00:00It's a world like no other, where a woman claims to do miracles, and her devotees believe her to be God.
00:23Her supposed powers, they say, include blessing childless couples with babies,
00:28curing the sick, and turning around sinking businesses.
00:33This is the world of Radhima, the self-proclaimed miracle mother.
00:44To her followers, she is divine.
00:51To her critics, a sham.
00:53Her own family are her chief champions, and rich businessmen, her biggest donors.
01:01Catapulting her to become one of the few women in India's growing phenomenon of so-called godmen.
01:07It's the concept of the whole world, only in India, that the human being is God.
01:13I will be able to get out of the Father's people, and I will be able to get out of the Father's people.
01:17This is also a fear.
01:18From humble beginnings, to a lavish Mumbai mansion, her so-called miracles reap big rewards.
01:26With exclusive access, we venture behind the scenes of Radhima's life, where cameras rarely go,
01:46to uncover a world of faith and fear.
01:49That's right.
02:12There was a light in my eyes, a blue light in my eyes, and it felt like we were playing, we were not in this world, it happened to me.
02:26Then I kept my hands on my face, and I didn't do anything on my face.
02:33When you have your thoughts, how do you know what to do for them?
02:41I have a point here, there is tingling, tingling, tingling, tingling when there are some people who come,
02:50and the ones who come and take the rest, it's such a way that I have to die, that Radhema will die for me,
02:59so I feel like I have to die for myself.
03:06Claims of divinity and miracles are not unique to Radhema.
03:10India has a horde of so-called godmen.
03:13Some have been accused of wrongdoing, corruption, even sexual assault.
03:19Radhema has herself faced allegations that she performed black magic and helped organize dowry payments, which are technically illegal in India.
03:28After the police investigated, the cases were dismissed.
03:32But thousands still flocked to see godmen and women.
03:38Last year, a crush at one such gathering killed more than 120 devotees.
03:44Founder of India's leading anti-superstition organization, Professor Shyam Manav calls this devotion to self-proclaimed living gods, a uniquely Indian belief.
03:57In the whole world, only in India, it is a concept that the human will become God itself.
04:02So, one of the things that we have to do is to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do.
04:09And we will try to do to do to try and reduce AF.
04:25Despite a widespread perception that people influenced by such ideas are poor, illiterate
04:35and gullible, Radhe Ma is revered by many highly educated people from rich business
04:41families.
04:42Pushpinder Bhatia, a graduate of Oxford University's side business school, says he never imagined
04:49he would end up following a supreme being in physical form.
04:53Yes, initially there were questions to say that, does God really come in a human form?
05:01Is this true?
05:02Does she really bless you in ways that I can change your life?
05:05How does these miracles, for call, happen?
05:10Mr Bhatia came into contact with Radhe Ma after a tragedy in his family.
05:15Though some might say he was vulnerable at the time, he felt she truly cared.
05:21I think my first darshan ever, I think I was pulled by the aura that she has.
05:27I think when you see through the body form, human form of who she is, you will have an immediate connect.
05:33The darshan or being in the presence of Radhe Ma is a sought after moment among her devotees.
05:42We were given access to one such darshan in Delhi.
05:46Among the hundreds attending were prominent businessmen and a very senior police officer's
05:51family who had flown in especially for her audience.
05:54I was there as a journalist to observe and report, but was told to take her blessings first.
06:00Pushed right in front of a long queue, then instructions about how to pray, and a warning of harm coming
06:09to my family if I did not follow them.
06:12Faith was being coerced by fear.
06:15In that room, in red and gold, Radhe Ma's favourite colours, her eyes commanded everything.
06:28One moment, angry in another.
06:32That anger inexplicably transferring to her disciple, who then appeared to go into a trance-like movement.
06:40To her critics, she is a sharlatan, defrauding people by pretending to have direct access to
06:46gods and goddesses.
06:48But Radhe Ma claims, the donations she receives are proof of her powers.
06:55No one knows how much is earned in donations.
07:22The money is managed by her family.
07:25Who live with her here in this mansion in Mumbai.
07:29Built by her two sons who are entrepreneurs and married into business families.
07:34Who in extension form the closest set of Radhima's disciples.
07:39The elder daughter-in-law handles all Radhima's public appearances.
07:43She told me the donations are put into a charitable society run by her devotees.
07:48Who judge requests by needy people and then distribute money or gifts.
07:51Recipients are there who are forwarding their applications and the disciples who are contributing they take a call by checking the genuineness and authenticity of the recipient.
