Death of a Godman
Bhaiyyuji Maharaj, a popular and politically connected guru, was found dead in his Indore home on Tuesday, June 12, around lunchtime. Just 50, he had apparently shot himself in the head, leaving a suicide note that hinted at depression, an inability to cope any longer with the mundane tasks and responsibilities of life. “I am leaving,” he wrote, “to[o] much stressed out, fed up.” He married for the second time in 2017, his first wife having died, and had a daughter, whom he was visiting in Pune in 2016 when he and some followers were attacked after a truck collided with their car.
In April, he had been accorded ‘minister of state’ status by the Madhya Pradesh government, alongside four other ‘godmen’, and nominated to a committee set up to raise awareness about the conservation of the Narmada river. Bhaiyyuji had turned down the offer, claiming that saints had no use for official posts, but remained deeply involved in the issue. Barely an hour before he killed himself, he was posting about the importance of water conservation on his Facebook page.
Bhaiyyuji counted politicians from all parties and celebrities among his followers. In 2011, he helped mediate with Anna Hazare on behalf of the Congress-led government, serving him a glass of juice as he broke his fast, the moral heart of the India Against Corruption Movement that had captivated the country. Bhaiyyuji was requested to intervene by former Union minister and Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Born Uday Singh Deshmukh in Shujalpur, MP, in 1968, Bhayyyuji reportedly worked as a model and advertising executive before turning himself into a spiritual leader. He was a thoroughly contemporary religious figure, worldly, sophisticated and attached to the luxury of his Mercedes SUV and Rolex watches.
His second marriage was said to have led to some anger among both his followers and his teenage daughter from his first marriage. Around the time of his wedding, in May last year, he was embarrassed by an actress who alleged that he had misled and cheated her. After his suicide, there were whispered rumours about other inappropriate relationships.
But on the surface, Bhaiyyuji remained a widely respected and substantial figure, particularly in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in North America at the time of Bhaiyyuji’s death, tweeted a fulsome tribute, hailing Bhaiyyuji’s work with farmers and in the education of children. There were condolences from a variety of political figures in both government and opposition, at the Centre and in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Indeed, the Congress opposition in Bhaiyyuji’s home state demanded a CBI probe into his death, claiming political pressure on him to join the BJP. The police, though, have ruled out foul play.