Not picking an argument, nor writing on behalf of the dolt called Asaram.
Fake Hindu Godman. Interesting phrase.
If Asaram had not committed any rape would he be a fake Hindu Godman ? What differentiates a fake Hindu Godman from real one?
namaste
amani_bhava
Rape is simply an utterly egregious act that shows all and sundry that the person is a criminal and a deceiver. However, the sign of a sage (muni) are these, (Gita Chapter 2)
When he leaves behind all desires emerging from the mind, Arjuna,
And is contented in the Self by the Self,
Then he is said to be one whose
wisdom is steady.
He whose mind is not agitated in misfortune,
Whose desire for pleasure has disappeared,
Whose passion, fear, and anger have departed,
And whose meditation is steady, is said to be a sage.
He who is without attachment on all sides,
Encountering this or that, pleasant or unpleasant,
Neither rejoicing nor disliking;
His wisdom stands firm.
With the elimination of desire and hatred,
Even though moving among the objects of the senses,
He who is controlled by the Self,
By self-restraint, attains tranquility.
While those who are unwise act
From attachment to action, 0 Arjuna,
So the wise should act without attachment,
Intending to maintain the welfare of the world.
These are the qualities one should seek in a muni whose teaching one is hoping to follow. If these qualities are not present, or contrary qualities show themselves, the person cannot be considered to have strained the wisdom of a Seer. While its impossible for anyone to be perfect, I believe that in recent history people like Gandhi, Vivekananda, Rabindranath were the ones in whom such qualities were evident. None of the current crop of jet-setting gurus with their billion dollar empires qualify imo. Some of their activities and organizations are virtuous, no doubt. But if the true muni-s are like Newton or Einstein of spirituality, these are merely secondary school science teachers who are busy raking in the mullah through mass scale private tutoring of commercial grade garden variety spirituality cheat sheets.