A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
Shunning the shackles of social stigma, about 1,000 widows, played Holi with colours and gulal at Meera Sahabhagini Ashram in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.
Narendra Modi will turn 64, playing host to the visiting Chinese leader in Ahmedabad on Wednesday
The Rajasthan police issued a summons and delivered it to a representative of controversial godman Asaram Bapu in Ahmedabad on Monday in connection with an allegation of sexual abuse levelled against him by a 16-year-old girl last week.
'When I came to know what had happened to my daughter, it was shattering for us...we lost all faith in him when we learnt about his misdeeds'
Besides the murder charges, the Barwala police had also invoked offences of wrongful confinement in the two FIRs.
If convicted, Asaram faces maximum sentence of 10 years.
The two-member team, which reached his ashram on Khandwa road on the outskirts of the city at 0800 hour, served the summons to Asaram at around 2 pm after being told by ashram functionaries that he was meditating and cannot be disturbed.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday appealed to self-styled godman Sant Rampal to present himself before the court in a "peaceful manner", saying one must give utmost priority to uphold the dignity of the judicial system.
A 39-year-old engineer, who allegedly duped some ashrams in Tamil Nadu to the tune of a few lakhs of rupees has been arrested, said the police. R Prakash, hailing from Madurai, decided to con ashrams and self-styled godmen after he lost nearly Rs two lakh to a self-styled godman a few years ago, they said.
Rampal Maharaj, the 63-year-old guru who was arrested from his fortified ashram in Haryana on Wednesday night, has been sent to jail till November 28, till his next hearing.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were roped in to rescue hundreds of stranded people, they said.
A wall is being constructed in front of a slum along the road connecting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to Indira Bridge.
United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they arrived in Ahmedabad on Monday afternoon for a 36-hour visit to India. On the agenda for day 1 of his whirlwind tour was the Sabarmati Ashram, the address to thousands at the Motera Stadium and then a lovely tour of one of the wonders of the world -- The Taj Mahal in Agra. Here are some of the best pictures of Day 1.
On her visit to Mahatma Gandhi's home, Sabarmati Ashram, Shubhrastha wonders what India could have been if it had followed Gandhiji's teachings in its entirety.
'The present government swears by Hinduism. But we lost three of our sants during earlier BJP regimes.'
Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu's son Narayan Sai, against whom a look out notice has been issued in connection with a sexual assault case, has given advertisements in local newspapers claiming that he is innocent and will not run away.
Manhas went missing after the April 3 gunfight between Naxals and security personnel near Sukma-Bijapur border.
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday pulled up Haryana authorities after they failed to produce a self-styled godman, against whom a non-bailable warrant was issued last week in a contempt case, citing resistance by his followers.
The rape survivor, who is a postgraduate student at one of the colleges run by Chinmayanand's organisation, has alleged that she was raped and "physically exploited" for a year by the former Union minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefed the BJP MPs on the government's plans to celebrate 75 years of the nation's Independence during the parliamentary party meeting.
The massive operation to locate and arrest controversial 'godman' Rampal cost the exchequer over Rs 26 crore, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was told on Friday.
Yoga, wellness, meditation, Ayurveda, software and ... toothpaste - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has successfully merged business with spirituality
Self-styled godman Asaram's son Narayan Sai, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his ashram between 2002 and 2005, was on Thursday brought to Surat from Delhi, a senior police officer said.
Wearing multiple identities of religious preacher, science student and terror accused, the saffron robed Aseemanand, once known as the most wanted man in India, was the alleged link between the series of three bombings that ripped through India in 2007.
Controversial self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is in judicial custody in the alleged sexual assault case of a minor, today moved a bail application in the Rajasthan high court in Jodhpur.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "Is Trump God that 70 lakh people will gather around to welcome him. He is coming here for his own interests. Trump is not doing the trade deal. He just wants to work for the benefit of America and is not coming to make us happy."
'It doesn't help to transpose the Hindi heartland model on Bengal. Bengalis don't understand its dynamics. They won't comprehend the impact of Modi's dip in the Ganga because Bengal's political culture is different. Even in the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrams, Christ is worshipped on Christmas. It's difficult to polarise Bengal religiously'
Kangana hosts Manikarnika screening for Jaggi Vasudev.
The girls, many of whose family members serve at the ashram 'Barsana Dham' -- a 200-acre Hindu ashram located in Austin in the US state of Texas -- alleged that they were molested by Prakashanand Saraswati, who is known to his devotees as Shree Swamiji, when they grew up there in the mid-1990s.
'She had a curiosity which she translated into action and was always open to new ideas and suggestions for the betterment of society.' Malti and Mudit Jain remember Indu Jain, the chairperson of the Times of India group, who passed into the ages last week.
The situation on Monday was tense but under control in Rohtak's Karontha village where three persons were killed and about 100 others in a clash between two groups over an ashram even as Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda ordered a magisterial probe into the violence.
Bhagwat was returning from a programme in Tijara area when the incident happened and there were eight to ten cars in the cavalcade, police said.
Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu has run into fresh trouble after a 16-year-old girl, who had been staying in a hostel operated by his trust in Jodhpur accused him of sexual assault.
Jodhpur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph said, "A potency test was conducted on him, which confirmed that he was strong enough to commit the crime of sexual assault and rape on the 16-year-old girl."
The bail order will be applicable from May 4.
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Tuesday joined the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens in Shaheen Bagh and attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government saying that they fought elections on the promise of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', but they did 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vinash'.
'Two have already sacrificed their lives.' 'How many more shall need to sacrifice before the government listens?' 'Four, five or six? They are ready, waiting.' After Ganga campaigner G D Agrawal's death, a Haridwar ashram's sadhus are on a relay fast unto death.
Here are some of the glimpses of the celebration
Wani said he also asked Sri Sri to use his influence in finding a solution to Kashmir problem.
