SHOULD PUJA BE PERFORMED TO EVIL SPIRITS SUCH AS KAL BHAIRO?

The one resounding question that I hear people ask Swami-Ji over and over again is, "Why is there so much problems in my life?" They then go on to relate their various illnesses, problems with spouses, problems with children, problems with finances and numerous other life challenges that they may be facing at the time. Although Swami-Ji sees thousands of different people every year, he has found that there is always a pattern or trend to the nature of the suffering. And this is because the causal factors almost always is linked to the circumstances during conception, pregnancy and birth; unrighteous ways of living; effects of bhutas (ghosts) in the home; quality and types of meals that people eat; involvement with pujas for Dee or Kal Bhairo.

The sacred Hindu text - The Bhagavd Gita - states that when dharma [righteousness] gives way to adharma [unrighteousness], Bhagwan as Cosmic Consciousness will embody Himself and take birth to rescue the planet. Bhagwan, God, Cosmic Consciousness or whatever name we choose to call the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of the universe represent the positive forces in our lives in this material existence.

Bhagavad Gita Ch 4. V.7
yadaa-yadaa hi dharmasya//glaanir bhavati bhaarata
abhyutthaanam adharmasya//tadaa tmaanam srjaamy aham.

Transliteration: Whenever there is decay of dharma and rise of adharma, then I embody Myself, 0 Bharata.In this verse. The Lord [Rrsna] is saying to His devotee [Arjuna] that when dharma which is conducive to man's growth and progress gives way to adharma which prevents man's evolution, then the Cosmic Intelligence will embody Itself in human form. [E.g.: Lord Vishnu embodied Himself in human form as Sri Rama]. There is so much violence and human suffering in the world. Everyday the media exploit this to its fullest and the constant bombardment has had a profound negative impact on my mind to the extent that a few years ago I decided to stop watching the television or read the newspapers. In this way I was able to calm the mind through meditation and practiced mindfulness in order to cope with my life in the everyday world. Like me, millions of people across the globe are finding inner peace through the practices of yoga and meditation. Perhaps this burgeoning practice of yoga and meditation at the grassroots level is one of the corrective forms that Bhagwan has chosen to combat adharma and influence dharma in the world?

Pious Hindus who follow the dharmic path, adore, meditate upon and propitiate the positive energies or Hindu Deities by performing the 16 upacaras as detailed in the Rg Veda [RV10.90]. Such devotees receive the blessings of the Gods and their lives become fulfilled in many positive ways so that they enjoy good health, prosperity and true happiness that almost everyone seek.

The opposite or negative forces exist in the universe as well. By twisting certain of the sacred propitiatory rites and rituals, a sacred precept can become a 'sorcery practice or devil worship' in which the negative forces are honored. One of the forms of devil worship is the performance of Dee or Kal Bhairo rituals . Once this is done to the satisfaction of the negative force or devil, the person will usually get their requests granted. Quite often this reward is in the form of material riches. Material riches could take the form of destructive money or positive money for the benefit of others. Laxmi is the bestower of positive wealth which will help the world to progress whereas the devil will produce negative wealth which will affect the health and progress of the family units. We already know that the opposite of Maha Laxmi is Kala Laxmi - destructive wealth. So people begin to believe that they are doing the right thing. But think about it for a moment. When honoring the negative force, a person has to do things backwards. For instance, the practice has to:

• be done in a lonely place
• be performed at night
• involve the sacrifice of live animals
• worshippers must face South - the region of Yamraj- Lord of the dead.
• the mantra verses must be spelled backwards
• sometimes the ritual is performed to hurt others because of covetousness or greed
• the 'priests' who carry out such practices always seem to be unhappy
• the people who 'worship' in this negative way seem to sneak round and hide from God fearing people
• their features appear darker and ugly

• the husband may become impotent
• he may begin to drink or smoke a lot
• he may get severe back pain
• the womb of the wife may become twisted
• she may suffer with severe belly pain
• she may suffer with back pain as well
• children may begin to go astray and drop out of school
• they may turn to alcohol, cigarettes, promiscuous sex, drugs or other vices
• the family begins to spend more and more money on health care
• spend more to perform more sacrifices and rituals
• spend on lawyers to help them with various court matters which begin to surface from nowhere

• unable to sleep well at night
• menstrual period may be frequently late
• suffer severe cramps and pains during menstruation
• see whitish or creamish streaks amidst the menstrual blood
• may feel very sexually excited during the night
• do not want to have physical relations with husband or husband is not able to perform
• may dream of having sexual intercourse
• may 'feel' that someone or something is having intercourse with them during the night
• are always tired after waking up in the mornings
• find unexplainable black and blue marks on their legs or inner thighs

WHY IS HANUMAN PUJA SO IMPORTANT ON SATURDAYS?
Let us look at Hindu Mythology and The Story of the Hanuman Puja to see how happiness and prosperity can be invited into our lives. Those of us who are older will remember that Guyana was at one time referred to as the 'Bread Basket of the Caribbean'. When we look back to that time we see some very revealing trends. The pandits were from the older generation who knew the ancient scriptures and were able to conduct the puja rituals in the proper way to please the Gods. One such puja - the Hanuman Puja - commonly referred to as JHANDI - was conducted regularly on Saturdays all across the coastline of that happy and prosperous nation. Let us examine the reason that the Hanuman Puja grant Happiness and Prosperity when conducted on a Saturday.

