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 cap-clad 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.

Premvati was present in Hathras on July 2 at Baba’s last satsang held in Phulrai village in Uttar Pradesh’s Sikandar Rao. The infamous event concluded with a deadly stampede killing 121 devotees. A crowd of 250,000 people had gathered for the event even though organisers sought permission for just 80,000 people, reports said. Initial investigations into the incident stated that the stampede occurred when the devotees rushed to touch Baba’s feet as he was leaving the venue at the end of the sermon. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the incident cleared the preacher of any wrongdoing, placing the blame on the satsang organisers. Cops have arrested 11 people in connection with the incident. The exoneration of the preacher, who’s in the wind, has reignited the faith of his followers. Followers throng to the Baba’s multiple ashrams and former residences to get a glimpse of him or a sip of his “magic water”. Wherever they go, they chant, “Narayan Sakar Hari.”

Earthly Possessions

Radha’s shrivelled and dark frame is prostrate in front of the towering, white golden gates and white walls at Baba Bhole Nath’s Bichuva village ashram. In Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri district, this is where the godman had allegedly fled after hosting the fatal satsang. The police cordon outside the ashram maintains he is not inside. Bichuva Station Sub-Inspector Rakesh Sharma states that cops are on a rotating shift and strict vigilance is maintained on who comes in and out. Devotees like Radha, a daily wager living in the vicinity, remain unconvinced.

“He is inside. I know it. I want his blessings for me and my son,” the 50-year-old single mother states before touching her head to the ground outside the ashram’s 30-foot-high gate. “They say Baba fulfils wishes and solves the problems of his devotees and doesn’t ask for anything in return, so what’s to lose?” she asks.

Located in the middle of swathes of farmland, Baba’s ashram is spread across nearly 22 bighas of land with white flags fluttering from turrets. High walls give the ashram the appearance of a citadel with cubbies built into the walls to accommodate his guards.

Sanjeev Kumar Sengar, a member of Ram Kutir Charitable Trust, the organisation that oversees the ashram, says the Baba likes privacy and doesn’t interact with the media. Sengar also mentions that the ashram was built in 2020 on land donated by a local landowning sevadar named Vinod Babu. Hand-painted billboards display names of various donors who contributed to its construction, showing donations from Rs 2,000 to two and a half lakhs. After the Hathras stampede, there were speculations that the Baba had gone to the Mainpuri ashram to lay low. His sevadars, and his controversial lawyer AP Singh, deny this claim. Singh also mentions that sevadars are volunteers and “not directly linked with Baba,” and cryptically added that “Baba does not deal with earthly matters.”

Hathras police’s investigations into the Baba’s whereabouts nevertheless reveal an empire worth Rs 100 crores, including a fleet of luxury cars, over 20 ashrams and assets. A senior police official involved in the investigation confirms that Baba’s financial network remained hidden due to his low profile and secretive nature.

Among his followers, a majority of whom are from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities, the Baba is believed to be immortal, beyond caste and religion. Allegations of financial fraud are also dismissed with vigour. “The properties are owned by trusts, not the Baba himself. The trusts have been formed by his bhakts,” Beer Pal Singh, a former CRPF jawan who lives inside the Mainpuri ashram, states. He claims the Baba healed his wife’s kidney ailment for free. Another sevadar, Ajay Pratap, who says he is a doctor, feels that the slander “Prabhuji” is currently facing is nothing but casteism. “Upper-caste dominated media and critics of Baba don’t like that a Dalit man can be revered as God, even by upper castes,” he adds.

The Metamorphosis

Bahadur Nagar lies 135 kilometres from Agra. This is Baba alias Surajpal Singh Jatav alias Narayan Sakar Hari’s ancestral home. An ashram has been built here to commemorate his birthplace. The members of Shree Narayan Sakar Hari Charitable Trust, in charge of the ashram, claim it to be a sacred place. It too remains heavily guarded with armed security and military outposts integrated into the structure. ’May Narayan Sakar Hari’s name be praised across the universe for all eternity’ is printed in Hindi on all notice boards and the gates of buildings within the compound. The walls of Baba’s numerous ashrams are pearly white, much like the clothes he wears. “White is the colour of truth,” explains Rajat Singh Yadav, also known as ‘Khanna Ji’, who manages the Bahadur Nagar ashram in Patiyali, Bahadur Nagar.

Born in 1968 to a family of Dalit farmers, Surajpal is the oldest of three brothers. One of his siblings has passed away, and the youngest remains estranged. Their family home in Bahadur Nagar is currently vacant, but usually the estranged brother lives there. Sonkali, an elderly woman who claims to be Surajpal’s older sister, says that he has been interested in spirituality since childhood. ‘Khanna Ji’ explains the heavy security as necessary to ensure the safety of the volunteers.

Baba has as many origin stories as he does aliases. In the 1980s, he married Premvati from Ghotiya village near Kasganj. He joined UP Police and worked 18 years as a constable across multiple divisions while living mostly in Agra. It was in Agra that Surajpal Singh Jatav allegedly metamorphosed into Baba Bhole Nath. His former neighbour Irfan Khan recalls the transition from cop to preacher.

In 2000, Surajpal quit the police and started focusing on becoming a preacher. Aligarh range IG Shalabh Mathur confirms that, in 2000, Surajpal retired from the post of Head Constable at the SP (RA) office. Sources in the Shahganj police station in Agra say that Surajpal had started claiming he could heal the sick and resurrect the dead even before he quit. Others say he was removed due to allegations of sexual misconduct. “No matter what the reason, this is the flat where he claims to have attained enlightenment,” Khan states, while adding, “This is also where he claimed to resurrect a dead girl.”

