Family of RSSB guru at risk of charges of criminal conspiracy

Here's a follow-up to yesterday's post, "RSSB insider Sunil Godhwani charged with criminal conspiracy."

In that post I noted that a document I got of the complaint filed by attorneys representing Religare, the company from which funds were fraudulently siphoned, was difficult to read due to the formatting.

But someone sent me the document in Word format, from which I was able to first produce paragraph breaks that made the document much easier to read, and then export the file in a PDF format. Here it is:

Download Religare Complaint PDF

It's more than 20 pages long, yet well worth reading if someone wants to get a close look at how the financial fraud was committed, and what its consequences were to Religare, a public company.

One of the people specifically named in the complaint is Sunil Godhwani, who reportedly was installed as CEO of Religare at the behest of Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

Godhwani then used his position to illegally funnel money into shell companies, some of which have been reported to be controlled at the time by members of the Dhillon family, including the guru's wife and sons. That money then was used by the Dhillon family, at least in part, to make real estate investments -- according to stories in the Indian financial press. 

What should worry the guru and his family are several references in the Religare complaint to additional people involved in the alleged criminal conspiracy. Following are some excerpts from the complaint. I've boldfaced parts for emphasis.

ll. The facts mentioned below disclose a well thought out and organized criminal conspiracy by which a financial scam of huge magnitude has been effected by the Accused Persons namely 

(a) the 'promoters' of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), including Mr. Malvinder Mohan Singh (MMS), resident of 'Vistas' - 26, Maulsari Avenue, Westend, Green Farm, Rajokri, New Delhi — 110038; and Mr. Shivinder Mohan Singh (SMS), resident of 1, Southend Lane, New Delhi, 110001;

(b) directors and other officers of entities owned / controlled / associated with the promoters;  [p. 3]

-------------------------------

It appears that SMS, MMS, SG, NKG and other unknown persons (being the directors and employees of the 7 entities at the relevant time) colluded to wrongfully gain at the expense of the Complainant Company. [p.17]

-------------------------------

26. The aforesaid facts appear to disclose commission of the offences of cheating, breach of trust, criminal misappropriation, criminal conspiracy, money laundering and forgery by the persons mentioned in this complaint on account of which the Complainant Company has suffered unlawful losses and such persons and other unknown persons and associates of the accused persons have obtained unlawful gains.

In view of the same, I urge you to kindly register a First Information Report basis this complaint against the accused persons mentioned hereinabove for various criminal offences committed by them, investigate the same and bring to book the perpetrators of such a large scale financial fraud. It is in public interest to investigate the aforesaid facts such that interests of public shareholders are preserved.

Thus if this complaint by Religare is investigated by Indian authorities, and it sure seems like it will be, those "unknown persons and associates of the accused persons" appear to be subject to criminal charges. 

I find it hard to believe that Gurinder Singh Dhillon's wife and sons were ringleaders of this massive financial scam. I also find it hard to believe that Godhwani and the Singh brothers funneled money into the above-mentioned shell companies without the knowledge of the RSSB guru.

Dhillon is noted for frequently saying "It's my way or the highway" in his spiritual talks.

And he was viewed by his inner circle as a trusted advisor, given his supposed status as God in Human Form, according to the RSSB teachings. Yet because his name apparently wasn't listed as a director of any of the shell companies, defenders of the guru like to claim that he was an innocent bystander in the financial fraud that benefited him, his family, and his close associates.

Again, hard to believe. 

It could come down to this: if Dhillon's wife and sons end up being charged with criminal conspiracy, will they speak about the guru's level of involvement in the financial fraud? (Ditto for Sunil Godhwani.) And if this happens, will the guru himself take responsibility for the fraud, which might lead to lesser charges being made against his family members?

Another possibility: Likely people not associated with RSSB were either involved with the fraud, or had knowledge of what was going on. Seemingly they would be motivated to cooperate with investigations into who was responsible for the siphoning of money from Religare, and who ultimately benefitted from the illegal money transfer.

Reading the Religare complaint, it struck me as decidedly odd that the perpetrators of the financial fraud thought they could get away with it. After all, transfers of money usually can be tracked by skilled accountants/investigators, even if criminals attempt to hide those tracks.

