There is a woman in your life. Her name starts with A. Isn’t it?” Bhaiyyu Maharaj tells a devotee, who smiles, nods and leaves.
It is 11.30 pm. The number of devotees seeking the spiritual guru’s darshan at a five-star hotel in Mumbai is swelling with every minute. Someone is interested in knowing his business fortunes. A 40-something woman wants to know when her husband will give up his anger. Two politicians have joined the chorus along with actor Rajpal Yadav and director Rajkumar Santoshi.
He is awake since 5 am, but Bhaiyyu Maharaj doesn’t seem tired. He tells a devotee, “Everything will be fine by November 23.” He hands out a booklet as prasad.
The booklet describes a number of social works being carried across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, which have given a new identity to Bhaiyyu Maharaj.
The Indore-based spiritual guru came into the limelight in 2011 when he actively backed social activist Anna Hazare’s agitation at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan demanding a Lok Pal to deal with high-profile cases of corruption.
The “chikna, chupada (handsome, attractive) guru”, as JD(U) president Sharad Yadav described Bhaiyyu Maharaj in Parliament, has transformed himself into a social worker in the past four years. He has adopted 250 street children and 1,000 more from the Pardhi community—branded as thieves by the British—for their education.
He has also provided patronage to 250 girls from a tribal community in Madhya Pradesh. In the community, girls are forced into the flesh trade once they turn 10. In another Madhya Pradesh district, he is working to eradicate the witch tradition.
In Marathwada region of Maharashtra, which is facing acute water shortage, Bhaiyyu Maharaj has installed water tanks in 700 villages, paying from his own pocket. He has distributed seeds—tested in his farms for their germinity—to farmers for free. He has also made arrangements for free education for the farmers’ children. “People come to me seeking advice on personal matters. I appeal to them to give up old-fashioned traditions and work for the humanity,” Bhaiyyu Maharaj tells The Sunday Standard.
“Only two people could make their agitations a success, Lord Shri Krishna and Mahatma Gandhi. Now, agitations fail as there is no strong force behind them,” he says, hinting that he has made up his mind not to join any agitation in future.
Bhaiyyu Maharaj says he is doing social work because he believes that is the mission of his life. “I am also working for the eradication of superstitions, but anti-superstition activists stay aloof from me. They probably get confused because of the word maharaj in my name,” he says.
Bhaiyyu Maharaj says many people are coming forward to join his social work, but funding is a problem. “I have sold 376 acres of my 476-acre farm land and two houses to raise money for social causes. People don’t give me money because I don’t show them miracles,” he says.
He is known for his political connections. But “I am not their agent,” he explains. “People come to me to get their government work done, but when they find I can’t help them, they vanish.”
The number of devotees thins past midnight. Bhaiyyu Maharaj goes to bed at around 2 am. “Three hours of sleep is sufficient for me,” he says. Pointing towards his practice of working on a farm for at least a day every week, he says, “The farm, soil and its fragrance keep me fresh, always.”