© Rama Lakshmi/The Washington Post An image of the guru Asaram Bapu, Asumal Harpalani, adorns the walls of the ashram in Motera. Harpalani is in jail, arrested last month on charges of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old daughter of two of his followers.
In Motera, India, Men lie prostrate on the floor in front of the elevated seat of their guru - the man they call Asaram Bapu. Pictures of his avuncular face, with its flowing white beard, hang everywhere in this sprawling, 30-acre ashram in western India.
But these days, the guru's enclosed wood-carved altar, where millions once worshiped him, is empty. All that's left is a large photograph, an air purifier, blingy lights and fake red roses.
The guru, whose real name is Asumal Harpalani, is languishing in a Jodhpur jail, arrested last month on charges of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old daughter of two followers.
In recent weeks, the allegations against the mega-guru - who has a massive network of 20 million devotees and hundreds of ashrams worth an estimated $760 million - have stunned and split India.
The scandal has raised questions about the unprecedented boom in spiritual gurus in the world's largest democracy - and the
enormous power and wealth they wield. Harpalani is not alone among them in amassing riches or getting in scrapes with the law. One holy man, Sathya Sai Baba, died in 2011 and left behind nearly $8 million in gold, silver and cash. In recent years, other gurus have been charged with murder, sexual abuse, running prostitution rackets and illegal land acquisition.