An event by Dhirendra Shastri of Baba Bageshwar Dham in Patna was reportedly cancelled after more than 5 lakh followers turned up at the venue. As per reports, some people started falling sick while a few even fainted due to the heat wave. Dhirendra Shastri was supposed to recite Hanuman Katha at the event
The 26-year-old self-styled godman Dhirendra Shastri has been organising a ‘Divya Darbar’ at Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, a religious pilgrimage site in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
He often recites religious stories. He shot to fame after videos of his ‘Divya Darbar’ and ‘katha-vaachan’ went viral on social media. Locals claim Dhirendra Shastri was an autorickshaw driver some years ago
Though, Dhirendra Shastri’s Patna event did not go as planned as his 5-day programme was cut short due to overcrowding. His fame could be gauged by the fact that Union Minister Giriraj Singh and Patliputra MP Ram Kripal Yadav welcomed him at the Patna airport.
In 1995, Baba Ramdev born as Ramkishan Yadav founded Divya Yoga Mandir Trust along with his partners Balkrishna and Acharya Karamveer. As part of this, they used to conduct multiple yoga camps and trainings across the country. Baba Ramdev shot to fame in 2002 when Sanskar TV started telecasting his yoga programmes or yoga shivirs, which used to be attended by several yoga enthusiasts
The following year, Aastha TV began featuring him in its morning yoga slot. Gradually, a number of personalities from different walks of life started following Baba Ramdev. From Shilpa Shetty doing Yoga poses with him at events to Kapil Sharma inviting Baba Ramdev on his show, multiple film and TV personalities are often seen with him
Baba Ramdev’s life was also depicted on the small screen via a documentary based named Swami Ramdev - Ek Sangharsh on Discovery Jeet. It showcased his life as a child born to a poor family. He suffered from a congenital disability, which left his face partially paralysed. But Ramdev, who always had the fighter spirit, went on the become one of India’s leading Yoga gurus and a successful entrepreneur via his brand Patanjali Ayurved
Baba Ramdev has enjoyed massive popularity over the years, though he gradually pivoted towards business with the expansion of the Patanjali Ayurved brand in the form of Ayurved products, Patanjali University in Haridwar and Patanjali Ayurved College.
Patanjali had also acquired Ruchi Soya Ltd. and renamed it Patanjali Food Ltd, which now sells Patanjali Dalia, a variety of Patanjali Oil and the entire FMCG product line
Baba Ramdev has faced some major allegations, these include:-
- Petition filed by Indian Medical Association against his claims about discrediting allopathy
- FEMA cases registered against Ramdev and his Haridwar-based trusts
- Fine of Rs 11 lakh levied for misleading ads by Patanjali
Though Baba Ramdev has never spoken about Dhirendra Shastri in public, he has often come out in support of Sanatan Dharma, which has also been propagated by Shastri. In some news interviews, Ramdev also lashed out against those who opposed the learnings from Sanatan Dharma as shared by Dhirendra Shastri in some of his programmes
Similar to Baba Ramdev, Dhirendra Shastri of Baba Bageshwar Dham has also courted controversies.
- 'Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti' led by Prof Shyam Manav accused him of spreading superstitions
- In January, the Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Dr. Govind Singh sought proof of miracles from Acharya Dhirendra Shastri
Whether Dhirendra Shastri’s rising popularity coupled with acknowledgement and endorsement from political leaders, will propel him to make big business moves like Baba Ramdev remains to be seen
A lot of people compare his rising fame to that of Baba Ramdev, who started with yoga shivirs which attracted thousands and later co-founded company Patanjali Ayurved, which reportedly has a valuation in billions