Asaram Bapu: A Godman’s Rise And Fall From Grace

Asumal Harpalani (Asaram Bapu) was born in 1941 in Berami, a village in Pakistan’s Sindh province. After the Partition, he and his family moved to Ahmedabad. The self-styled godman’s biography, published by his ashram, says that his formal education was discontinued after Class 3 when his father passed away. He is said to have worked as a tea seller and a liquor vendor to earn a living when his family faced a financial crisis. He spent some time at various ashrams in his youth and at one of them, a guru took him under his wing, named him ‘Asaram Bapu’, and advised him to step out into the world and guide people.

In the early 70s, Asaram set up a small hut called ‘Moksha Kutir’ at Motera, Gujarat, by the banks of the Sabarmati. The aspiring godman had very few followers then. Wearing a white dhoti-kurta and sporting a long beard, Asaram headed to Surat to preach and build his flock. He garnered a huge number of followers there from the tribal community. From then on, his following grew at an astonishing rate. His reach spread as many local politicians embraced him as their friend, philosopher, and guide. High-profile leaders from across the political spectrum too began to attend his satsangs. Political friendships helped him acquire land to build more ashrams at different locations.

In a span of four decades, Asaram went on to set up 400 ashrams in India and in the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, and South Africa. The Sant Shri Asaramji Trust ran 40 schools called ‘gurukuls’, a unit that manufactures a range of Ayurvedic products, and a printing press that publishes Asaram’s interpretations of Hindu scriptures. According to news reports, Asaram’s sprawling ‘spiritual’ empire is said to be worth Rs 10,000 crore (excluding the market value of the land he owns). He attracted millions of followers. Even after he fell from grace and was convicted in two rape cases, many of his followers, who believe he was imprisoned on false charges, continue to visit his Motera ashram.

In his sermons, Asaram used to warn devotees to stay clear of lust, declaring that desire was synonymous with spiritual decline. However, in 2013, the godman was arrested by the Jodhpur police on the charge of raping a minor girl. He was convicted of sexually assaulting her at his ashram in Rajasthan and given life imprisonment. While he was serving this life sentence, the Gandhinagar sessions court found him guilty of raping a former disciple, a Surat-based woman, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her multiple times at his ashram in Motera, Ahmedabad. She and her sister also filed a case against Narayan Sai, Asaram’s son. The charges included sexual assault and illegal confinement.

Allegations of land grabbing, practising black magic at his ashrams, witness tampering, and financial irregularities were also levelled against Asaram at various points of time. After he was convicted in the rape cases, the Supreme Court rejected his multiple bail pleas and appeal for suspending his life sentence. The 83-year-old continues to serve his prison sentence today.