Faith
The curious case of Ashutosh Maharaj
Ashutosh Maharaj of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan has been declared ‘clinically dead’. His family wants the body to be cremated, but the dera authorities claim he is in ‘samadhi’. A legal fight is on, but the Punjab Govt has remained mum.
by Sarbjit Dhaliwal & Umesh Dewan

A number of BSF-like observation posts dot Nurmahal, a small historic town in the news for “mystical reasons”. Sitting atop these posts — mostly put up in fields — are some youngsters with binoculars focused on people moving towards what looks like an empire amid the fields. Visitors are frisked and cameras are banned around the complex. The police has cordoned the area with barriers along the road leading to the palatial buildings, once the seat of spiritual guru Ashutosh Maharaj, whose death on January 29 has been denied by his followers who believe he is in “samadhi”.

“We fail to understand why the media is interested in the dera affairs. Ashutosh Maharaj is in meditation,” a dera representative maintains. The dera website operated by the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS), states: “His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj ji is in a state of samadhi. The sansthan appreciates numerous individuals and organisations for reaffirming their commitment to the organisation… through phone calls, emails, messages. The sansthan acknowledges your pledge to stand by the organisation under all circumstances.”

Death established

Those who manage the affairs of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan clearly know about the “circumstances” surrounding Ashutosh Maharaj’s death, but their lips are sealed. The question remains: for how long will Ashutosh Maharaj remain in meditation? As months are passing, the mystery behind his “samadhi” is only deepening.

His body is reportedly in a deep freezer placed in a building adjoining the main building of the DJJS. The entry to the building is prohibited.

The Punjab Government is also quiet on the issue. The district and divisional level government machinery has submitted reports about the “clinical death” of Ashutosh Maharaj following the examination of the body by a team of doctors and officials. Though the issue is delicate, the state government should have played a proactive role in the case, even if it meant enforcing its orders through law.

Succession row

Notwithstanding the repeated denials of the DJJS management that there is no succession row, dera sources say there is a tussle over the issue of succession. They say unable to resolve the succession issue, the sect management is delaying the announcement that Ashutosh Maharaj is dead. Sources say two factions are involved in the tussle over who will now head the dera. While one section of the dera wants a disciple from the Nurmahal dera to be named the successor, the other wants someone from the DJJS’ Delhi headquarters to be the new head.

Though there are several branches of the DJJS, Ashutosh Maharaj was their chief. Among the top disciples being considered are Swami Arvindanand, Swami Adiyanand, Swami Narendranand and Swami Vishalanand.

A staunch follower, Puran Singh, driver of Ashutosh Maharaj from the year 1988 to 1992 and now settled in Nurmahal, says that he has filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking a CBI inquiry into the case and postmortem of the body to ascertain the cause of Ashutosh Maharaj’s death. “We will go to the Supreme Court to seek justice,” he says. The government has provided Puran Singh, who belongs to Desal village in Kapurthala district, with two security guards.

Puran Singh’s lawyer SP Soi says the Punjab Government has stated in the court that Ashutosh Maharaj’s death was natural and it is a universal law that if a victim’s family claims the body for last rites, it is the duty of the government to hand over the body. And if a family member raises suspicion about the cause of death, it is also for the state government to order an investigation and complete the legal processes such as postmortem to satisfy the family.

The properties

The DJJS has a good following not only in this region, but also elsewhere. With its head office in Pitampura, New Delhi, the DJJS has its branches in Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and abroad, including Canada, Dubai, Germany, Lebanon, Italy, Switzerland, Nepal, the UK and the USA. It owns properties worth several hundred crores. The property at Nurmahal is worth over Rs 100 crore. The total assets of the DJJS are worth thousand crores, claims Puran Singh, who has been to most branches in the country.

The DJJS has spread its roots through various social projects launched by it in the countryside and elsewhere across the country. The use of intoxicants is strictly prohibited for its followers. It has adopted nearly 40 jails, including Tihar Jail in Delhi, to reform inmates through religious discourses.

