Among the many ways in which Narayan Sakar Hari aka Bhole Baba influences his followers is music. Bhajans devoted to him are variously peddled as ‘pyara’ (sweet) and ‘dukh bhara’ (filled with sadness) on social media and have been played lakhs of times.
One of the hymns promises that no matter how bad times are, the bhajan will change them. The tagline for another says the preacher will stand with you when no one else in the world does. One hymn is called a ‘chetawani’, which is a cautionary bhajan. It goes: ‘Tere bas mein kuch bhi nahin’ (there is nothing in your control).
There is also a compilation of the top 10 bhajans, most of which include the name Hari which is a synonym of Vishnu. It is of this god that the former policeman claims to be a form of. ‘To saunp Hari ke haathon mein’ (offer yourself to the hands of Hari) and ‘Hari mera sachcha saathi hai’ (Hari is my true companion) are two of these. This compilation has 2.4 lakh views since it was uploaded seven months ago.
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A channel of his songs with 39,000 plus followers has comments both on the music and the man. For the former, one user says, “Even heaven is vapid before these bhajans”. The latter is praised for his glory through the universe.
The cover photo of these hymns mostly has photos of the man in question dressed in white, and in some cases of women—though it is not clear whether the latter are the singers.
Since the stampede on Tuesday which left 121 dead, there is a growing storm of comments against the godman. “This baba has killed 200 people; the entire responsibility for the deaths rests with the baba and his sewadars”; “You won’t even find place in hell,” are what viewers have left below the videos.