08:02And as if at whatever the requirement is and whatever up to a capacity we try to fulfill it to the best.
08:08You are welcome to Radhima ji's palace.
08:16This is Demma ji's mandir, Radhima ji's mandir.
08:19And where she offers her prayers and her daily rituals.
08:22When she is giving her darshan she has that long attire.
08:26And when she is in a comfort zone we have a small comfort dresses.
08:30Yes, we call it as cholas.
08:31So when we talk of saintly figures, we assume that they would have given up worldly things.
08:39They would have no attachments to anyone, no belongings.
08:43And of course as we can see there's a lot of worldly possessions.
08:47It's a very well-to-do family.
08:48How does that coexist?
08:51She is not living with us.
08:53We are blessed to be living in her sharan with her kirpa.
08:55She is par apart this sense of attachment to the materialistic and worldly things.
09:01She does enjoy dressing up and being a certain person though.
09:06We enjoy dressing her up and seeing her in that attire.
09:09We enjoy that kind of worldly pleasure.
09:11You'll always go and fetch your dress which suits best for your idol.
09:14So why not for the living God?
09:17Megha is not the only one serving Radhima.
09:20This so-called God woman has a husband, Mohan Singh, known to followers as daddy.
09:25He has built a temple in her name in his hometown Mukheria in Punjab.
09:31A small one-room temple that also has Radhima's living quarters for when she visits.
09:36It's run by Radhima's sister.
09:38I was like a pilot, I would like to become a doctor.
09:43So Dema Ji told me, who is that?
09:45They told me that there are 135-year-old Guru Ji.
09:50They told me that there are 135-year-old Guru Ji.
09:52They told me that this is not normal.
09:54This is a spiritual form of Bhagavati.
09:56other people
10:01have to give me a guess
10:06yes of course I was asleep
10:09and I had to give them a guess
10:12and I had to give them a guess
10:15and I had to give them what I wanted
10:18so after that I got out
10:21I had to give them a guess
10:24It's a fantastical tale, repeated many times, as I discovered in the village where Radhima
10:37was born.
10:39There were people who vouched for her, but also many who refrained from talking about
10:51her or seemed afraid to speak.
11:01It's clear the power of Radhima's influence spreads far and wide.
11:06All we hear is a careful retelling of her miracles, especially by those who are given monthly
11:12pensions by her.
11:14Within these expressions of faith, Ranak
11:44is a clear thread of fear, of being seen as unfaithful or not worthy enough.
11:50According to Professor Manav, it's a tactic Godmen and women used to their advantage.
11:56During my research, I met people who admitted Radhima's miracles or predictions.
12:02Radhima's miracles or predictions didn't work and in fact caused harm.
12:09They did not want to be identified or share their personal experience of loss and hurt on record.
12:21But I did speak to some people who shared their disbelief in her claims.
12:37It only heightened my curiosity about her devotees and one evening, I was shocked when I saw Radhima
12:59ask her inner circle of followers who were seated on the ground to make animal sounds for her.
13:06And they obliged.
13:08We met the core group of her followers, including you.
13:12She was able to ask them to do so many things, act like an animal, ones like dogs or like monkeys.
13:18Those were things I had never seen.
13:20So she's somebody who's restrained herself in a room.
13:23So that is the only source of entertainment she has.
13:27We tried to crack a little joke or we just tried to make her laugh by doing all these actions.
13:32From observation, I've seen that any spiritual guru, once they get established or predicated
13:40following a relationship with someone, there is a certain subservience also that gets established
13:46in that relationship.
13:47So does that suspend your rational self?
13:50There's a word that I think sometimes Demaji says, when you come to me, come with an open
13:54heart and a belief.
13:56And I've seen it when people, new or old, when they come with that thought process, she does
14:01miracles for them.
14:03And if you go there to test her, you will not be part of that Sangith anymore.
14:08She has her followers, but she also has a lot of people who don't believe in her or who
14:12don't believe in the possibility of a human being performing miracles.
14:18And they say this is a superstition or coincidence.
14:22Because they haven't experienced it yet.
14:25She never goes and forces anybody to come and follow her.
14:29People who haven't experienced yet, they have a right to say anything.
14:33And people who have come and experienced, I'm sure they know what they have gone through.
14:38He is a very nice person.
14:40What they were telling me was that faith demanded complete surrender, of all reason, in the pursuit
14:47of God.
14:48Be it superstition or faith, the controversial phenomenon of God-men and women in India is
15:13booming.
15:14And Radhima believes her followers are here to stay.
15:21And there are many people who are your devotees and who ask you to take your advice or question
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