India, Aug. 26 -- Something strange has been happening to Neem Karoli Baba, a man who was born and passed away long before the age of the internet and social media. By every account, he also cared nothing for fame while he was alive. He has nonetheless become one of the most reproduced faces on the internet, so much so that his image seems ubiquitous on social media platforms, smiling back at you from Instagram stories, promising miracles, prosperity, work, marriage, or a cure, as long as you repost his picture, tag your ten friends, and type a religious slogan in the comments.

This makes me uncomfortable, not because I question the legitimacy of Baba's grace, but because I have been trying to understand, for more than a decade, what suc...