It may be that because some of the accused were devotees of the RSSB guru, somehow they assumed that the guru's supposed spiritual protection would extend to their financial wrongdoing. Well, if they made that assumption, it isn't working out very well for them.

 

Comments

[spencer tepper]

Just to be pointed..

"26. The aforesaid facts appear to disclose commission of the offences of cheating, breach of trust, criminal misappropriation, criminal conspiracy, money laundering and forgery by the persons mentioned in this complaint on account of which the Complainant Company has suffered unlawful losses and such persons and other unknown persons and associates of the accused persons have obtained unlawful gains. "

Specifically..
"26. ....the offences of cheating, breach of trust, criminal misappropriation, criminal conspiracy, money laundering and forgery by....
...unknown persons and associates of the accused persons have obtained unlawful gains."

ie; the loan recipients....

That's Gurinder's family, his wife, sons, as well as the Singhs...

[Radh(er Not) Soami]

What happened to: The bench further asked the Singh brothers to appear before it on March 28 and submit the payment plan. The bench said that "hopefully it will be the last time you are appearing in the court'".

[Arjuna]

@ Spencer - I must admit this is extremely fishy.

But let’s see what happens - if proved right, how do want to move forward with the un- conditioning the minds of people who are trapped by the teachings??

Chasing money was bad as the teachings stated - many followers may have given up and thus not provided their children with the futures they deserved due to being scared of having ambitions. To earn more money to get out of poverty - for example . If it is good for GIHF then it’s good for us. I say.

The new way is: it’s OUR way or the highway!

[Spence Tepper]

Hi Radh(er Not) Soami!
Excellent point!
Next week's news will likely include the lapse of this deadline, and perhaps in one or two more weeks we will see a contempt of court order or something similar.

[Spence Tepper]

Hi Arjuna
You wrote
"Chasing money was bad as the teachings stated - many followers may have given up and thus not provided their children with the futures they deserved due to being scared of having ambitions. To earn more money to get out of poverty - for example . If it is good for GIHF then it’s good for us. I say."

Each of us will have our own idea of the lessons behind this saga.

And that's a subjective matter.

Personally, I believe in the teachings, and I believe Baba Ji is in fact GIHF.

And that Majaraji Himself has place Guru Ji Brian in the role of warrior for truth.

Sounds crazy, right? Well it wouldn't be the first time.

Meditation isn't transferable.

So why play the role of a mastermind criminal? Why actually commit crimes?

I have no answer. Only that fraud is fraud and if you commit a crime you need to serve the time (or actually make amends publicly as best you can). I believe, in my Crazy Spence way, this not only applies to Baba Ji but each of us. He actually wants us to pursue it. With Compassion, with Forgiveness, with Mercy, as He gives these to each of us daily, the same we have received... But to pursue it honestly, placing Truth above our own interests. Just as we must do in our own lives every day.

We make amends for our errors and ask forgiveness every day. It's part of our effort to be decent human beings. That is a universal principle that applies to us all.. And the only foundation for a life of truth is a foundational commitment to truth, honesty, transparency and responsibility.

Because right and wrong can't be a matter of personal convenience, no matter how incredibly painful it is to do what's right.

If there is anyone who comes out of this the real living principle of truth, it's Brian Ji. He gave up everything to leave what he saw as wrong, and live for what was right, even at the cost of his own intimacy with Master. But of course doing so only brought him closer. He was beaten on the outside, and raised, even without his knowledge, from within, to become a warrior....

OK, just my Crazy Spence take...

[s*]

I never understood what Babaji meant with this..''it's my way or the highway''

I very much feel for Nimmi...it must be very difficult to bear all these difficulties for her..

My heart goes out to her..
She became a mam in the same time as myself..

[Arjuna]

@ Spencer - you do have a very active imagination if I may say so.

“Warrior” I think not. However I actually know a few warriors (in my work) and I can reassure you because of them you sleep tight at night.

Bloggers are not warriors.

[Spence Tepper]

Hi Arjuna
If there were more warriors for the truth and decency, there would be fewer needed on the battlefield.

