(This article was first published on 9 March 2018. It has been republished from The Quint’s archives in the light of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s birthday.)

I never thought I’d share this incident with anyone. While reporting and working in the business of news, we come across a number of incidents, but are unable to talk about all of them. Often it is important not to. These things are informal, or sometimes off the record. A person aspiring to become even a somewhat-okay journalist needs to maintain the sanctity of these values.

However, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has crossed the limit. He wants to play a role in the resolution of the Ayodhya conflict and has been trying to get involved for a while. His most recent statements are dangerous and scary.