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SPIRITUAL BOOM IN INDIA

India is known as the holy land  where  Lord Krishna explained the mysteries of life and death in the battlefield of Kurukshetra to Arjuna in  the great Bhagvata Gita, when the war of Mahabharata was fought.

Bhagwat Gita, is the most revered book in Indian mythology and its preachings are the main subject being taught in most of the Ashrams. The lessons in the chapter of Bhagwat Gita in the Mahabharata Magnum Opus  are the complete knowledge of life  and are the true guidelines for exemplary conduct and behaviour.

The people round the globe associate India with yoga, meditation and spiritualism. If one talks of spiritual channels alone, the market is huge in India.There are more than ten TV Channels which are doing the job of propagating religion 24×7 in hindi and english  alone.

 There are  channels which are preaching religion in regional languages also. Everybody is looking for redemption in this fast paced life in some form or  the other. The highly esteemed spiritual gurus and ashrams have become the need of the hour. Never before was spiritualism such a sought after industry in India.

People go to Ashrams, listen to sermons, understand the intricacies of life but when they come back home, they tend to forget the teachings learnt there and get engulfed in day to day chores and activities. It is not only  that listening to a sermon  is important;  what is more important is to give the teachings a practical shape, implement them in right earnest, improve thyself  and become a useful unit of society  and spread the message of peace and tranquility.

Thousands of foreigners visit the Ashrams every year. They are seen on the banks of the revered river Ganges in Rishikesh, Haridwar and Varanasi and other towns also. Mainly, they come here to learn yoga and meditation in their quest for peace.

There are umpteen unfulfilled desires in this capitalistic and consumeristic society for which a person seeks divine intervention as the only path to fulfill them. Even if a person has  everything he needs, he is still unsatisfied.  The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. That is where desire and greed crop up.

More and more people are drifting towards spiritualism and related studies. Life has become fast paced for Indians since the past few years.  One feels compelled to rejuvenate his spiritual side in order to balance all the different aspects of personal as well as professional life.

The spiritual gurus market is around Rupees three billion. It consists of CDs, VCDs, audio cassettes and books. Not only this, there are incense sticks, Ayurvedic medicines, home utilitiy items which are manufactured manually by the inmates of the Ashrams and also by registration fees paid by people to attend special related courses.  In  India, the sale of spiritual audio cassettes of sermons and bhajans is next only to that of movies cassettes and CDs.

Then there are booklets – periodicals published on a monthly basis which contain the discourses, lectures and sermons given by Guruji and are sold for a nominal fee.  Even the photographs and pendents of Guruji are very affectionately bought by the devotees.

Spiritualism is the latest craze in India these days. Being spiritual is considered to be sophisticated and elite. It has become a fashion statement with people these days. Yoga and  meditation have become a style and are the hot topics at the kitty parties also.

Hundreds of spas  offer  yoga and meditation packages along with massage and other therapies,  have opened all over the country. The spiritual industry is synonymous with India.  Yoga is a part of the ancient life-disciplines that have been practiced in India for more than 5000 years  ago.

They have been mentioned in the scriptures and Upanishads and are based on scientific facts.  Spiritual gurus are held in high esteem as they act as the bridge between people and God.  Yoga is the only way to combine the mind and soul together.

Several institutes have opened in India that teach yoga and meditation as well as alternate healing procedures  and you can get yourself enrolled in one of these institutes and become a certified teacher or  practitioner.

 What is still baffling  is that on one hand , millions of people throng these Ashrams everyday voluntarily in search of their unfulfilled desires and on the  other  these organisations are minting money in the name of religion.

 Since ages people have believed in getting divine involvement in getting  remedies for everything. They seek assistance from astrologers and numerologists before commencing anything auspicious.  No wedding takes place in the country without the punditji calculating the date and time of the ceremony.  Pundits and pujaris have always been part of all major rituals in India.  These people are minting money which the people are themselves showering on them  to obtain the auspicious calculations.

The prominent Guruji’s who have massive following in India and abroad  are Swami Ram Krishna  Paramhansji, Chetanya Mahaprabhuji, Sri Aurbindoji, Sri Sai Babaji  of Shridi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji, Shri Asa Ramji Bapuji,  Shri Sudhanshuji and Swami Ram Devji.

Ravi Matah