[jay]

Concerning Gurinder's silence, here's a possible RSSB historical parallel and precedent: The death of Julian Johnson and the silence of Sawan Singh.

For those who don't know the story, here it is in brief: Non-satsangi Paul Petzoldt got into an argument with Johnson's wife Elizabeth Bruce at the dera. Bruce grabbed a shotgun, a wrestling match over the gun ensued, and Petzold bolted from the room, running into Dr. Johnson, causing him to die.

In assessing who was at fault, there were many factors to consider. Resentment over loaned money, questions of use of force in self-defence, whether running into someone qualifies as assault with intent to kill, age of the deceased and his medical condition, etc, etc.

Sawan Singh made no comment on any aspect of this event. If I remember correctly, Sawan did invite the wife of Petzold to meet with him, and instead of offering either an apology or a moral sermon, simply sat before her in silent meditation for an hour.

[Arjuna]

@ Spencer - yes true. But that vision is fantasy.

Strive for decency in this world and you are ore likely to be owned by someone who doesn’t have your best interest at heart. It doesn’t pay to appear weak and humble - you get used.

This is not a nice world buddy. Maybe your world is nice and you can look at the stars at night. The only stars I have seen are looking up in the jungle or desert at night! And thinking is there God.

Catch you later - going running - must keep fit 😋

[George Porgy]

Innocent until proven guilty.

Is that not the same legal principle in every country?

Is it just my imagination or have these conspiracy theories about RSSB been going on for years? Seemingly promulgated by none other than former members of the organisation.

I can understand why ppl decide to leave an organisation, but why the concerted smear campaign and whingeing, especially if you still continue to make use of many of the teachings imbibed.

All I know is that a non-for-profit organisation that gives care to the poor for nutty conspiracy theories from disaffected ex-members.

[Spence Tepper]

Hi Arjuna
Find the stars within yourself.
Yes, there literally are stars there.
But think also of the visionaries whose stars within were of their own invention, inspired by something.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Albert Einstein

What warrior fights without a deep understanding of honor?
An idea! That becomes their own ideal?

Who puts their life at risk for nothing but a paycheck?
That would be a mercenary... A useful job, but just a job.

A warrior is something else. They risk their life to protect the innocent, to end harm, knowing the war itself is the product of human greed and avarice on one side, and maybe both... But still they are there protecting the children. And when they cannot protect them for long, still they are there

Sometimes a mercinary is also a true warrior, when they carry this quality. When they live for this idea.

And in so doing they walk right in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

There is no more direct path to everlasting life, and everlasting bpeace, than what a dedicated soldier / police officer / firefighter does.

Their work is their meditation. In one single act of self sacrifice they leap over all the lifetimes of meditation and Seva of others, right up to the highest regions.

The lord is deeply in love with these.

Or so my Crazy Spence visions have shown me.

[Brian Hines]

George Porgy, you seem to have fallen prey to "fake news" syndrome. Seek medical attention immediately! It's dangerous both to yourself and to society when you attack the messenger of news rather than address the fact in the message itself.

The facts being reported in the Indian financial press, and then reported on this blog, are indisputable. Two people have filled complaints against the RSSB guru alleging death threats made against them by RSSB functionaries.

The RSSB guru's right hand man has been legally accused of criminal conspiracy to funnel funds from a public company into shell companies controlled by relatives of the RSSB guru and his associates. That money then was used by the Dhillon family to buy real estate assets, in part.

So, what do you consider to be untrue in the facts that have been presented on this blog? Present your evidence. If you can't do this, then your criticisms in the comment above are false. Spence and I have been drawing conclusions based on facts.

You haven't. End of story, unless you present your own compelling facts about the Singh brothers/Dhillon family crime drama that outweigh the facts reported by the Indian financial press.

[Michael]

George please understand if you choose to respond to Brian you will be wasting your time. He is truly ignorant of the innocent until proven guilty concept. He thinks just because someone makes accusations that the accusations become “facts”.

[jay]

As I read his post, Mr. Porgy was addressing "conspiracy theories about RSSB." Some may see this as splitting hairs, but the news reports about the Singh bros. and the Dhillon family are not indictments of RSSB itself, or its guru.

