Ashutosh (spiritual leader)

Ashutosh was born as Mahesh Kumar Jha in 1946 at Lakhnaur in Madhubani district, Bihar into a Hindu Brahmin family.[1][2][3] There are claims that he married Anandi Devi and that the couple had a son, although this is disputed.[4][5][6] He was believed to have visited many gurus in Himalayas and Varanasi.[7] He was a disciple of Manav Utthan Sewa Samiti founder Satpal Maharaj.[8]

Ashutosh founded Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS) as a non-profit spiritual organisation in Nurmahal, Punjab, India in 1983.[9] It was registered as a socio-spiritual society/non-governmental organisation in 1991 under the Societies Registration Act with its head office in New Delhi.[1] The organisation claims to have about 30 million followers. It has 350 branches spread across 15 countries and the value of its property has been estimated to be above 10 billion rupees (160 million USD).[3][10] According to the organisation's website, their mission is "To usher into a world wherein every individual becomes an embodiment of truth, fraternity, and justice through the eternal science of self-realization – 'Brahm Gyan', uprooting in its wake all social evils and threat".[11]

As the head of the organisation, Ashutosh was seen as a controversial figure among the Sikh community, who alleged that he hurt Sikh religious sentiments.[12] He was accused of distorting Sikh teachings, called Banis, and making negative comments about Sikhism and the Sikh gurus.[13][14] Various Sikh bodies demanded a ban on his activities.[15] There have been several violent clashes between his followers and some Sikh groups, including one in Ludhiana in December 2009 that resulted in a death.[16] He was provided "Z+" security by the Indian government, which was later lowered to "Z" class.[2]

Since Ashutosh's death in 2014, top DJJS functionaries have strongly supported the policies of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[17]

On 29 January 2014, Ashutosh suffered a heart attack and was declared clinically dead by a team of doctors. His followers believe him to be still alive and in a state of deep meditation called samadhi.[18][19] Since then, his body has been kept in a freezer at -22°C[8] by the management to create a "Himalayan-like environment" suitable for meditation.[1][20][21][22]

Pooran Singh filed a habeas corpus writ, seeking the release of Ashutosh's body. After the writ was rejected, he petitioned the court for a post-mortem examination of the corpse.[23] A person named as Dilip Kumar Jha, who claims to be the son of Ashutosh, also appealed to court, demanding that the body be brought to his home town in Bihar for cremation according to local rituals. The DJJS management have claimed that Ashutosh was single and had no family.[24] On 1 December 2014 the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered that the last rites for Ashutosh be performed in 15 days. The ruling was later suspended, with further hearings postponed to 9 February 2015.[25][26] Almost three years later, in July 2017, the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted permission for the followers to preserve his body in a freezer, although it was unclear whether the court had agreed with the sect's argument that its founder was still alive.[27] Under orders from the court, a three-doctor panel examines the body for decomposition every six months.[8]

As of 2020, a group of followers were maintaining constant guard of the room where Ashutosh's body is kept and personnel from the Punjab Police were deployed around the dera. Outside of private and government physicians, just three or four DJJS officials are allowed inside the room, where medicines are regularly applied to the body. Claims that the decision to store Ashutosh's body in a freezer was due to a rift in management over control of the dera were denied by functionary Swami Narinder.[17]