India's Politically Active Spiritual Gurus

There is hardly anything that is not connected to spirituality In India, so does politics. Being apolitical in theory, with millions of followers closely listening to their highly influential words of wisdom and as the numbers swell each day, the spiritual guru's increasingly play a larger role in India's politics. Not just the spiritual values the gurus uphold, but their sturdy hold on the public makes them politically unavoidable and unstoppable.

The journey from a boy who ran away from home at the age of nine to the patriarch of a business empire worth over 1100 crore was quite long and today, meditating at the serenity of his 750- acre island off the Scottish coast, Baba Ramdev indirectly plays a key role in India's political scene. His political aggressiveness and the radical reformism were well transferred to his followers when he said 'Hang the corrupt' and in his planned militia of volunteers. Expressing his intentions to get into active politics, the yoga guru said he will launch a political party named Bharat Swabhiman to cleanse political system of the country. Baba said he will not contest any elections, but the party would field candidates in all the 543 Lok Sabha seats. Baba Ramdev's agitation against black money and corruption was often criticized for his close ties with RSS.

There would not be another individual who is as famous as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar both spiritually and politically in India. His humanitarian works extends from war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan to the tsunami victims and Hurricane Katrina victims. He has reportedly played the role of a key negotiator in the Maoist insurgency and Kashmiri separatism. His political stance is beyond ones comprehension as he had organized trauma relief meetings for the victims of Gujarat riot victims and also held workshops with Narendra Modi and his government. The Founder of Art of Living Foundation had categorically opined that there is no such thing as saffron terror. His political significance can never be ignored and he says politics and spirituality should go hand in hand for a prosperous and harmonious society.

A known left-liberal activist, Swami Agnivesh is an agnostic who does not have any fan following. He does not wanted to be termed a Hindu and not to be called a guru. He supported Baba Ramdev, although not actively but was a strong member of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement. He, on certain points, disagrees to Ramdev who demands death sentence for the corrupt and removal of 500 and Rs,1,000 notes. He has been viewed as anti-Hindu for his demand that Puri Jagannath Temple should be opened to non-Hindus. According to a report on Kashmir Observer, a Hindu nationalist political party named Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha offered a 20 lakh bounty for killing Agnivesh for negative statements he made about Kashmir and Baba Amarnath. Of late, he came under severe criticism from Team Anna for the video which shows Swamy asking a Union Minister to act tough with Anna Hazare and the movement