Author Topic: The Indian miracle-buster stuck in Finland  (Read 565 times)

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Offline EC

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The Indian miracle-buster stuck in Finland
« on: June 03, 2014, 06:13:46 am »
Sad. There are enough true miracles, that men and women who expose false ones should be praised, not threatened.

An Indian man who made his name exposing the "miraculous" feats of holy men as tricks has fled the country after being accused of blasphemy. Now in self-imposed exile in Finland, he fears jail - or even assassination - if he returns.

When a Hindu fakir declared on live television that he could kill anybody with tantric chanting, Sanal Edamaruku simply had to take him up on the challenge.

As both were guests in the studio, the fakir was put to the test immediately.

The channel cancelled all subsequent programming and he began chanting on the spot. But as the hours passed a note of desperation crept into his raspy mantras. For his part, Edamaruku, president of the Indian Rationalist Association, showed no sign of discomfort, let alone death. He merely chortled his way through this unconventional (and unsuccessful) attempt on his life.

He has spent his life as a prominent member of India's small band of miracle-busters, men who dedicate their life to traversing the country demystifying certain beliefs.

It's a nation often associated with profound spirituality, but rationalists see their country as a breeding ground for superstition.

In the 1990s Edamaruku visited hundreds of villages replicating the apparently fabulous feats some self-proclaimed holy men became renowned for - the materialisations of watches or "holy" ash - exposing them as mere sleight of hand.
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Sanal Edamaruku shows how to seemingly produce ash from mid-air

As a campaigner determined to drill home his point, sometimes with an air of goading bemusement, he has attracted critics.

He readily admits he took advantage of the explosion in Indian television channels which discovered an audience fascinated with tales of the extraordinary.

"I was campaigning in villages for so long before the television came," he says. "But some people do not like me to be going on television and reaching out to millions of people."

But in 2012, four years after his televised encounter with the fakir, a steady drip of water from the toe of a statue of Christ genuinely did, he believes, put his life in danger.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26815298
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Oceander

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Re: The Indian miracle-buster stuck in Finland
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2014, 01:16:52 am »
geez.  this time it's catholics being abusive.  he merely showed that a statue of Jesus was dripping water because of bad plumbing in the building, and wasn't a real miracle.  he did nothing more than what the vatican would do if it was investigating an alleged miracle.

Offline Chieftain

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Re: The Indian miracle-buster stuck in Finland
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2014, 01:50:01 am »
Shux!! I thought this was another Fauxahontas story......

 :whistle:

Q:  Who killed more Indians than General Custer??

A:  Union Carbide.

 :smokin:

Oceander

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Re: The Indian miracle-buster stuck in Finland
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2014, 01:51:44 am »
Shux!! I thought this was another Fauxahontas story......

 :whistle:

Q:  Who killed more Indians than General Custer??

A:  Union Carbide.

 :smokin:

A macabrely amusing joke!