The sansthan holds drug de-addiction camps at various places and runs welfare programmes for the physically challenged; training programme for the blind and beggars; holistic health programme through ayurvedic medicines manufactured by the DJJS pharmacy; gender equality programme; funding education of poor children and running educational institutions; besides undertaking a bovine conservation programme.

Its cowsheds are scientifically managed and have over 700 cattle heads. It has a large dedicated team of volunteers who live inside the DJJS complex at Nurmahal. Besides performing daily religious rituals, a religious congregation is held at the Nurmahal complex every Sunday for its hordes of followers.

Police submission

On February 5, a medical report declaring Ashutosh Maharaj “clinically dead” was placed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the Punjab Police.

The report prepared by Dr Harpal Singh Nadda, Dr Kartar Kaur and Dr Ashok, and submitted along with an affidavit, stated: “Ashutosh Maharaj had sudden cardiac arrest around 12.10 am on January 29. A clinical examination revealed that all peripheral pulses were absent; blood pressure was not recordable; there were no spontaneous respiratory movements; all superficial and deep reflexes were absent; both pupils fixed and dilated and ECG record showed absence of any electrical activity”.

The report was submitted following the instructions of the High Court after Puran Singh filed a habeas corpus petition in this regard. The police maintained that Ashutosh Maharaj was not being illegally detained.

The Punjab police investigation report was placed before the High Court Bench in a sealed envelope. An affidavit by then DSP of Nakodar, HPS Parmar, was presented in the High Court. It stated that the Nurmahal police had come to know that Ashutosh Maharaj had died, but his organisation continued to claim that he had gone into “samadhi”.

HPS Parmar, along with the Nurmahal SHO and the Duty Magistrate, visited the organisation before procuring the medical report of the doctors who attended to the alleged detainee (Ashutosh Maharaj) on January 29 this year. “Based on the medical report and the status report, the deponent submits that the alleged detainee is not in an illegal confinement, as alleged by the petitioner,” Parmar added in the affidavit.

The philosophy

The DJJS emphasises on a world where every individual becomes an embodiment of truth, fraternity and justice through the eternal science of self-realisation, uprooting in its wake all social evils, or “Brahm gyan” (knowledge of the universe). The sansthan conducts several activities in India as well as abroad. The mission soon started disseminating divine knowledge in an organised manner among its followers.

Dera representatives say: “At the DJJS, everyone is treated equally and the caste system is not followed. Because of this, the number of devotees and preachers has only grown over the years. The social and spiritual message of the sansthan has gained worldwide acceptance because we speak simple and straight and make people realise the true self (“atman”), the source of eternal peace and bliss.”

Balak Brahmachari

On similar lines of the controversy over Ashutosh Maharaj’s “samadhi”, the West Bengal police, in 1993, had to forcibly enter an ashram on the banks of the Hooghly river where the body of spiritual guru Balak Brahmachari was kept. His followers claimed that Balak Brahmachari was in a meditative trance for nearly 53 days.

After the members of the Santan Dal and his disciples refused to cremate the preacher’s body, police officials used force and managed to retrieve the decomposing body, which had been laid on ice. The body was later cremated.

Bihar to Punjab, the making of a spiritual guru

Ashutosh Maharaj

Ashutosh Maharaj came to Punjab in 1983 and lived at Haripur village in Nakodar, where some local residents helped him settle down. Later, he purchased a house in Mohalla Chhinbian, Nurmahal, and founded the DJJS in 1983. In 1991, the mission was registered as a socio-spiritual society in New Delhi. While Nurmahal dera representatives say Ashutosh Maharaj was not married, Anandi Devi and Dalip Jha, residents of Bihar, have claimed to be his wife and son. The family claims that Mahesh Kumar Jha, alias Ashutosh Maharaj, was born in 1946 at Lakhnoor village in Darbanga district of Bihar. He married Anandi Devi and was blessed with a son (Dalip) in May 1970. Ashutosh Maharaj left home in 1970, following which his wife suffered a shock and became mentally unstable.

