One of the most followed spiritual gurus, Premanand Maharaj, has stirred a controversy over his recent remarks on the character of the youth.
Explaining why marriages are not lasting long in recent times, he drew sharp comparisons and blamed infidelity among the many causes of failed relationships. Clips of Premanand Maharaj’s sermon are now doing the rounds online, with social media users sharing their varied reactions on the same.
What did Premanand Maharaj say?
Answering a query regarding the rise in bad outcomes in relationships, irrespective of love and arranged marriages, he said, “How will the outcomes be positive, when the character of modern youth is not pure?” He cited examples of the women in his village and how they wore long veils, unlike the dressing of modern-day youth. Premanand Maharaj added that the youth have gotten accustomed to and are moving on to another person quickly after a breakup.
Drawing parallels with food, he explained that if one gets in the habit of ordering food from restaurants on a regular basis, they will dislike meals prepared at home. Premanand Maharaj added, “Waise hi jab chaar purushon se milne ki aadat pad gayi hai, toh ek pati ko swikaar karne ki himmat usmein nahi reh jaayegi. Aise hi jab ek ladka chaar ladkiyon ka vichaar karta hai, toh woh apne patni se santusht nahi rahega. Kyunki usne aadat bana li hai. Humaari aur humaare baccho ki adaatein kharaab ho rahi hain.” Premanand Maharaj also blamed the rise of the impact of mobile phones in everyday lives and claimed that it is very ‘difficult’ to find a good daughter-in-law or husband in modern times.
A file photo of Premanand Maharaj | Image: X
However, the comment that caught attention on social media was where the Swami was heard saying, “100 mein koi 2-4 kanyaein aisi hongi, jo apna pavitra jeevan rakh kar, jiski purush ko samarpit hogi. ( Out of 100 girls, there will be two to four girls who will keep their pure life and will dedicate themselves to a man.)” He then argued, “Toh jo chaar ladko se mil chuki hai, woh kaise sacchi bahu banegi. Jo chaar ladkiyon se mil chuka hai, woh sacha pata ban paayega?”
His comments come days after Aniruddhacharya Maharaj stoked controversy over his remarks on live-in relationships.
Premanand Maharaj’s remarks leave netizens divided
While some stood in support of Premanand Maharaj’s comments, other social media users slammed him for making sweeping generalisations. A user on X (formerly Twitter) argued, “Premanand Maharaj ji is getting unreal hate from the genz for stating simple facts. The same Gen Z hyped him all because of celebrity visits without actually listening to him. Yes bro chaotic lifestyle is gonna bring more chaos to your life, deal with it.” People supporting him echoed the same sentiment by stressing that the spiritual leader was simply stating facts about the current way of living among the youth. His supporters even argued that most parts of his sermon are being taken out of context and he is being wrongly criticised.
Sharply criticising Premanand Maharaj, a X user stated, “What is wrong with these Babas today? Aniruddhacharya was ok because we do not take him seriously anyways but Premanand Ji Maharaj too??” The diving opinions on his latest comments are going viral on social media.