A fugitive godman and his fantastical sovereign republic of Hinduism

Who: A Rajasekaran, better known as the “godman” Nithyananda. In the last few years, he has become a social media star with videos rife with pseudoscientific claims and utterances that anybody other than his followers would dismiss as gibberish. Earlier this week, Nithyananda declared that he had set up a “cosmic country”, apparently off the coast of Ecuador. The fugitive is on the run, while the Gujarat Police is looking for him following charges of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of children at his ashram in Ahmedabad, as well as the rape of a disciple.

What: News of the fugitive setting up the sovereign “Republic of Kailaasa”, with the ambition of making it the “world’s greatest and purest Hindu nation”, has afforded social media users considerable mirth. Claims for the new “nation”, a private island that Nithyananda has reportedly bought, are ludicrous — a population of 100 million Adi Shaivites, two billion practising Hindus, and 56 original Vedic nations in South Asia apart from a global Hindu diaspora. The official languages in Kailaasa, we are told, are English, Sanskrit and Tamil. Ostensibly a passport will be issued, and “by the grace of Paramashiva, the holder of this passport is allowed free entry in all eleven dimensions and fourteen lokas, including Kailaasa”. Twitterati had a field day with the absurdity, issuing jokes and memes of the disgraced “ascetic”. Many on the liberal side of the ideological divide also felt blessed by Nithyananda — enough to use a “Go to Kailaasa” chant as a counterpoint to right-wingers who regularly denounce dissenters with the tired refrain, “Go to Pakistan”. Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin weighed in with a commonly expressed concern: “What is the procedure to get visa?? Or is it on arrival?” Another tweeted: “In this nation, the sun rises in the afternoon or evening because sometimes Nithyananda forgets to give permission. So Kailaasa is the only country on the planet with infinite hours in a day.”

A sample of videos that have the “godman” preaching — Nithyananda has a popular YouTube channel — can be a mind-bending experience. If in one he boasts of the ability to move the sun with a gesture of his hand or delay sunrise by 40 minutes, in another he prattles on about the “infinite infinities” in front of former Infosys director T V Mohandas Pai, who appears increasingly confused. All of this sermon is delivered by the enlightened one with a smile that occasionally converts to a laugh, as if he just cracked a wicked joke, nevertheless soaking in a steady stream of applause and whistles of approval.

How: What is not funny is how making news for all the wrong reasons has only appeared to enhance the cult of Nithyananda. Back in 2010, news channels flashed a tape in which the “celibate” guru was seen in bed with a Tamil actress who was his follower. A month later he was arrested in Himachal Pradesh and brought to Bengaluru. He soon got out on bail. After setting up his first ashram in Tamil Nadu in 2000, he started his ashram Dhyanapeetam in Bidadi on the outskirts of Bengaluru. A female devotee died inside his ashram in 2015, leading to another controversy. Still, an empire built on donations continued to grow, with his trust running temples, gurukulas and ashrams in several nations. Excluding, as of now, Kailaasa.