Book Review
Book : Prophet of Love
Author : Farrukh Dhondy
Publisher : Harper Collins India, 2013
Pages : 314
Price : Rs 299
Religion
is an interesting subject of study and it can be studied from many different
perspectives such as psychology, sociology, spirituality and literature. For the vast majority of people none of
these perspectives matters apparently.
For the vast majority, religion is an illusion or a placebo that provides
the much needed solace during times of turbulence and anguish. There is a minority who seek and discover
genuine spiritual meaning with the help of religion. There is another group of people who make
religion the source of their livelihood.
Farrukh
Dhondy’s novel is about the last group primarily. Mr Bhavnani and Ms Shanti are the typical
commercial agents of religion. They know
how to sell religion. They make wealth
out of it, and nothing less than fabulous wealth. The protagonist of the novel is Bhagwan Saket
and he is not trying to make wealth. He
is superficial both emotionally and intellectually. He has read much and was even a teacher of
philosophy for some time in a college.
But his knowledge remains untouched by the profundity that only life’s
experiences can provide. He has no
experience of love; he had been separated from his mother as an infant. He lived in a monastery in the Himalayas till
the age of 7. Later he obtained
education with the help of scholarships.
He never dreamt of becoming a godman. Mr Bhavnani and Ms Shanti catapult
Rahul the loafer into Saket the godman.
Saket possesses a charm and an eloquence which can draw a lot of wealthy
Westerners as disciples. Saket
eventually becomes the wealthiest godman in India owning a fleet of luxury cars
gifted by his devotees.
There
is enough hint in the novel that Bhagwan Saket is modelled on Bhagwan Rajneesh
who later became Osho. Saket’s empire is
also situated in “a quiet suburb of Poona.”
Dhondy
succeeds in portraying vividly the dark underbelly of a godman’s empire. Godmen like Bhagwan Saket found cults which
become “the religion of the lost children.”
The words “lost” and “children” are significant. In the case of Bhagwan Saket, the people who
flock to him are those who lost their
moorings in their original culture and religion, mostly because they seldom
cared to discover their roots. They are
also quite childish in their yearnings for love and attention.
There
is another godman in the novel who is put to death by his commercial managers
when he is no more able to deliver lectures and thus rake in the moolah. The followers of that godman are mostly widows
and old men who are not wanted by their children. Religion is the refuge of the lost people, people who fail to discover
themselves clearly.
Prophet of Love
is a suspense thriller at one level. At
another, it throws ample light on the world of certain godmen and other similar
frauds. The world that Dhondy throws
open to the readers is so bizarre that it may seem incredible and improbable in
many places. That is a drawback of the
novel.
The
novel arouses the reader’s curiosity right from page one and sustains it to the
end. How far the reader will be
satisfied will depend on his/her religious inclinations, intellectual
proclivity and literary tastes. Those
who are not familiar with the world of religious fraudsters but are interested
in a ringside view will find the book highly rewarding.
Acknowledgement: Thanks to Harper Collins India for sending me a free copy of the book in association with the Book Review Project of Indiblogger.
Wow..Brilliantly reviewed...I will surely read the book now.. :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best. I'm sure you'll find it a provocative book. I had visited Osho's ashram in Poona in the early 80s. I could revisit it now through this book!
DeleteInteresting and timely considering the once again a godmen has been proven to be fraud in real life...
ReplyDeleteMost godmen are after wealth and opulence. There are exceptions. Dhondy presents a godman whose interest is not in wealth and opulence which he gets as mere byproducts.
DeleteSeriously, one day you will make me broke with the reviews of all these books :)
ReplyDeleteI only wish for more time to read more books, Pankti.
Delete