Sceptic takes on India's fake fakirs
Jeremy Page
From: The Australian March 20, 2010 12:00AM
NEW DELHI: When a famous tantric guru boasted on television that he could kill another man using only his mystical powers, most viewers gasped in awe or merely nodded unquestioningly. Sanal Edamaruku's response was different. "Go on then - kill me," he said. As head of the Indian Rationalists Association, Mr Edamaruku, the country's self-appointed sceptic-in-chief, had been invited to the same talk show as the holy man. At first, Pandit Surinda Sharma was reluctant, but he agreed to perform rituals designed to kill Mr Edamaruku live on television. Millions tuned in as the channel cancelled scheduled programming to stay with the showdown, which can still be viewed on YouTube.
The master chanted mantras, then he sprinkled water on his intended victim. After several hours of similar antics, Mr Edamaruku was still smiling and taunting the furious holy man.
"He was over, finished, completely destroyed." Mr Edamaruku chuckles in his office at the Rationalist Centre in the town of Noida, outside Delhi.
Mr Edamaruku has dedicated his life to exposing charlatans - from levitating village fakirs to televangelist yoga masters - who he says are obstructing an Indian enlightenment.
He has had a busy month, with one guru arrested over prostitution, another caught in a sex-tape scandal, a third kidnapping a female follower and a fourth allegedly causing a stampede that killed 63 people.
This week, India's most popular yoga master, Baba Ramdev, announced plans to launch a political party, promising to cleanse India of corruption and introduce the death penalty for killing cows. On Wednesday, police arrested a couple in Maharashtra state on suspicion of killing five boys on the advice of a tantric master, who said their sacrifice would help the childless couple to conceive.
"The immediate goal I have is to stop these fraudulent babas and gurus," says Mr Edamaruku, 55. "I'd like to see a post-religious society. That would be an ideal dream, but I don't know how long it would take."
The Indian Rationalist Association was founded officially in Madras (now Chennai) in 1949 with the encouragement of philosopher Bertrand Russell. Since Mr Edamaruku took over in 1985, membership has grown from 300 to more than 100,000 members - mainly young professionals, teachers and students.
One common trick members expose is levitation, usually done using an accomplice who lies on the ground under a blanket and then raises his upper body while holding out two hockey sticks under the blanket to make it look like his feet are also rising.
Other simple ruses include the "weeping statue" trick, usually done by melting a thin layer of wax covering a small deposit of water.
Exposing such tricks can be risky. A guru called Balti (Bucket) Baba once smashed a hot clay pot in Mr Edamaruku's face after he revealed the holy man picked it up with a heat-resistant pad.
The chief rationalist was almost arrested by the government of Kerala for revealing it was behind an annual apparition of flames in the night sky - in fact, several state officials lighting bonfires on a nearby hill - that attracted millions of pilgrims.
Indian politicians shelter gurus to give them spiritual credibility, use their followers as vote banks, or to mask sexual or criminal activity. That explains why India has never tightened the 1954 Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, under which the maximum punishment is two months' jail and a 2000 rupee (about $48) fine.
Another reason is that educated, middle-class Indians are feeling alienated from mainstream religion but still in need of spiritual sustenance. "When traditional religion collapses, people still need spirituality. So they usually go one of two directions: towards extremism and fundamentalism or to these kinds of people."
Since richer, urban Indians have little time for long pilgrimages or pujas (prayer ceremonies), they are often attracted by holy men who offer instant gratification - for a fee. --
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