No one knows if this religious leader is dead or meditating

[Ralar]

His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj, a wealthy religious leader in the Punjab city of Jalandhar, is either dead or meditating. A court may decide which, and the Maharaj's $170-million estate is at stake.

 

According to his family, he died from a heart attack on Jan. 29, 2014.

 

According to members of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan — which was founded in 1983 and which describes itself as a "socio-spiritual-culturel, not-for-profit organisation" — he's in a deep state of meditation known as "Samadhi."

 

"Maharaj has been in deep meditation," one of his followers said. "He has spent many years meditating in sub-zero temperatures in the Himalayas, there is nothing unusual in it. He will return to life as soon as he feels and we will ensure his body is preserved until then."

 

Punjab police initially confirmed that the Maharaj was deceased, but the Punjab High Court, ruled that his condition was a spiritual matter. Now, the Maharaj's wife and son are filing a court application seeking to have his death confirmed, claiming that his followers just want control of his money.

 

While all this gets decided, His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj will remain right where he is: in a commercial freezer.

 

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/140529/170-million-at-stake-indian-court-may-decide-whether

[MrsYoungie]

There you have it folks - Schrodinger's Maharaj.

[RachelB]

Dead? Meditating? Pining for the fjords?

[doggie]

like my wife said Thaw him out and see if he stinks. really i think this is about keeping his money.

[16strong]

Gees. This is like Jahi McMath Himalayan style and in reverse. Or something. I'm confused. Actually, no I'm not. A dude is dead and the leech cult he belonged to wants his money. :cray-cray:

[PennySycamore]

The Wikipedia page on samadhi is rather interesting, and he may indeed have been in very deep meditation or pining for the fjords, but they almost certainly killed the guy when they put him in a freezer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samadhi

[ariel9]

I was trying to see an age to put in a vote for dead. But for now thaw him out and see if he smells.

[ILikePie]

Sounds a lot like the Jahi McMath case in California in which a 13 year old girl was pronounced braindead after a failed surgery, but her mother and uncle insisted on keeping her on life support believing she would one day revive. I can't help but wonder when this man's followers will realize he's dead, not just "in deep meditation" (like I did as a kid when my newest fish died).