Though the DJJS has no political affiliation, politicians cutting across various parties have been visiting the dera. Prior to the panchayat elections last year, the SAD tried to win over the followers by carving out a new panchayat there by the name of Divya Gram. The dera was earlier a part of Uppal Jagir village.

Sikh groups, however, have been critical of his style of propagating religion. On several occasions, the SGPC exhorted Sikhs to boycott Ashutosh Maharaj, known as “lightan wala baba” (guru of divine lights) in the Nurmahal area.

In November 2002, dera followers had reportedly opened fire on a Sikh devotee at Ludhiana, sparking off protests in the region.

In September 2008, there was a clash between Sikhs and Ashutosh Maharaj’s followers at Malout, during which 15 persons were reportedly injured. The incident led to tension in the region, with a series of protests also in Ludhiana and Phillaur. Due to his tirade against Sikh extremist groups, Ashutosh Maharaj had been provided with Z security.

“Let me cremate my father’s body”

Dalip Jha (R), son of Ashutosh Maharaj, and Puran Singh, the preacher’s driver, with documents that support Dalip’s claims.

I belong to a deeply religious Brahmin family. It is bad to keep the mortal remains for so long. I want to perform the last rites of my father, but the Punjab Government is supporting the DJJS management and not handing me the body. There is a conspiracy. I do not even know what state the body is in. I have filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Centre should order a CBI inquiry. When I came to Nurmahal, I feared for my life. I have offered to undergo a DNA test to prove that I am his son.
—Dalip Jha, Ashutosh Maharaj’s Son

“Samadhi claims rubbish”

The claim made by the dera that Ashutosh is in a state of “samadhi” is rubbish. When the body is being kept at zero degree temperature in a freezer, how can there be a spark in the body? The dera authorities should hand over the body to Ashutosh’s family.
—Satpal Maharaj, founder, Manav Uthhaan Sewa Samiti

Timeline

A road leading to the dera

Jan 29: Ashutosh Maharaj dies; dera claims he has taken “samadhi”; doctors declare him clinically dead

Jan 30: Security beefed up at dera; devotees start pouring in large numbers

Feb 3: Dera representatives admit Ashutosh Maharaj’s body has been kept in a freezer; acting on a PIL, the High Court directs Punjab Government to submit a report by February 5

Feb 4: Senior police, administrative officials enter the enclosure where the body is kept

Feb 5: Police submits report to the High Court that Ashutosh Maharaj is “clinically dead”

Feb 7: Residents of Bihar, claiming to be Ashutosh Maharaj’s family members, demand that they be allowed to perform his last rites

Feb 8: Agitated over not being given the body, residents of Lakhnaur village go on indefinite fast

Feb 9: Satpal Maharaj, founder of Manav Uthhaan Sewa Samiti, where Ashutosh Maharaj was a disciple, says body should be handed over to his family

Feb 10: Ashutosh Maharaj’s ex-driver Puran Singh moves High Court, seeking the body’s medical examination by doctors from the PGI or any other government institution

April 4: Police submits before the High Court the possibility of his unnatural death

May 18: Ashutosh Maharaj’s son Dalip Jha alleges his father has been murdered by some dera representatives, seeks high-level probe

May 28: High Court issues fresh notices to DJJS; fixes August 25 as next date of hearing

The DJJS runs scientifically managed cowsheds.

DJJS charity

• Adoption of 40 jails, including Tihar Jail, to reform inmates through religious discourses
• Drug de-addiction camps
• Welfare programmes for the physically challenged
• Training programme for the blind, beggars
• Health programme through ayurvedic medicines
• Gender equality programme
• Funding education of poor children; running educational institutions
• Bovine conservation programme