like Raja or Karunanidhi's daughter, only spend a few months in jail.

In conclusion, it is wrong to attack Hindu Gurus. The tradition of Gurudom is ancient and revered in India, it has worked for millenniums and it still does today. They may be a few rotten apples, but on the whole 90% of the gurus in India, big and small, are genuine and do God's work. By attacking the institution of Gurudom, Amir Khan is attacking something very sacred that is dear to a billion of Hindus. Behind Amir Khan the secular friendly guy, there is a hostile Sunni Muslim.

THESE ATTACKS AGAINST HINDU GURUS HAVE GOT TO STOP

Francois Gautier