Also, no news report has alleged that Gurinder Singh issued death threats. They're alleging that his followers may have done so. At this point, these threats seem to be on the order of oblique warnings about the karmic impact of taking legal action against God in Human Form. Such "threats" are quite common in most religious movements East and West. At this point, there's no reason to assume that Gurinder Singh directed his followers to issue threats.

Mr. Porgy has a point. I too have been following the "news" about RSSB for the past 20 years. Allegations in India's media of land misuse and zoning fraud, allegations of "stealing" land, allegations of willful desecration of a Sikh temple. "This is it!" we'd read on that other RS forum from the xsatsangers. But so far no decisive court decisions that nail RSSB for corruption. Many people have assumed that allegations of wrongdoing must be true, else they wouldn't appear in the media. My opinion is that official investigations and court decisions matter, and that media reports rarely present a complete picture.

Where I don't perhaps agree with Mr. Porgy: I think it's good to "assume the worst" about religious leaders and organizations and have forums such as this one that post the news, investigate the claims, and even offer damning conclusions based on available evidence. The guru shouldn't be off limits to (non ad hominem) criticism, but neither should critical forums of the guru. Or anyone who posts to these forums, including me.

[Brian Hines]

jay, my point, which you ignored, is that rather the criticizing the messenger of bad news, people should address the news itself. So far no one has disputed the accuracy of the bad news about the RSSB guru I’ve been sharing, nor the conclusions I’ve been drawing from those facts. So I remain confident in those facts and conclusions. When new facts come out, I’ll adjust accordingly. That’s called reality based wisdom.

[Spence Tepper]

You know, in America when we have to lean down, get rid of the clutter and attachments, and generate some cash, we hold a garage sale.

Dear Marie Kondo
A very good friend of mine can't seem to let go all his stuff. Every square inch of property that has a for sale sign on it, or any visible bare land at all, he has to horde. There are dozens of huge office buildings, religious centers, lavish estates, cars, etc, all hoarded away in his closet, and most of them sit empty or with friends in the dark in there trying to figure out what to do next, or waiting for his next property feeding frenzy.

He even bought himself a jet to fly around the world to buy more stuff... Well the first jet, was actually a gift, but he's using it to feed his habit.

It's an addiction thing, I guess.

He did, apparently, try to sell his turban to pay for his addiction, but that was just wrong. Meanwhile he just can't let go of all this earth.

Can you help him? I've seen those ceremonies you conduct on TV, where you hold the horders' hands, and honor all the toys that are destroying their life, but with respect say, "good buy" and give them away.

Since my dear friend had creditors at his door, ordered by the Supreme Of India! No less. Can you help him?

Some of us think a good old fashioned garage sale would be a great start, and might impress the Supreme Court, the Police and the corporations all pursuing him.

His hording thing is really bad, but, Marie, it's in your wheelhouse.

And it would make those of us who love him very happy to see him let go of all that clutter.

I think you would see your highest ratings on that episode.

Sincerely...

A friend...

[Arjuna]

I must admit the facts point a shady picture - perhaps God does work in mysterious ways.

However- if a normal satsanghi has even a whiff of scandal (such as this). He or she is frowned on by the Other satsanghis in the community! Fact I have seen this myself! Before anyone argues otherwise.

Furthermore their children don’t get best marraiage introductions as their parents are tainted! This is usually the norm.

And this from people who go to seva and are Gods marked children. Don’t you think it best to avoid such people.

And guess what we have the biggest scandal here - were Brian has explained The Big Mans “handy man” is in a bit of legal trouble (FACT). Will he fall on his sword or give evidence.

Stay with the Facts folks - we ain’t in Kansas anymore!!!

[Jesse]

Innocent until proven guilty doesn't mean what some of you seem to think. There are certain crimes that are caught on camera, with the perpetrator admitting guilt, and the prosecutors, defenders, judges and everyone else also admitting his/her guilt, but that get thrown out of court with the perp released because some key evidence was acquired outside of protocol and thus inadmissible.

