Asaram Bapu has little time for holy work these days. The joke going around Gujarat is that the spiritual guru is spending his days either fighting legal cases or clearing the path for his son to take over from him.

Cases may have been slapped against him on charges that include land grabbing, threatening witnesses and even murder, but his ardent followers are unperturbed. “He is a true saint. He is one of the greatest people India has ever produced,” says devotee Rakesh Kumar, a shopkeeper in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk market. “Even Sathya Sai Baba was accused of many wrongdoings. But see what happened when he died? The whole world was at his feet.”

With a large picture of the guru hanging on the wall behind him, Kumar credits his rise from a roadside paan-beedi seller to the proud owner of a shop to Asaram Bapu. “I couldn’t have done it without his guidance,” he says. Will Kumar follow Asaram’s son if he takes over from his father? “Why not? If Sant Asaram says that his son will be his successor, I will have his photo hanging next to him,” says Kumar.

GURU GALLERY: (From top) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Morari Bapu, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Sudhanshu Maharaj, Asaram Bapu and Baba Ramdev

Asaram Bapu should heave a sigh of relief. His followers are happy with the decision he may take, but for many other spiritual heads in India the question of succession is a tricky one.

The issue is particularly thorny because asceticism along with sanyas is often one of the factors that draws devotees. “The guru generally renounces the world. This, combined with personal charisma, is what gets him followers. And unless there is a ritual way of appointing a successor, problems will arise,” says sociologist Shiv Visvanathan.

Some of this was visible in Puttaparthi earlier this week. In the absence of a nominated heir, there may be a battle for the legacy of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who died last Sunday leaving behind assets worth an estimated Rs 40,000 crore. After reports of an internal tussle at the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust among his nephew R.J. Ratnakar, his caregiver Satyajit and trustee K.Chakravarty, to gain control of the activities of the trust, it has been announced that a new head will soon be appointed.

A close look at the realms of some other top spiritual gurus in India reveals that they are either closely run family affairs or one-man shows without a succession plan.

S.H. Iyer, an Ahmedabad-based human rights lawyer who is fighting cases against Asaram on behalf of several alleged victims of the religious guru, says Narayan Sai will soon take over from his father. “The son is involved in almost all the activities of the trusts run by Asaram. It is already a family enterprise,” says Iyer.

Morari Bapu, another prominent religious guru who hit the headlines when he was reportedly asked by Kokilaben, the mother of Mukesh and Anil Ambani, to mediate between her feuding sons, is also known to be quietly handing over charge of his Shree Sitaram Seva Trust to his son Parth. Besides schools, his trust runs a hospital in Mahuva in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

“Bapu’s son mainly takes care of the various activities of the trust. Nobody can predict the future,” says Nareshbhai Vavadiya, an associate of Morari Bapu. But devotees have noted that Parth is by his father’s side when he reads out from holy texts.

Some of the godman are so busy with their regular schedules of prayers and scripture reading that they would have little time to plan the future of their ashrams. Take, for instance, the Delhi-based Sudhanshu Maharaj, who is estimated to have around 60 lakh followers around the world. “Our calendar is full for the next two years. Maharaj is travelling for at least 20 days in a month. That’s how packed his schedule is,” says Narendra Madan, head of the publications division of the guru’s Vishwa Jagriti Mission (VJM). VJM has several ashrams in the country, besides centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, the US and other countries.

A married man with two daughters, Sudhanshu Maharaj hit the headlines in 2009 when the income tax department served notices on his ashram for allegedly defaulting on taxes running into crores of rupees.

His followers stress that everything is run by the trust and its activities are above board. “Not a single piece of land anywhere in the world is in the name of Maharaj-ji,” says Madan. But the trust refuses to reveal the turnover of the ashram, although some estimate that it stands at around Rs 400 crore.

Many believe that his elder daughter, Purnima, a doctor married to an army officer, will be his natural heir. “She herself has preached in a few gatherings, but as per Maharaj’s instructions, we haven’t publicised these gatherings. Moreover, we are not sure if Purnima will indeed take over,” says a confidant of the guru.

Vital Stats

Baba Ramdev ■ Age: 46 ■ Following: 100 crore (As claimed by Ramdev) ■ Trusts: Patanjali, Yogapeeth, Divya Yogi Mandir ■ Sources of income: Yoga camps, real estate, sale of ayurvedic medicines, books, CDs, VCDs ■ Annual turnover: Rs 1,500-2,000 crore ■ Possible successor: Acharya Balkrishan

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ■ Age: 55 ■ Following: An estimated 300 million people in 151 countries ■ Trusts: Art of Living Foundation, 12 other trusts in India ■ Sources of income: AOL courses and programmes, donations, sale of books, CDs, VCDs ■Annual turnover: Rs 900-1,000 crore

Asaram Bapu ■ Age: 70 n ■ Following: An estimated 20 million followers (as claimed by Asaram) ■ Trusts: Asaram Bapu Trust ■ Sources of income: Satsangs, real estate, magazines, television, CDs, VCDs ■ Annual turnover: Rs 400 crore ■ Possible successor: Narayan Sai (son)

