UM, OK?

Court to Rule If Guru Dead or Meditating

Family and followers fighting over his fate.

The followers and families of India’s wealthiest guru, His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj, are fighting each other over whether he is dead—or just in a deep state of meditation. According to his wife and son, his property estate is worth $167 million. However, his disciples refuse to let them cremate him because they believe he went into a deep Samadhi, or meditation, and have frozen his body to preserve it for when he wakes up. While the guru is believed to have died from a heart attack, a Punjab high court dismissed the matter, saying it was a spiritual matter and that the followers cannot be forced to believe he’s dead. As a result, the wife and son have filed a case in court asking for a ruling on the death and for his body to be released for cremation.