It doesn't mean that the person wasn't guilty or that we can't make our own conclusions. The courts aren't gods and the be all end all of every issue. They're actually quite often very wrong.

This is like when some dipshit says "scientists say" as if truth is dependent on popular opinions and credentials. Appealing to the authority of a corrupt court system to ascertain whether or not an obviously criminal guru is guilty is stupid. He may beat these charges, but he'll also beat most of you dupes which is the real sad part. the guy should be socially shunned and forced to roam around begging, regardless of what your court gods decide.

[Jesse]

"I must admit the facts point a shady picture - perhaps God does work in mysterious ways."

You know Arjun, in some of those old Indian and Zen stories, there's a holy man who gets trapped in a prostitutes room once, or whatever. But I don't remember any stories where the holy person goes to the brothel every single day and forms a lifelong relationship with the owners while massively profiting.

If this is God working mysteriously, I'm gonna start worshiping satan because God seems just as corrupt as him.

[Arjuna]

@ Jesse - that’s how I feel within but you express it much better than I could.

[Spence Tepper]

How much land does a man need?
From a synopsis of Tolstoy`s classic
"Finally, after buying and selling a lot of fertile and good land, he is introduced to the Bashkirs, and is told that they are simple-minded people who own a huge amount of land. Pahom goes to them to buy as much of their land for as low a price as he can negotiate. Their offer is very unusual: for a sum of one thousand rubles, Pahom can walk around as large an area as he wants, starting at daybreak, marking his route with a spade along the way. If he returns to his starting point by sunset that day, all the land his route encloses will be his, but if he does not reach his starting point, he will lose his money and receive no land. He is delighted, as he believes that he can cover a great distance and has chanced upon the bargain of a lifetime. That night, Pahom experiences a surreal dream in which he sees himself lying dead by the feet of the Devil, who is laughing.

He stays out as late as possible, marking out land until just before the sun sets. Toward the end, he realizes he is far from the starting point and runs back as fast as he can to the waiting Bashkirs. He finally arrives at the starting point just as the sun sets. The Bashkirs cheer his good fortune, but exhausted from the run, Pahom drops dead. His servant buries him in an ordinary grave only six feet long, thus answering the question posed in the title of the story."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Much_Land_Does_a_Man_Need%3F

How much land does a man need?
Six by three brother..
Six by three.

[jay]

"So far no one has disputed the accuracy of the bad news about the RSSB guru"
Brian, this pinpoints where we disagree. Strictly speaking, the facts (a thing that is known or proved to be true) presented have all about the associates of the RSSB guru. But they're not facts about the actions of Gurinder Singh himself.

[Dungeness]

He did, apparently, try to sell his turban to pay for his addiction, but that was just wrong.

Overwhelming evidence of financial corruption doesn't make that rumor less
laughable.

Back room:
GSD: I'm thinking of a certain goldmine that's, um, for sale shall we say?
Mr. X: Guru Ji, you know we're broke.
GSD: Ah, but use your imagination, grasshopper. Declare RSSB dead in
India due to the Fake Press, Sell off the Dera, major Centres, Save
a select few in the U.S. Say we're re-establishing there. Then solicit
funds for renewed expansion. Call it a spiritual "realignment".
I guarantee you donations will pour in.
Mr. X; I like it. Is my credit good?
GSD: Always. Live long and prosper, my son.

[Arjuna]

@ jay / who do you think was driving all these separate entities to act with a goal to siphon money?

Did they all wake up one morning and think “erm I think we I will do this today” and guess what all of them had the same idea. Question- who is the Professor James Moriarty in this fraud case.

It is a very sophisticated operation albeit one which did not succeed. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were not required on this case as people like me and some others smell a rat.

Please enthrall me with your acumen (Hannibal)

[Spence Tepper]

Hi Jay
1) That "loans" of hundreds of millions received by the Dhillon family but not repaid is already established fact.

2)That Dhillon family members and associates held directorships in a number of the shell companies that gave them these "loans" is established fact.

3) The SEBI audit has already concluded that these loans were created and given in a fictitious and fraudulent way

4) The Supreme Court of India agreed and ordered the Singh brothers to go after the loan recipients and get their money back, because they owe it to Fortis.

