Footprints of Faith

Surajpal Singh Jatav alias Narayan Sakar Hari alias Baba Bhole Nath's "miracles outnumber his many names but behind the white facade of his "immortal" divinity and magic realism is a man mired in materialistic controversies and an empire worth crores.

- Rakhi Bose

THE satsangs of self-styled 'godman' Baba Bhole Nath are a riot of colours and sounds. At the centre of an elevated stage, the Baba sits, dressed in pearly whites and on a gilded throne. A sea of followers-sevadaars and bhakts-encircle him like the four whorls of a flower, segregated by colour and function.

The outermost circle is populated with lakhs of devotees, mostly women who are encouraged to show up to the satsangs in brightly coloured sarees. Young girls in bridal wear sit in the front rows and call themselves 'gopikas' of the Baba, separated from him by three colour-coded layers of security. The first cordon consists of the pink saree and capclad Narayani Sena. The second whorl consists of the "Hari Vahak" factions, dressed in brown uniforms. The closest cordon to the Baba is the Garud Sena (Eagle Army), armed and dressed in black overalls. Like the devotees, most of these personnel are women and remain close to him at all times.

"I usually serve water to devotees at the satsangs," says Premvati from Bulandshahr, holding up a picture of one such event on her mobile phone. A member of Narayani Sena, Premvati has been in Baba's service for 20 years. Ever since she drank the Baba's 'magic water,' she and her family have prospered, she says. "My husband became a pradhaan, my three sons got good jobs, all because of Prabhuji's blessings," she quips.