Morari Bapu ■ Age: 65 ■ Following: 20 million ■ Trusts: Shree Sitaram Seva Trust ■ Sources of income: Preaching of Ram Katha around the world, donations, schools, hospitals ■ Annual turnover: Rs 150-250 crore ■ Possible successor: Parth (son)

Sudhanshu Maharaj ■ Age: 56 ■ Trust: Vishwa Jagran Mission ■ Sources of income: Satsangs, exclusive discourses, donations, real estate, meditation centres ■ Annual turnover: Rs 350 crore ■ Possible successor: Purnima (daughter)

“Amma” Amritanandamayi ■ Age: 57 ■ Trust: Mata Amritanandamayi Math ■ Sources of income: Donations, university, worldwide centres, schools, super speciality hospitals ■ Annual turnover: Rs 700-900 crore

Note: Turnover figures are estimates

Madan, however, says the trust is not thinking about the future yet. “Maharaj is quite young. We are celebrating his 56th birthday on May 2. Why should we think about succession, an heir and other such things,” he asks.

On the other hand, some gurus, like Baba Shivanand, founder of Shiv Yog, has no qualms about projecting his son as his heir. A popular face on religious channels, he openly promotes son Ishan Shivanand, who has followed in his father’s footsteps, as a preacher. “At least Babaji is not ambiguous about his heir like others,” says Rudresh Singh, a follower of Shiv Yog.

Visvanathan emphasises the importance of charisma when it comes to selecting an heir. “An heir from the family cannot be successful unless he has charisma,” he stresses.

But the question of legacy keeps cropping up because of the huge empires that many godman run. According to some estimates, Asaram Bapu’s landed properties are worth millions. “He himself has admitted in an affidavit that he is a multi-millionaire,” says Iyer.

His satsangs (religious gatherings) in India lasting for two to three days net Rs 2-2.5 crore, says a satsang organiser in Delhi. Besides the satsangs, the Asaram-run trusts publish magazines whose circulations run into lakhs. He has a stake in a television channel in Gujarat as well.

The devotees of Morari Bapu, who has preached the Ram Katha on board a cruise ship and an aeroplane, include several Gujarat industrialists, for whom he holds exclusive readings which come at a very high price. But the spiritual guru has often said that he keeps only 10 per cent of all his earnings, with the rest going to charity.

While gurus with progeny may have tied their trusts to their children, problems tend to arise in organisations that are run single-handedly, or without a clear heir in sight.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AOL) spiritual empire is spread across more than 150 countries (“more than even the Red Cross,” as the guru would often remind his followers). Its annual turnover is estimated at some Rs 1,000 crore. Ravi Shankar travels so often that it is said his passport looks like a fat dictionary because of countless extensions.

“In the 30 years since its inception, AOL has touched the lives of 300 million people across 151 countries through various humanitarian service projects and programmes,” says its wesbite. “Most of our funding comes through AOL courses and programmes; a fraction of this is through donations.”

Talk of succession, however, is taboo. “I came to tears three years ago when somebody asked, who after Guruji? That is an unbearable thought. Guruji may have his own views on this, but currently there is no number two,” says a close associate.

Baba Ramdev, whose yoga empire is valued at Rs 2,000 crore, doesn’t have a family member in his Divya Yog Mandir and Patanjali Yogpeeth trusts, which have landed property in India and abroad. The properties include 1,000 acres in Haridwar, a 2,000-acre island near Scotland and a 40-acre plot in Solan in Himachal Pradesh. Ramdev also runs yoga camps, magazines and ayurvedic medicine shops, and sells books, CDs and VCDs promoting yoga and medicines.

One can become a member of his Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust — but at a cost. A “general” membership costs Rs 11,000, a “respected” membership is for Rs 21,000 and “dignified” memberships Rs 51,000. “Founder” membership comes for Rs 5 lakh; “corporate” membership for Rs 11 lakh. “General” members can take part in one residential yoga science camp free of cost in their lifetime. The privileges keep increasing as one goes up the order.

Ramdev, who is 46, is clearly not worried about an heir as yet, though many of his followers treat his associate Acharya Balkrishna as the effective number two. Balkrishna, who heads some of Ramdev’s centres, is often seen standing next to Ramdev in photographs published in the trusts’ journals.

“Amma” Amritanandamayi is another guru with a huge following in India and abroad. The Mata Amritanandamayi Math in Kollam district, Kerala, is said to be worth Rs 1,500 crore. It controls ashrams and centres around the world, besides a university, schools and a super-specialty hospital. The Math is also one of the largest recipients of foreign funds. According to the home ministry, it received Rs 116.39 crore in 2008-2009.

The spiritual guru has not zeroed in on a successor either. “Maa just believes in distributing her love. She has hugged close to 30 million people to date. Bringing happiness is her mission,” says a spokesperson for the Math.

For the ardent followers of the spiritual heads, it’s not their heirs that matter, but their legacy. “Most important are the values that their followers will preserve through generations,” says Harish Sharma, a Pune-based software professional and a follower of many of these gurus. You could say Amen to that.