Heavens are sold for petty amounts, fortunes constructed, and adversities repaired? Everything seems possible for a person claiming to be a ‘spiritual healer’ or locally cherished as ‘Baba’ or ‘Peer sahib’.
The methods they apply to ‘heal’ patients, can daze anyone. The moment you enter the places where they offer consultation, the interiors may catch your gaze, baffle your sensibilities. Creating such ambience is perhaps in pursuit to gain popularity among masses.
When these self-styled practices are knotted with religious beliefs, it gives birth to misconceptions and chokes the breath of pragmatism. There are so many people visiting these persons who are claiming to have supernatural powers. They are followed by a number of devotees who have a strong belief that their problems will be rectified and their pains will be healed there. They stand in queues outside the doors of these ‘Babas’ or ‘Peers’ waiting for their turns to speak to them and seek their blessings or advice in almost all matters of life.
Some friends and relatives have shared how they were treated when they went to visit a ‘Peer sahib’ or a ‘Baba’. The tales I was told entertained me for a while because they were filled with fantasies. Imagine a demon’s demand for chicken fried rice to free someone’s soul, a fairy’s love or her envy for someone, where she scuffs their bright fortune and scribes it with miseries, and so on and on. I recall my childhood memories when I heard these stories, how I enthusiastically listened to them. I remember how I imagined such metaphysical entities I was told about and how I used to frame those images in my mind. A demon of having a horn on his giant-head, long nails curved-shape, blackish-complexion, long moustache, broad chest, huge-height, with weird feet. Similarly, a fairy of fair complexion, long hair, with white beautiful wings.
There are some questions which are of utmost importance, which often knock the door of our wits, and make us think about the logic behind all these superstitious beliefs. More importantly, they ask us about the persons appearing as capable of doing things which are beyond the limits of human beings. Can these Peers or Babas perform such miracles? Do they possess such supernatural powers? Or it is just an allegory created to silhouette a profession?
There may be some truly pious persons in today’s world, but most of the time we are being fooled by malicious claimants. It is unfortunate how we fall into their traps so easily. When these persons appear as religious men, we as common people start to trust them without even trying to know more about them. We accept them so easily and eventually start to believe in their notion of religion, and very often fall into their traps. And then they tighten their grip on us psychologically.
They create a sense of fear among the followers or devotees about the wrongdoings which can lead them towards hell. It creates such fear among the followers that they do not even dare to question the authenticity of their claims and never dare to demand a rational explanation.
When the cases of fake ‘Babas’ come into the limelight, it awakes us for a certain period of time. But this issue craves to be discussed on a larger scale so that the common people become more aware and raise questions. They must demand rational explanations from the persons who claim of having supernatural powers.