In the saffron clad form of 65-year-old Subhash Patri aka Pyramid Baba, Andhra Pradesh has got its own Nithyananda, the highflying swami from Karnataka who went to jail for molesting women devotees and was caught on video cavorting with B-grade actresses. Pyramid Baba, the founder of Pyramid Spiritual Societies, has landed in a controversy for publicly ‘touching women indecently and kissing them’ at a ‘world pyramid spiritual’ seminar conducted between December 21-31 at Kadtal village in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh.
Following a sting operation by a Telugu channel—in a manner reminiscent of Nithyananda’s downfall—the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has instructed the government to institute a probe on a complaint filed by advocate Somaraju. The district collector and the SP have been asked to submit their report on Pyramid Baba’s antics by February 1. The godman is charged with touching women devotees improperly, hugging and kissing them and also touching their bottoms. He is also accused of forcing women devotees to give him leg massages.
Sources say that Patri ostensibly started the Pyramid Spiritual Societies with the aim of “creating a spiritual paradise on earth”. He claimed that meditation done inside a pyramid is thrice more powerful. He founded Pyramid Spiritual Societies movement in 1990 “with the intention of creating intense awareness among all individuals about the science of meditation and vegetarianism, and its primary role in providing physical, mental and intellectual health.”
Patri established his first pyramid in Kurnool in 1991 on 50 acres of land and a second one in 1996, in Uravakonda.
Subsequently there was no stopping him as the number of devotees grew. Several pyramids were established throughout Andhra Pradesh. Following his success, Patri went national, setting up hundreds of Pyramid Spiritual Societies throughout India. In 1997, the title of ‘Brahmarshi was supposedly conferred’ by various pyramid masters on Patri in the holy town of Tirupati. Investigators say the godman travels throughout the country all year round visiting various villages to conduct meditational classes and workshops on vegetarianism and new age spiritual science.
The Maheshwara Spiritual University, under the Pyramid Spiritual Trust (Hyderabad), was established in 2006. The trust is a registered non-religious, non-cult, non-profit voluntary organisation and also undertakes spiritual works of propagating Anapanasati meditation, vegetarianism and spiritual science.
“It works in tandem with the Pyramid Spiritual Trust (India), Pyramid Valley, Bangalore, Indian Federation of Spiritual Scientists (IFSS), Global Congress of Spiritual Scientists (GCSS) and other spiritual societies and trusts engaged in the Pyramid Spiritual Societies Movement (PSSM),” said a senior police officer, who is investigating Patri. In spite of all this, no property is reported to be registered in Pyramid Baba’s name.
Sources say police are also investigating Patri’s link with real estate tycoons. Many advertisements and hoardings of real estate projects project Pyramid Baba. However, investigators are silent on the scope of the deals that involve Patri.