The power of . . . Black Magic (or lack thereof)?

As humans, we are afraid of things we don't understand.  It's built into our hard-wiring.  Sometimes that fear of the unknown protects us from harmful situations, but sometimes that fear is exploited shamelessly to our disadvantage.  One such flavor of exploitation can be found in the various forms of black magic, voodoo, seances, witchcraft, and the (relatively) new field of ghost hunting.  As varied as they appear, they are but different flavors of the same thing:  scams.

Case-in-point:
In India, "tantrik" magic (black magic) is widely believed in and respected as a powerful craft, and a force not to mess with.  Because of the fear of this unknown field of "magic", a lot of irrational actions are perpetrated in the country, with a great deal of harm meted out to innocents.

Enter:  Sanal Edamaruku.  Rationalist International describes:
"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."





So what happened?





"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."





"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."





"The encounter took place under the open night sky . . . .  [After some time and ceremony], 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."

Thanks to Rationalist International for the story, which can be read on their own website here.

For youtube videos of the situation, check here.