The story begins with Narad Muni who is the astrologer of the Gods in Hindu mythology. In this capacity he has to remain a Bramhcharya - one who has taken the vow of celibacy. One day he saw a beautiful girl and fell in love with her. Now a Bramhcharya is not supposed to get married but he was so madly in love that he decided to forget his vows of celibacy. So he went to Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva and told them of his great love. A swayamvara (a celebration where young people meet to choose their marriage partners) was arranged and the young men all lined up to see which one of them will be selected to be the husband of the beautiful damsel. Through divine intervention, Vishnu and Shiva arranged it so that when the girl looked at Narad, she will perceive his face as that of a monkey. In the meanwhile, Vishnu stood in the lineup along with the other young men and happened to be the one who was chosen. After He was garlanded by the pretty damsel, Vishnu and Shiva were laughing at the joke they played on Narad. Just about the same time, Narad happened to see his reflection in a pool of water. He became very angry and cursed Lord Vishnu that someone will steal his wife. He then cursed Shiva that He will only be able to help Lord Vishnu in the form of a monkey. Later when the world was under threat of destruction by the Rakshas under the powerful leadership of Ravana, Lord Visnu incarnated Himself as Lord Rama to save the world from destruction. His wife accompanied Him in material form as the beautiful Mother Sita. Because of Narad's curse, Ravana stole Sita and Lord Shiva had to incarnate himself as the monkey- faced Hanuman to save Mother Sita from Lanka. As Hanuman was making his way into Lanka to rescue Sita, he saw Shani Dewta [the planet Saturn] tied up by Ravana and laying face down. Now Shani is the one who takes note of how people manage their prosperity. If people abuse their wealth, show-off and are 'briga' or boastful, Shani will look at them and give them a Shani Gra. Once this happens, their money will begin to disappear and the family will begin to suffer for a period of seven-and-a-half years. So when Shani recognized Hanuman and begged to be released from the bondage of the powerful Ravana, Hanuman replied, "Once I release you and you look at me, I will get your Gra." Shani promised, "No. Anyone who performs your Puja on my day [Saturday] will not be affected by me." So Hanuman released Shani and his promise came into being.

Hindus who knew the ancient scriptures and the mysticism in the meanings behind the stories, knew the proper rituals to perform in order to achieve success in this material life. As the older pandits died, a lot of the knowledge disappeared with them. Not many modem pandits had time to research the scriptures and quite a few got caught up in the dark side of the rituals because of covetousness, greed and get-rich-quick desires of their followers. The more that such dark practices were followed, the more people began to follow them. The more such practices became common, the more they became 'truth' in the minds of the people. The dark practices thus became a vicious circle of devil worship for the gain of wealth which may result in more suffering and more worship and sacrifices to ease the suffering. The second and third generations begin to suffer because of the sinful actions of the parents. Where will all this end? What should we do to end this cycle of dark practices in the Hindu communities of Guyana the Caribbean?

To quote an expression which is featured in the writings of Sugita Gempaku who was instrumental in bringing an understanding of the internal body parts to ancient Dutch medicine: memboku o aratameru. Translated into English, the meaning becomes: changing one's outlook. We have to change our outlook. We have to change the way we 'see' things in our practice and [malpractice of Hindu rituals within the Guyana and Caribbean communities at home and abroad. And we have to do this from the perspective of knowledge.

Paulo Freire, a prominent Brazilian writer and educator, reiterates in his writings that knowledge is the path to liberation and freedom. He describes liberating education as dialectic, involving both action and reflection while not privileging either. In our society, it is very unlikely that an uneducated, unskilled, poor villager or inner-city dweller will ever be in a position to get the attention of community leaders, authority figures, politicians or religious practitioners. To get such attention and to cause change, the voice must come not from a position of subservience but from a position of dominance. Such firmness of foundation has to emerge thorough knowledge and confidence fostered through an understanding of the inner self and an understanding of the Hindu scriptures. We want to encourage those who have acquired the knowledge to become teachers, mentors and role models for others like themselves. Thus when a practicing pandit performs a wrong or demonic ritual which invites Dee or Kal Bhairo into your life, you as the yajman or worshipper will know to educate the 'pandit'. This will have a ripple effect in the world of the panditam who will now be forced to become educated in practicing the rituals to worship God and cease and desist from inadvertently or intentionally practicing sorcery or devil worship. Through the correct knowledge, our Guyanese and Caribbean 'family' will be able to get rid the effects of Dee and Kal Bairo - the spirit - from their lives.
 
 

Copyright © 2002 RamCharran