5) The Supreme Court of India also instructed the Singhs, on behalf of the court, to send garnishment letters to the recipients of the loans telling them they owe payment directly to Fortis.

6) The loans remain unrepaid.

7) The new Religare leadership conducted their own audit and concluded the Singhs and the same shell companies involved in the Fortis fraud were also involved in a bigger fraud at Religare. Their audit concluded that all participants in the "scam" (their term) did so knowingly, including the loan recipients. The audit claims the shell companies were paid a fee to siphon the funds, round trip loan payments, and forge the books to make it appear the funds were being repaid when they were not.

8) As a result the new Religare leadership submitted an FIR to the Delhi police Crimes Division in December detailing their audit.

9) last week the crimes division of the Delhi police indicted the singhs and Godwhani and are conducting an investigation into the others who participated, including the recipients of the loans.

So yes, we do have some facts. Yes the Supreme Court has ordered the loan recipients to repay, and no, the loans haven't been paid yet, and yes the law is thereby, being broken.

[Dungeness]

So yes, we do have some facts. Yes the Supreme Court has ordered the loan recipients to repay, and no, the loans haven't been paid yet, and yes the law is thereby, being broken.

Hey, you cited indictments of Godhwani and the Singhs. But GSD is
undoubtedly a target of the investigation too... as well he should be.

But now that the perception of a Guru as an infallible, super-human is
gone forever -ah, what a relief for a mere mortal to be rid of that heavy
burden- wouldn't an impartial observer also hafta admit GSD coulda
been duped?

I mean, shorn of his all-knowing vision, super-powers, he coulda been
taken advantage of. .. like one of us. Maybe GSD has a certain kinship
with "Individual One" after all. The people closest to him screwed up big
time and he was too preoccupied with his other corrupt acts to even
notice.

But, just like "Individual One", most "sane" people say "He's corrupt as
hell, He had to have known... had to!".

[George Porcy]

Fake news, come on Brian this sounds like Pres Trumpy speaking. Who selects the news and from what source and why is only one type of news specifically selected on this website?

I can, of course, understand that any large organisation might be susceptible to corruption, but that doesn’t mean that the underlying spiritual core is.

Why don’t we see any news articles on the many “positive” activities of RSSB? At least have the pretence of a bit of fairness and balanced reporting.

It’s not clear to me why you personally seem to have such a stake in this? Have you yourself not benefited from the experience with this organisation or what exactly is your problem?

[George Porgy]

Jay and Michael sound like the only voices of reason to me.

In its old age, this here website seems to have defaulted to propaganda that mein fuhrer would be proud of. Pity cos in years gone by Brian wrote some interesting blogs with original thought.

[Radh(er Not) Soami]

@jay, you wrote:
"So far no one has disputed the accuracy of the bad news about the RSSB guru"
Brian, this pinpoints where we disagree. Strictly speaking, the facts (a thing that is known or proved to be true) presented have all about the associates of the RSSB guru. But they're not facts about the actions of Gurinder Singh himself.

Does the letter written by GSD talking about the Family Settlement, reversal of properties, and settling of accounts constitute "facts" with some "accuracy of the bad news", or at least admission of some "facts" with some "accuracy" of the news, whether bad or not?

To all RSSB defenders, please help me in putting this scandal in the context of Honest Living. As opposed to the previous RSSB related dramas, this one cuts directly to the heart of what the head himself does in his private life, something 99.99% of the sangat is not privy to, and something that he has not been transparent to us at all, ever.

Not in their books, wikipedia page, or even on their own website. Not even now! And here I thought Saints like Nanak and Kabir show openness and transparency to set themselves up as good role models for the followers.

Most people tend to think that GSD has (or had) business in Spain. And that is all, the end of thinking and discussion.

Honest Living book:
Page 21: Honest living necessitates self-control. It requires that we exercise restraint in all our dealings, that we use our sense of judgement, our God-given gift of discrimination, to shape our lives. Honesty implies being faithful to our spouse, or, if we are not married, being faithful to a chaste life. It implies fairness and justice, openness and transparency, the absence of deceit—in contrast to wealth, power and passion, which lead to oppression, extortion, deception and pain.

