[Reader-list] Final Posting: Guru on the Air

[surya upadhyay]

Hi All,

This is the final posting. Sorry for delay.

it is appropriate to talk here about the content of
satsang of Bapu and the way people adapt his ideas.
Here, I am discussing about public sociability that
has been developed by Bapu through the telecast of his
satsang on television. The major content in the
satsang of Bapu is towards the achievement of
self-realization, freedom from this-worldly life and
vicious circle of birth and death. He has adapted
Vedantic philosophy about the ultimate truth.
Apart from this, Bapu holds the view the truth is
ultimate but there are many ways through which that
could be approached. In his fold, it is observable
that the age-old paths that were prevalent in
classical Hinduism viz. Bhakti marga, Karma marga,
Jnana marga; all are running simultaneously. The mode
for public sociability is done through mass media and
television is one out of them. However, media is just
a mode to reach out the vast number of followers
spread all around the globe. While writing about the
followers of Mata Amritanandamayi, Warrier (2003)
argues:
“The religious belief and practices of these
persons

reveals, is neither the product of external
authorization, nor the result of unquestioning
allegiance to, and conformity with, centuries-old
traditions handed down to them by preceding
generations. Instead, it is the result of their
self-authorship, where each individual creates and
constructs a personal and individual creativity and
innovation” (Warrier 2003: 248). 
In one sense, it appears correct to say that the
contemporary gurus give a range of choices where a
person could feel about its individuality and the
spiritual growth comes from self-authorship but the
question is where does this self-authorship comes
from? And in my sense, what she says that this
self-authorship is a result of their individual
creativity and personal innovation is arguable because
spiritual growth was always personal striving and
interest but person always looked at the instructions
given by the guru or master. However, this takes us up
to the point that I want to assert here that in Bapu’s
fold and perhaps in many new-age guru fold, there is a
diversity of practices but that diversity is not out
of one view that the guru as authority holds. In this
sequence, I proceed towards the end of the conclusion
by making a continuum between two approaches adopted
by scholars for understanding the impact of mass media
on religion. These two bipolar approaches are-
deliberative and disciplinary.  Responding to Warrier
argument of exclusivity of followers from their guru,
it might is apparently correct that the followers/
devotees and their views are not exclusive to their
gurus rather whatever ideologies their gurus
propagate, they choose from that. Since the realm of
argumentation and practices of the modern god-person
are so big that everybody gets things that are
preferred by them. Certainly, they could choose and
drop according to their own inclination but these
elements come only from the guru. So, the scholars who
approach the impact of mass media on religion either
through disciplinary or deliberative way both are
correct in some sense. From disciplinary approach, it
is true that because of media practices dialogic
aspect has ended and is negotiated by the freedom of
choices given to the followers. It is a space where
media helps in propelling the ideological aspect of
the guru and its democratization. Lastly, media has
facilitated satsang of Bapu and it is a pious
entertainment medium for the followers where people
continuously engage themselves with religious and
spiritual virtues and also it has become an agent for
personal proselytization of people towards the guru in
very gradual fashion by continuously listening to the
satsang on media space. It is directing towards
practicality of Hinduism as people do not look at
rituals and practices rather these are being replaced
by the meditative and contemplative techniques. 
The reverence for Bapu is not directly negotiated, as
God or form of God rather the place is accorded as a
Guru who is considered as the gateway to the God by
the Hindus. In this sense, the modern media is
facilitating the gurus to prove their authority over
the scriptures and reestablishing a power of a set of
different kind of authority. 

Wishes

Surya Prakash Upadhyay
I-Fellow
Sarai 07.


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