Dear Aroon Purie,
I’m writing here in response to article published in INDIA TODAY August 17, 2015 about Asharam Bapu. The article is an irresponsible one which is bashing one of the oldest charity organisation in country which has always worked for poor and needy. Instead of bringing truth to people and giving an objective story, author here has painted a picture of lies.
India today claims that : Rishi Prasad and Lok Kalyan Setu makes an annual profit of 10 Crores.
Let me enlighten you that your investigative journalist was surely smoking pot while writing it because numbers don’t add up here. Rishi Prasad and Lok Kalyan setu are monthly publication which sells at cost of mere Rs.2.50. Ashram is selling these magazine at zero profit to make sure quality literature reaches to middle class and lower class followers of Bapu. If a Rs 2.50 magazine is making 10 crore profit than I wonder how much your weekly magazine India today is making? Billions probably!
Article goes on to claim that Asharam Bapu’s CD sales were 1 crore every 2 days, I promise you Karan Johan would have signed him long ago if that was the case.
Your article profess that ashram receives 150-200 Crores in donation each year. Asharam Bapu is known as masses Saint. Majority of his follower belongs to lower class or poor class. Asharam Bapu’s satsangs and shivir have always been free unlike Art of living or Ramdev’s yoga shivir who charge their followers. Also if you would care to listen even one cd of Bapu he always tells his followers that he doesn’t want monetary funds from followers only chanting God name will be his guru dakshina.
India today further maligns Ashrams good work by saying that money was collected for bhandara done for poor people, which is a blatant lie as Ashram has never collected money or appealed for any donations. Each line in this article is a lie and I can go on and on about what a poor piece of fiction it is.
India Today group which also owns Aaj Tak, mMusic Today, India biz, Business Today and several joint ventures with foreign brands is a wealthy affluent media group. However, as they say Money can’t buy you class. India today has stooped to cheap tactics to please their sponsors (Vatican missionaries here). It is not the first time India Today group has opened front against Asharam Bapu. In September 2010 they broadcasted a sting operation where they said Asharam Bapu has agreed to keep a woman with criminal background in his ashram. When I investigated it further it was revealed that interview was a highly edited version where channel themselves took a woman to Bapu and tried to talk him into giving refuge to her. I challenged the channel and asked them to show unedited version of interview to which they shamelessly replied that I should take them to court of law.
Vatican Missionaries whose mission is a Christian India found Asharam Bapu as their biggest nemesis. To remove him out of their way they have used unfaithful treacherous Indian media who would stoop to any low for money. India Today group which is one of the wealthiest in country has shown that money is more important than country or religion. They have sold their soul to these western merchants of religion. In history I read about Jaichand, Aroon Purie you are modern day Jaichand who has everything but for insatiable thirst of money you have sold soul to the devil.