A Spiritual University, Adhyatmic Viswavidyalaya, was established in 1976-77 by Virender Dev Dixit, a self proclaimed godman. Soon this godman shot into fame and got more than 25,000 followers all over the world.
Well , What did he do in the University?
He used to hold brainwashing sessions with meditation and sermons, at the end of which the members of the congregation were convinced that Dixit was god incarnate. And the disciples included even policemen, one of them being Garg. He says that Dixit’s disciples were so indoctrinated that they would happily part with money property and even their daughters. Garg’s own daughter was willingly handed down to the Swami after which they almost lost contact with her. Another follower, a woman called Savita, donated Rs. 10 lakh and her own daughter.
The girls thus donated would he cut off from the outside world. About 8 to 10 of these would be offered as ‘gupt prasad’ to Dixit when he chose to spend a night at the asram. There has been found a visitor’s register with only men’s names. Why only men? What did they come there for? You can surely guess, can’t you? Complaints from the helpless parents are mounting. This is the kind of Spiritual University run by a ‘god incarnate’. It is certainly an agonizing phenomenon. Why do such things happen at all?
Sociologist Shiv Visvanathan attributes the growing popularity of godmen to the constant search for meaning and a sense of community in life. “Earlier it was political parties that would draw people. But now the centrality of religion is back. The guru is seen as all-powerful.”
