Oscillating Between Superstitions

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam

30 March 2026

Now when controversial godmen Ashok Kharat, Rishikesh Vaidya and their ilk are in the news for all sorts of unimaginably dubious activities, one wonders what makes people rush to these outright frauds? Many 'educated' people have fallen prey to these rogues and swindlers. An editor friend of mine told yours truly that Nirmala Devi's close devotee duped his professor friend. That Professor and his headmistress wife were blind followers of Nirmala Devi.

For those, who've not heard Nirmala Devi's name: She was a 'spiritual' fraud of the highest order and the propounder of 'Sahaj Yog.' Nirmala claimed to have been born fully realised and spent her life working for peace by developing and promoting a simple technique through which people can achieve their self-realization. The former union minister N K P Salve was her brother and the lawyer Harish Salve is her nephew. She still has many followers in Northern and Central India. I remember, I was in Delhi many years ago. My host, a Colonel's 'educated' wife, took me to a 'Sahaj Yog' centre at Noida. At the entrance, one retired Major General welcomed us and said, 'Aap log bade achchhe din aaye hain. Aaj Mata ji ka janmdin hai' (You've come on a very auspicious day. Today is Mataji's birthday). That Colonel's stingy wife nudged me to pay Rs. 85 per person to sing bhajan on Nirmala's birthday. I shelled out 170/-. Inside the 'Sahaj Yog' centre, all seemingly educated people were singing hymns in praise of Nirmala. They were in a state of trance. This madness went on for more than three hours. When it got over, all those who attended and sang bhajans were given 2-3 wafers and a small peda ! Just imagine, 4-5 wafers and 2 pedas for Rs. 170! Furious, I told that lady that I never knew that she was so foolish and sickly religious.

Nirmala's birthday is still celebrated in this grovelling manner and people willingly get hoodwinked. With the passage of time, that Colonel's wife, an M A with Eng. (Hons) from Delhi's Miranda House, also got disillusioned with Nirmala but found some other new baba to genuflect before. Our superstitions go on unabated. It's like visiting a new shop for different merchandise. Like a pendulum, man oscillates between one superstition to another and actually loves to stay neck-deep in the quagmire of irrationalities, superstitious beliefs and religious idiosyncrasies because there he feels comfortably ensconced. He doesn't have to use his brain and exercise the faculty of reason. Rationality seems to have deserted a colossal chunk of humans. We've got inured to being led by charlatans.   

…

A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.

URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/oscillating-between-superstitions/d/139459

New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism