Omar Rashid 
New Delhi: “He is not a baba. I consider him as paramatma (supreme self). I have seen him in that form. He is a human only in body.”
This is the blind devotion through which Brijmohan, a worker from Uttar Pradesh’s Agra who belongs to a Dalit community, views Narayan Sakaal Hari alias ‘Bhole Baba’, the self-styled godman at the centre of the stampede in Hathras on July 2 that has so far claimed 121 lives and left over 30 injured.
Brijmohan and his wife, who consider themselves loyal devotees of Hari, had a close escape in the deadly stampede that was triggered soon after the satsang (a community religious event) concluded. Brijmohan lost his footing but managed to get back on his feet. He suffered a minor injury on his back. His wife Hemlata was taken to a hospital in a serious condition after suffering an impact on her chest but is now recovering.
“She fell on the sloping road and ended up in the drain next to the road. Those who fell into it, couldn’t get out of the sludge, which had accumulated there due to the rains,” Brijmohan told The Wire from a hospital in Agra where he is tending to his wife.
Unfading loyalty
Despite witnessing a grave tragedy and loss of human life, and himself barely escaping the clutches of death, Brijmohan’s loyalty towards Hari has not faded a bit. Like many other devotees of the Hari we spoke to, he blamed the administration in Hathras for failing to take adequate steps in preventing the incident and taking remedial security measures to control the damage once the chaos was triggered.
“Bhole Baba had already left the venue when the stampede started. The organisers had taken due permission and carried out the formalities. How is their fault?” asked Brijmohan.
This incident would not have happened had the administration covered the drain next to the venue anticipating the weather conditions, said Brijmohan. “It was a lapse by the administration.”
He has been a dedicated devotee of cop-turned-godman Hari since the last 15 years and over time developed unwavering faith in Hari’s preachings. Brijmohan does not consider Hari a charlatan but one who teaches people to good things in life and keep away from bad habits such has drugs and intoxication.
His belief was built on unscientific notions and superstition, a common feature in rural pockets of the country where babas, gurus and religious elements offer immediate financial, emotional and social support to the vulnerable and downtrodden people.
“I have witnessed his invisible acts. I used to be unwell and was mentally upset when someone took me to one of this pravachans (expositions). I started feeling better after listening to him. The best thing about his sessions is that there is no exchange of money of any kind. Neither can you take money from someone nor give it to someone,” said Brijmohan.
Also read: Hathras Stampede FIR Doesn’t Mention ‘Bhole Baba’ – Who Led the Religious Event – as Accused
‘Relationship between atma and parmatma’
Kapoor Chand Narwariya, who works in a private company in Talbehat, Lalitpur, travelled more than 340 kms to reach Mathura by train. Narwariya belongs to the Lodh community, which is part of the Other Backward Classes. From Mathura, he boarded another vehicle to travel to village Fulrai Mughal Garhi near the National Highway 91 in Sikandra Rao tehsil of Hathras.
It was his faith in Hari, who was born as Suraj Pal, that dragged Narwariya to the venue to attend the Manav Mangal Milan Sadhbhavna Samagam. “It is all about one’s individual faith and devotion. Bhole Baba teaches us to life a life of discipline and walk on the path of maryada (dignity),” said Narwariya, explaining his connection to Hari.
He started attending Hari’s events and listening to his sermons in 2012.
“I used to be distressed and riddled with illnesses. But now everything, including my work, is fine. This is about the relationship between atma (soul) and parmatma (god),” he said.
Narwariya spoke to us when he was travelling back to Lalitpur along with his injured aunt. A woman from his district also died in the stampede.
Narwariya dismisses Hari’s role in the incident. “He is not at fault from any angle. He preaches about truth and the good of man,” he said.
Brijmohan too, recounts that Hari asks his followers to not harbour “ill-feeling or hate” towards others, stay away from intoxicants as well as casteism. “He helped me fight my mental issues. He is bigger than a doctor and saves us from the bad things,” said Brijmohan.
‘We cannot even come close to his feet’
What’s notable is that while Hari’s devotees blindly follow him and talk about the benefits accrued to them due to his blessings, many have never met him in person, or spoken to him.
He also does not perform any tricks on stage nor does he pretend to heal people in public view, like many other self-styled controversial godmen and preachers in various parts of the country do. “We cannot even come close to his feet, forget about touching him,” said Brijmohan.
In Pyarampur village in Patiyali tehsil of Kasganj district, locals are mourning the death of two women, both from the Dalit Jatav community, who were killed in the stampede. “I wish I had stopped her from going. But I did not press her too much. I didn’t want her to feel that I was preventing her from doing something she liked,” said Jaiveer, who was filled with regret.
His mother Revati Devi was among the 121 persons killed in the stampede. Jaiveer, who works as a driver, said his mother took a train to Sikandra Rao along with two-three others to attend the sermon. His mother was a regular at Hari’s satsangs and ashrams.
“She would tell me that attending Baba’s sermons gave her peace. She would say, ‘My mind is at peace, good comes to everyone’,” an inconsolable Jaiveer told The Wire moments after he lit her pyre on the ghats of the Ganga.
Jaiveer holds the Uttar Pradesh government and the local administration responsible for the tragedy.
Devotees point to admin
“They are guilty. Why didn’t they cancel the event considering the rains? They should have deployed more police to control the situation if the crowd got bigger and prevented people from entering the venue, “ said Jaiveer.
In the same village, Brijesh Kumar, Jatav labourer, is also trying to come to terms with the loss of his mother Somvati. Kumar would accompany his mother to the satsangs but he soon lost interest primarily due to the large crowds. He said the administration and the organisers were equally responsible for the incident.
“The administration did not make the right arrangements for the event. They should have sent additional forces,” said Kumar. “Bahut ache hai baba ji, my mother used to tell me,” he said.
Like his mother was, Rajendra is also a loyalist of ‘Bhole Baba’. Rajendra, who has over the years attended 30 meetings and events organised by Hari, believes it has rid him of all the ‘bad’ habits.
“I used to be a drunkard. Now, I don’t drink and I no longer eat meat,” said Rajendra, from Hathras. Like a large number of Hari’s followers, he also hails from the Jatav community. “He delivers philosophical sermons and shows us the path of paramatma, the right way. He talks about working hard and doing good acts.” said he.
Rajendra’s wife received an injury to her chest in the stampede. The family have been associated with Hari for the last three years.
Chief Minister Adityanath said that among the dead 115 were from 16 districts in UP while six others hailed from Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The 16 districts in UP included Hathras, Etah, Aligarh, Budaun, Kasganj, Firozabad, Mathura, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri and Agra.