Page 34: The extreme subtleties of the law. The law of karma is inexorable and subtle beyond our imagination. For example, even if we are party to someone else’s dishonourable actions, we too are culpable as an accessory to the suffering caused.

The second quote clearly highlights the reason for our moral, ethical, spiritual, and legal dilemma here - allegedly a fraud on such a grand scale, discomfort due to this round of news cycle that is not even remotely in the league of previous RSSB related controversies (and I thought I had heard it all ever since joining this mission), and inability to easily shake it off when put in the context of "spiritual before material wealth", "living within one's means" and "not even a single grain..." mantra of Honest Living.

If one were to say this drama is all his wife's or sons' doing as far as his family involvement is concerned, then they are not the ones writing a signed letter to Singh bros either. And they are not the ones to whom Malav has addressed his reply letter either. They are also not the ones with whom Shivinder is siding with, and Malav going to court against.

That alone should tell you about who likely pulls all the strings on the Dhillon empire side and the level of involvement.

The language in the GSD letter also does not suggest or say "my wife and my sons or family got a loan and would like to settle with you" or appear to act on their behalf. When asked about being called as the third brother of Singhs, Sunny G also says his allegiance is to the guru and guru alone. Perhaps that could also give you some hint.

And then you look at the other RSSB characters involved. A natural question arises about who the fountainhead of all these activities is or the head cooks involved in baking this dish are. Even if only occasional gusts of wind have blown (yet), the picture does not seem to be rosy behind the curtain.

To me, this letter and the "fact" that a coterie of RSSB leaders were installed on most significant and top positions of Singh empire, indicate that the crisis could not have come from and just due to the actions of GSD family members alone on the Dhillon side.

But that he himself was involved to a large extent, even if not in day to day activities (more like a 36,000 ft view than a bird's eye view). But he simply could not have been passively involved as a mentor or business consultant. And if actively involved, should he then not be "culpable as an accessory to the suffering caused" due to "someone else’s dishonourable actions" like in the quote above?

So GSD's involvement for sure is there, what needs to be ascertained is a) how much, and b) whether it was knowingly malign at any point during this saga or simply a cruel fate resulting from vagaries of economic cycle.

Even if that is settled, what needs to be truthfully questioned - as if our soul's fate depended on it, which actually it is if we go by GIHF-moksha formula - is that, as an RSSB Saint, should he have indulged in all these affairs to such a ginormous extent, lest the name of the organization is tainted even by remote association?

This is not to say that you can't run a business. To the best of our knowledge, he already was running a small business. But then when the scale of effort goes from 1X to 1000X or more, then how do you rationalize the involvement in gathering of such large scale material wealth, particularly when you are a spiritual head. What is the objective?

It is one thing to have a cool business idea where you can rationalize you are helping society in some way or bringing something new and along the way a misstep or two inadvertently occured.

But it is totally different when it is simply garden variety real estate hoarding on a massive scale and that too done with questionable practices like Trump family's bankruptcy strategies. Most stable and well-known businesses expand on a 2-3X scale...

Some here are confusing loans with donation! I am sorry, even if these were donations, they were not routed to RSSB. And if it were to him or his family, how could he even accept it as a living honorable Saint?

What happened to those stories that Saints don't take a penny/paisa even if a King comes to their door and leave gold bullions, diamonds, etc? Weren't they supposed to earn their own wages for themselves and their family? And that they live within their means and not covet what belonged to others..

And then how do we square these revelations with the mission: as the spiritual head, who best to show us the way to live within one's means, to set himself up as the best example of what is taught in "Honest Living", and to focus on spiritual gains more than on material wealth?

It's also equally absurd to think that somehow the master is arranging/planning a grand heist to shake us from our beliefs and concepts and see who the true believers are or separate the wheat from chaff. What an aweful way to do it and that too pulled off on a decade and a half long initiative, with suffering of many non-satsangis (yet curiously enrichment of some satsangis).

