Justice GR Swaminathan of the Madras High Court courted controversy yet again, when he said that the rationalists, who called people fools, incompetent and barbarians for treating spiritual gurus as equilvalent to God, were the real fools, incompetent and barbarians.
Speaking in Tamil during the ‘Guru Vandanam Utsavam’ organised by the Hosur Satsangh at a private educational institution in Hosur recently, the judge noted that while the divine may be conceived as an abstract metaphysical principle, the Guru represented a living embodiment of that principle in tangible form. He asserted that Gurus possessed a powerful positive aura capable of dispelling negativity in those who came in close proximity with them.
The judge also recounted a personal episode involving a late-night journey undertaken with his spouse after attending his daughter’s convocation ceremony in Punjab. He claimed that he encountered hazardous driving conditions due to dense fog, followed by a sudden tyre puncture, leaving him in a momentary state of helplessness. He stated that invoking his spiritual guide during that episode provided him with composure and inner strength, reinforcing his faith in the Guru’s protective grace.
Although the speech was delivered in a personal capacity at a private function, it has sparked debate on the permissible ambit of extra-judicial speech by members of the higher judiciary.
While judges enjoy the freedoms guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a) and 25 of the Constitution, those liberties operate within the broader framework of judicial ethics and institutional neutrality.
Justice Swaminathan had previously made public statements referencing Sanatana Dharma and the role of spiritual tradition in public life, which have also generated discussion. The present remarks have added to the ongoing debate concerning the balance between individual belief and the institutional expectation of restraint.
