A matter of faith

Godmen and spiritual societies are part of the lives of India's super rich

RAMESH OZA (BHAIJI)
Ramesh Oza, known to his devotees as Bhaishri or Bhaiji, was born in Gujarat. He is known for his discourses or kathas, but his biggest claim to fame might be his devotees - the country's wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani, and his brother, Anil Ambani. Oza serves as the Ambanis' family guru and recently inaugurated a memorial dedicated to Dhirubhai Ambani in his hometown, Chorwad, in Gujarat.

RADHA SOAMI SATSANG
The Radha Soami Satsang is a spiritual society based in Beas in Punjab. Its followers include the Bharat Ram family and the Singh brothers, Malvinder and Shivinder. Their maternal grandfather was, after all, the supreme leader of the Satsang. When the Singh family used to own Ranbaxy, most of its board members were members of the Satsang. Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, son of the current head of the sect, owns 4.35 per cent of Religare, the financial services company promoted by the Singh brothers, and his mother, Shabnam Dhillon, owns 8.6 per cent.

SAI BABA
When he was alive, Sai Baba, or Sathya Sri Sai Baba, was one of the most well-known godmen in the country. Based in Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, where he had built his ashram and a super-specialty hospital where treatment was free for all, Sai Baba counted among his followers several politicians, celebrities and master batsman Sachin Tendulkar. High-profile devotees from the business community included Sunil Mittal, Venu Srinivasan and Anil Rai.

SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
Clad in trademark flowing white robes, with his long hair and beatific smile, Sri Sri Ravishankar is considered the guru of the urban devotee, a preacher of new age spirituality. His art-of-living course, focusing on breathing techniques, claims to bring happiness and peace; those who believe in the premise include Vijay Mallya, Venugopal Dhoot, Yash Birla and B K Modi.