( August 13, 2012, London, Sri Lanka Guardian)
The commercial venture of the thirty one years old sweet seller turned saint of Palakkad of Kerala, India, Shree Sadguru Swami Murali Krishna is on the all out mission to stamp his status as a moving God amongst the Hindu Tamil Diaspora. He is said to be trying to fill the vacuum created following the death of Satya Sai Baba.
Troubled and pained Hindu Tamil Diaspora that strongly believes in the Hindu religious values is being exploited time to time by the money making deceptive Swamies. Their sufferings and pains are more reflected in the way dubious Swamies exploiting them than in any international report of any kind. Needing immediate relief for their sufferings, these devotees are trying to reach the moving Gods without realising that they are being deceived and exploited.
The community that is suffering silently for many decades over the process of violence of many forms enthroned on them has become a easy market for racketeering Swamies from India, who have created wealth for themselves and are enjoying a comfortable life style at the expense of these vulnerable Hindu Tamils.
A swami is a monk, one who has set aside all of the limited, worldly pursuits, so as to devote full time effort to the direct experience of the highest spiritual realization, and to the service of others along those lines. But Sadguru Murali Krishna Swami’s spiritual realisation is damned by controversies and said to be undermining the very basis of Hindu worshiping and values.
Within the past few years the said Swamy has visited the United Kingdom many times with the sole objective of raising funds. When he entered the UK for the first time, money was not the sole motive. He was taken around by his ad hoc committee members who were mainly men. When the Swamy’s popularity grew, the situation changed. Surrounded by women, the Swamy is aggressively promoting his fund raising campaign. His current going rate for visiting a family home for Dharsan is £350 and the said ladies Swamy is being thrown money for giving Dharsan in public gatherings.
The said Swamy is not an eloquent speaker and does not articulate the deep Hindu religious values. He is notorious for giving unlimited Dharsan for anyone. His Dharsan is saying something ‘Iss-Puss’ in a strange language that no one understands. This is his speciality. The Swamy has come under lot of criticism for barging into Hindu temples and taking control of the floor for his own blessings. Sitting in a Maharajah’s chair in front of the Sanctum Sanctorums and performing his blessings without giving any regard to the holy deities in the temple has come under severe criticisms. Some Hindu temples have refused access to the Swamy to visit their premises. Following some outcry, the luxury Maharajah chair has been removed from public display.
In one instance, the Swamy had visited a Hindu temple in the north London and without permission had taken control of the fruits bought for daily pooja and have distributed them liberally to the devotees without permission.
The controversial Swamy’s conduct has come under further criticism. Some members of his management committee has abandoned him after witnessing him sleeping on the lap of a female member in the committee. Adding to this displeasure, the said Swamy was arrested by the Indian customs on his return from the UK few months ago, on some financial issues and had to be rescued following payment of large amount of funds held in his UK bank account.