In 2000, Surajpal was arrested after he allegedly claimed he could resurrect a dead 16-year-old girl who died of natural causes. Kishan Lal, an Agra-based lawyer who has been a follower since that time, claims to have witnessed the incident. The girl was Baba’s niece from his wife’s brother Mewa Ram. Since Surajpal and Premvati were childless, they had informally adopted the girl and were raising her in their Agra flat. After she died, locals claim that the girl’s body was kept inside the house for two days by Surajpal. Mewa Ram, who lives in Etah now, remains dismissive about the incident. “It was a long time ago. Baba was not at fault,” he says. An FIR was filed against Surajpal the same year in connection to the incident, though the case was closed by the end of the year due to lack of evidence.

He Said, She Said

Today, the Baba’s former residence in Kedar Nagar area of Shahganj has been renovated by his sevadars and devotees out-of-pocket and turned into a three-storey flat, barricaded by with steel bars. Khan’s house which shares a wall with Baba’s flat and doubles as a warehouse for his shoe manufacturing business, has faced structural damage over the years due to the construction.

“He used to live in a smaller house. In 2020, his followers started raising funds and donations and eventually renovated the old residence. Our wall is on the verge of breaking because of the unplanned construction, and we were neither asked for our permission nor compensated for damages by the sevadars,” Khan insists.

The “sevadars” in Agra are not part of any trust.

Another neighbour, Sitara, insists that though the Baba doesn’t come here, his “sevadars” have the key to the apartment and use it for clandestine purposes. “Many young women are always hovering here and some have even been seen entering the flat,” she states knowingly, adding, “The Baba is known to grant wishes for new brides who want to become pregnant.”

A senior journalist from Etah who has been covering the Baba’s whereabouts for several years alleges that several women work as sevadars inside the Baba’s ashrams. Baba’s followers refute such claims, adding that the godman often talks about the upliftment of Dalits and the downtrodden, interspersed with moral strictures and advice on how to lead life.

“He teaches people not to drink or eat non-vegetarian food. He says that following the path of Narayan Hari and living life according to his sermons would make us attain our higher selves,” Reshma Devi, a farmer who lives just a kilometre away from his Patiyali ashram in Bahadur Nagar states. The local trust members like ‘Khanna ji’ also state that the preacher asks his followers to stay away from “Kanchan Kamini” and resist seeking sensual pleasures.

Lining the entrance to Baba’s fortress-like ashram in Bahadurpur is a row of hand pumps. Locals and devotees believe the water has magical powers and refer to it as Amrit jal. Kamal Singh, who drove down from Bulandshahr in his new car to pay their respects in Patiyali, filled a canister of water and splashed it on the new vehicle. “It will keep the car safe from accidents,” he states. The sevadars working inside the ashram keep rotating on a fortnightly or monthly basis with fresh batches replacing the old volunteers. Those who leave are tasked with further recruitment. “We go out and tell people about Prabhuji’s powers,” Mohit says while chopping vegetables inside the ashram’s communal kitchen used by sevadars. 

Delhi-based psychiatrist Dr Nimesh Desai explains that such delusional belief systems are often common among followers of religious gurus, spiritual wellness gurus, magico-religious groups, and cults in India. Religious or spiritual-based groups may have a looser structure and rules, and participation in the associated group activities can even be beneficial. Many, especially women, find peace and experience emancipation from stress when participating in group behaviours like satsangs. These groups usually have a more ‘elite’ following and do not encourage psychosis but rather emphasise the idea of “spiritual wellness.” Desai says that there could be certain personality types or persons with undiagnosed or diagnosed psychiatric or psychological issues who may be more susceptible to becoming prey to fraudulent cults or groups.

The sociological, political, and economic position of the followers, however, remains an important variable in this regard. Sociology researcher Swati Rath from Ravenshaw University in Cuttack notes that for many, especially for people belonging to marginalised castes, following a “godman” can provide a way to attain spirituality and feel religious inclusivity without having to participate in “traditional religion,” which has historically excluded and discriminated against these communities. By following a godman, a guru, or a “messenger of god,” people, especially women from oppressed and marginalised sections, often find a “quick fix” to their problems, which may or may not get solved for real.

For the families grieving the loss of their loved ones in Hathras, though, there is no quick fix and the stampede has left many neighbourhoods divided. About 70 kilometres away from Phulrai, in the village of Daukeli, the house of Savitri Devi, 57, who was trampled to death at the satsang, remains in mourning. Her bereaved husband, Birpal Singh, feels that the clean chit given to the Baba was too hasty and a political move. Singh asks, “they want to retain their SC vote bank so no one is touching the Baba. If he is innocent, why is the Baba in hiding? Why doesn’t he come forward and console his devotees who have faced such a loss?”

He feels that the Baba should be punished, or, at least questioned. In the Naya Nangla area of Hathras where two elderly women lost their lives, many neighbours and kin of the deceased have been demanding a stricter inquiry into the Baba’s assets.

Stampede victim Asha Devi’s daughter, Mohini, has thrown out the picture of Baba Bhole Nath that her mother had worshipped. “She was a simple woman and believed in his miracles. She was a widow and raised four kids all by herself through hard labour. She found comfort in his words and I will not question that. But we will not let the future generations of our family fall prey to such nonsense,” she states.

(This appeared in the print as 'Footprints Of Faith')