Ashutosh (spiritual leader)

Ashutosh, born as Mahesh Kumar Jha and also known as Ashutosh Maharaj (1946 - 2014), was an Indian spiritual leader, preacher, satguru, and founder head of Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan, a non-profit spiritual organisation. On 29 January 2014, he was declared clinically dead by a team of doctors. However, his followers firmly believe him to be alive and in the state of a samadhi or deep meditation. Since then^[update] his body has been kept in a freezer by the management of DJJS, with a firm belief that he will come out of meditation. This is claimed to have been done so as to "create an environment similar to the Himalayas", and keeps the body from decomposing.

Ashutosh was born as Mahesh Kumar Jha in 1946 at Lakhnaur in Madhubani district, Bihar into a Hindu Brahmin family. There are claims that he married Anandi Devi and that the couple had a son, although this is disputed. Ashutosh Maharaj left his family post completing masters from Germany in search of a satguru or perfect master so as to attain self realization. He was believed to have visited many gurus in Himalayas, Varanasi and had posted questions in line with what our Rishis had posted since time immemorial.

Ashutosh founded Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan as a non-profit spiritual organisation in Nurmahal, Punjab, India in 1983. 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. 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). 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".

As the head of the organisation, Ashutosh is seen as a controversial figure among the Sikh community, who have alleged him to be hurting Sikh religious sentiments. He has been accused of distorting Sikh teachings, called Banis, and making negative comments about Sikhism and the Sikh gurus. Various Sikh bodies demanded a ban on his activities. 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. He was provided "Z+" security by the Indian government, which was later lowered to "Z" class.

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