Thursday, December 23, 2010

Baba blog

No, no, I don't mean Baba, the movie. Southies may get me wrong here, hehe . Of late, I have been wondering what it takes to become a baba. There are so many examples around.

Sai baba, the serene baba
Nithyananda, the sexy baba
Amritananda Mayi, the hugging babi?
Desi baba.. err.. not that one
The list is endless..

One thing in common is that all the babas (and babis) are real rich. They get lands for cheap deals, donations in the form of cash, gold and what not. All of them are well dressed, mostly in robes - white or saffron and rudraksha. Babas grow their hair long, babis already have it long. And man.. they all look so cool.



The closest I have got to a baba (it was a babi actually) is hugging Amritananda Mayi. My cousins are sworn devotees and I had accompanied them. Well, yeah, she hugs her devotees and they feel relieved of their problems. I did't feel anything special after she hugged me. She told me just one word (pora = not enough), probably because I didn't hug her properly. One thing is for sure, most people who visit her return happier. I believe it's all in the mind. Everyone likes to be cared for and comforted. I believe a baba has to be strong enough to comfort anyone and hope that the comfort seeker's mind does the rest. It usually does, mine didn't. A baba also has to be a good actor, for he has to pretend that he knows everything and has an answer to everything. If he doesn't have an answer, he can say something like - look within yourself, and the devotee will go gaga about how baba said he has to put more effort. Ohm!! baba ki jai ho!!!

So, what really is a baba? A baba has to dress well, in white or saffron robes, grow long hair (sniff sniff :( i can't be a baba) and be patient. A baba probably has to listen to endless complaints and worries from devotees, who expect baba to snap a finger and solve their problems. Nothing comes easy. A baba will have to master a few tricks, to impress a gathering.

Check this out. Baba tricks1 Baba tricks2
Practice makes perfect, of course.

A baba has to be good at management; be it people, money or politicians. He will have to toil his way to stardom and once he is there, invest money in the right markets and promote himself. A star baba can sell pendants, start colleges, hospitals and get his organization registered so that donations will be tax exempted. There will be umpteen sources of income and fun, if you know what i mean ;). Baba just has to lap it all up. Nowadays, babas are catching up with technology. All famous babas have their official websites (courtesy: Murthy). Besides, they have trademark logos, quotes etc.

Sai Baba site Nithya site Amrita site
Pretty cool work huh? Just google their quotes. It gets more interesting.

Sexy baba's quote: Unless we reach the level of being we'll not be able to experience what is really life. By not entering into the space of being we miss the ecstasy of life - Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda.
Ecstasy.. hmm he has got it right there.

All said, it is no easy feat to become a baba. For every devotee, there will be a hundred doubting Thomases. There will be numerous newspapers writing bad things about The Baba. But a baba has to believe in himself and in the destiny preordained. He has to surpass all the challenges (mms scandals, youtube analysis of tricks et al) but most importantly, he has to be absolutely shameless.

May be, if the aam aadmi was not a fool, there would not be so many babas around. Anyway, let's hope that we all attain nirvana. Baba ki jai ho!!

Interesting Reading:
Some angry guy's rant
Baba miracles
How to become a baba - Guide for dummies

I offer my apologies if i have hurt your sentiment. It is not my intention do that. You are free to believe what works for you.