The Great Tantra Challenge

[Skydancer]

Quote from rationalistinternational.net/article/2008/20080310/en_1.html

 

Indian black magician fails challange to kill the president of Rationalist

International on live tv

 

On 3 March 2008, in a popular TV show, Sanal Edamaruku, the president of

Rationalist International, challenged India's most "powerful" tantrik (black

magician) to demonstrate his powers on him. That was the beginning of an

unprecedented experiment. After all his chanting of mantra (magic words) and

ceremonies of tantra failed, the tantrik decided to kill Sanal Edamaruku

with the "ultimate destruction ceremony" on live TV. Sanal Edamaruku agreed

and sat in the altar of the black magic ritual. India TV observed

skyrocketing viewership rates.

 

Everything started, when Uma Bharati (former chief minister of the state of

Madhya Pradesh) accused her political opponents in a public statement of

using tantrik powers to inflict damage upon her. In fact, within a few days,

the unlucky lady had lost her favorite uncle, hit the door of her car

against her head and found her legs covered with wounds and blisters.

 

India TV, one of India's major Hindi channels with national outreach,

invited Sanal Edamaruku for a discussion on "Tantrik power versus Science".

Pandit Surinder Sharma, who claims to be the tantrik of top politicians and

is well known from his TV shows, represented the other side. During the

discussion, the tantrik showed a small human shape of wheat flour dough,

laid a thread around it like a noose and tightened it. He claimed that he

was able to kill any person he wanted within three minutes by using black

magic. Sanal challenged him to try and kill him.

 

The tantrik tried. He chanted his mantras (magic words): "Om

lingalingalinalinga, kilikili.." But his efforts did not show any impact on

Sanal - not after three minutes, and not after five. The time was extended

and extended again. The original discussion program should have ended here,

but the "breaking news" of the ongoing great tantra challenge was

overrunning all program schedules.

 

Now the tantrik changed his technique. He started sprinkling water on Sanal

and brandishing a knife in front of him. Sometimes he moved the blade all

over his body. Sanal did not flinch. Then he touched Sanal's head with his

hand, rubbing and rumpling up his hair, pressing his forehead, laying his

hand over his eyes, pressing his fingers against his temples. When he

pressed harder and harder, Sanal reminded him that he was supposed to use

black magic only, not forceful attacks to bring him down. The tantrik took a

new run: water, knife, fingers, mantras. But Sanal kept looking very healthy

and even amused.

 

After nearly two hours, the anchor declared the tantrik's failure. The

tantrik, unwilling to admit defeat, tried the excuse that a very strong god

whom Sanal might be worshipping obviously protected him. "No, I am an

atheist," said Sanal Edamaruku. Finally, the disgraced tantrik tried to save

his face by claiming that there was a never-failing special black magic for

ultimate destruction, which could, however, only been done at night. Bad

luck again, he did not get away with this, but was challenged to prove his

claim this very night in another "breaking news" live program.

 

During the next three hours, India TV ran announcements for The Great Tantra

Challenge that called several hundred million people to their TV sets.

 

The encounter took place under the open night sky. The tantrik and his two

assistants were kindling a fire and staring into the flames. Sanal was in

good humour. Once the ultimate magic was invoked, there wouldn't be any way

back, the tantrik warned. Within two minutes, Sanal would get crazy, and one

minute later he would scream in pain and die. Didn't he want to save his

life before it was too late? Sanal laughed, and the countdown begun. The

tantriks chanted their "Om lingalingalingalinga, kilikilikili.." followed by

ever changing cascades of strange words and sounds. The speed increased

hysterically. They threw all kinds of magic ingredients into the flames that

produced changing colours, crackling and fizzling sounds and white smoke.

While chanting, the tantrik came close to Sanal, moved his hands in front of

him and touched him, but was called back by the anchor. After the earlier

covert attempts of the tantrik to use force against Sanal, he was warned to

keep distance and avoid touching Sanal. But the tantrik "forgot" this rule

again and again.

 

Now the tantrik wrote Sanal's name on a sheet of paper, tore it into small

pieces, dipped them into a pot with boiling butter oil and threw them

dramatically into the flames. Nothing happened. Singing and singing, he

sprinkled water on Sanal, mopped a bunch of peacock feathers over his head,

threw mustard seed into the fire and other outlandish things more. Sanal

smiled, nothing happened, and time was running out. Only seven more minutes

before midnight, the tantrik decided to use his ultimate weapon: the clod of

wheat flour dough. He kneaded it and powdered it with mysterious

ingredients, then asked Sanal to touch it. Sanal did so, and the grand magic

finale begun. The tantrik pierced blunt nails on the dough, then cut it

wildly with a knife and threw them into the fire. That moment, Sanal should

have broken down. But he did not. He laughed. Forty more seconds, counted

the anchor, twenty, ten, five. it's over!

 

Millions of people must have uttered a sigh of relief in front their TVs.

Sanal was very much alive. Tantra power had miserably failed. Tantriks are

creating such a scaring atmosphere that even people, who know that black

magic has no base, can just break down out of fear, commented a scientist

during the program. It needs enormous courage and confidence to challenge

them by actually putting one's life at risk, he said. By doing so, Sanal

Edamaruku has broken the spell, and has taken away much of the fear of those

who witnessed his triumph.

 

In this night, one of the most dangerous and wide spread superstitions in

India suffered a severe blow

[Skydancer]

And my opinion:

I guess this only proves he's not as omnipotent as he poses to be. In my opinion, real tantric masters would never agree on such ego-tripping (i.e. showing off their powers to have their 5 minutes of fame). He really made a fool of himself ... serves him right.

 

There are many charlatans like this one out there, however I still believe there are genuine tantrikas and other great spiritual men who possess real powers to bend the veils of maya - not for trivial and mundane reasons, but to excel in spiritual endeavors.

 

Here is another fine example of a charlatan: lamathunderbolt.com

[suchandra]

 

And my opinion:

I guess this only proves he's not as omnipotent as he poses to be. In my opinion, real tantric masters would never agree on such ego-tripping (i.e. showing off their powers to have their 5 minutes of fame). He really made a fool of himself ... serves him right.

 

There are many charlatans like this one out there, however I still believe there are genuine tantrikas and other great spiritual men who possess real powers to bend the veils of maya - not for trivial and mundane reasons, but to excel in spiritual endeavors.

 

Here is another fine example: lamathunderbolt.com

Well spoken, one can cheat some people for some time but one cant cheat all people for all time.

 

Happy pilgrims

[theist]

Hilarious. I would love to see this program for some good entetainment.

 

So much voodoo uga buga. Of course some can use astral forces for malicious mischief and even severly harm others. But if this tan-trickster wanted to make $ by assaination he should've signed up for a CIA or KGB home study course and really learned a few good tricks.

 

[theist]

The Bhakti or love of God movements are not dependent on such sideshows and should make an effort to distance themselves from them in peoples minds.