This kind of reasoning is a cousin to the beliefs of Jesus fanatics thinking Grand Canyon or dinosaurs or fossil records were put by him to mess with our beliefs and test our faith. Is Earth really 6000 years old and really flat? If they have to test it, they can equally walk into a bar or put an alcohol bottle with some chicken tandoori on the satsang dias and see what happens, without this much scandolous pain.

Or is it simply what it appears on surface, the classical mantra: "Do as I say and not as I do"!

Relevant to this critcal question of ethics, morality, and spirituality, which to my mind is even more important than the legality of the situtation, is if the Singhs' direct relatives (Huzur and his family members) did not get involve in business initiatives with Ranbaxy empire - likely a carefully considered position - then why did GSD agree to work with the Singh brothers on such a large scale and not follow the path of his predecessor?

Clearly, it wasn't just mentorship. And it's not like GSD's sons or his wife were India's most successful businessmen or had the experience necessary that led to the fateful decision by the Singhs that parting ways with nearly 1/3rd of their hard earned money (actually their fathers') for a lucrative business, is a no-brainer!

His sons were just in the 20's during this time frame (in 2009, Gary would be 24 and Gurkirat just 18) and had not done any serious venture of any sort to showcase their talent. This would be true of GSD's wife as well. On what grounds were the religare shares awarded to the two GSD sons in 2006?

Even some in the RSSB inner circles seem to think that GSD's wife lives the life of a sevadar and can't possibly do this on her own. (Was that snippet in the orginial Bloomberg article?)

MMS also doesn't seem to be targeting or talking about his sons or wife but rather refer to him being involved as a mentor and allegedly a behind-the-scene business partner, an involvement that has turned into a legal (and unholy) quagmire.

Evidently, the whole conglomeration transpired because of GSD due to his experience in dera activities, real estate dealings as well as the experience of dera head honchos who regularly conducted such dealings.

A degree of youthful naivete and trustfulness of Singhs coupled with the experience of GSD/RSSB honchos likely lured the Singh bros into marrying mentorship with business. The awarded shares in the names of wife and sons were likely a dowry for this marriage. They were not in his own name to present a clean image to sangat and avoid probe. But the timely sale of Rabaxy sealed the fateful path.

One's you ponder over it, you will see why many of us are uncomfortable with these revelations and are seriously questioning not only his pivotal role and the involvement of dubious practices but even the very decision to participate in such a large-scale wealth gathering effort in the first place.

Again, what is the objective? And if his heart was clean, then as a spiritual mentor, why did he not call into question or intervene in the dubious practices by his family, Godhwani, and the Singh bros?

It does not appear that he was not acquainted with issues cropping up, given the settlement plans first discussed in 2013, then in 2016, then 2018 letter, followed by Malav's rebuttal letter. Undeniably, there must have been more discussions involved than what just appears on paper.

I applaud what Brian is doing here. He is surely not a saint and can be rightly biased, but then how else do you reveal the truth than by asking tough questions?

“Truth has nothing to do with the conclusion, and everything to do with the methodology.” ― Stefan Molyneux

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him will believeth in anything. - Hitchens 3:16”
― Christopher Hitchens

“When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons.”
― Anaïs Nin

If you care for truth, then I say right now your heart and mind should say: "I want truth and nothing but the complete truth". It is better to die living with an uncomfortable truth than living with "ignorance is bliss". So ask we must, and ask as assiduously as we can to peel behind this curtain. If there is nothing to be seen, well then how lucky will we be!

[Radh(er Not) Soami]

Brian,
I am not sure why everything went bold even though I had appended html tags at appropriate places. Can you correct if you can see the tags or not post in which case, I will send the comment to you by email with html formatting?

[Brian Hines]

Radh(er Not) Soami, I'm no expert in HTML, but the tags you used looked fine to me. I can see them when I click on an "edit comment" option. I deleted the last two boldface tags you used, which made the rest of the comment appear in normal type, which is easier to read. It could have been just a Typepad glitch. Or a glitch in the coding.

I just tried putting the in the second Honest Living quote after the rather than before it. That seems to fix the problem.

While I was at it, I also added some paragraph breaks to your comment for easier reading.