Exorcising ghosts and fears

[Ganesha]

By Christina Chin
The Star/Asia News Network
Sunday, Aug 19, 2012

Consulting mediums and undergoing exorcism rituals are not confined to the old.

With the start of the Hungry Ghosts Festival, even young Chinese professionals are making a beeline for talismans to ward off spirits.

The queue at Penang's famous Hor Kai Kong Temple grows longer every night during the seventh month of the lunar calendar.

The 116-year-old temple in Pulau Tikus is well-known among local Taoists for conducting exorcisms and healing the sick, and devotees often do not mind waiting hours for their turn after getting their numbers.

The medium for the resident deity sees about 50 to 60 devotees each night and those who turn up late are advised to return another night.

The temple owner, who prefers only to be known as Khaw, says they handled more than 20 exorcism cases last year, half of them involving "aggressive spirit possessions".

The English-educated Khaw, 34, says she acts as an interpreter for the "deity" who converses in Hokkien through the medium with the devotees. Khaw is the fourth generation in her family to run the temple.

"Every year during the Hungry Ghosts Festival especially, we give out talismans to devotees to ward off our unseen brothers and sisters. Think of it (talisman) as vitamins to boost your immune system; when you are feeling weak, you catch germs easily. So talismans help to protect you if you are vulnerable," she says matter-of-factly.

While ghosts out for their month-long holiday are mostly harmless, Khaw warns that the wandering or stray spirits of those who died tragic deaths like suicides or road accidents would become more powerful during the festival when the "gates of hell" are open.

This year's festival began on Friday.

"These spirits never left the realm of the living unlike the hungry ghosts who are waiting for their time to be reincarnated. The former are more inclined to cause harm especially since they have been stuck in our world for so long, and with no guidance they've become craftier.

"Now that the hungry ghosts are in town, the spirit population on earth has spiked, so being around their kind makes them stronger and more powerful," she explains.

Khaw, whose great-grandfather started the temple, describes the hungry ghosts as "tame", just like prisoners who have served time.

"These ghosts would not dare to create mischief on earth as it could further delay their reincarnation. Moreover, the Tai Su Yah (King of Hades) keeps a watchful eye on them," she adds.

In some cases where the spirit is aggressive, the victim may have to be brought to the temple a few times before the evil is cast out completely.

"When a person's luck is low, the body is easily possessed. Even after the spirit is successfully exorcised, it can re-enter the body again and again if he or she is weak.

"Such a person can also be easily possessed by hungry ghosts that accidentally' bump into them. They mean no harm but to avoid such possessions during this festival, it's best to stay home after midnight or when it drizzles in the evenings," she advises.

Khaw says children and those born in the Year of the Dragon and Dog would be more susceptible to "disturbances" during this period.

And she adds that it's not only the older generation who seeks out temples to conduct exorcisms. Young professionals also do it.

"Even doctors and nurses tell their patients to seek divine intervention here because they cannot find anything physically or mentally wrong with these people," she claims.

Khaw assures that the temple rituals are properly and safely carried out. "All our consultations or rituals are done openly in the temple - in full view of devotees. And the interpreters who help translate the deity's message to the devotees are always present."

Miranda Chew, a law degree holder, is a modern, well-spoken professional in her 30s and like many of her contemporaries, believes in exorcisms and unseen spirits.

However, she shudders at the thought of a recent exorcism that claimed the life of a toddler in Bukit Mertajam.

The child, barely three years old, had reportedly died of suffocation after eight people allegedly piled on her during a suspected 20-hour exorcism ritual on Aug 5.

Seven people, including the child's parents and aunt, have pleaded not guilty when charged on Friday with causing her death.

Chew says it's unfortunate that a young life was lost just because of a ritual gone wrong.

Moon L. Chin, secretary of Pertubuhan Agama Buddha Barom Kagyu Pulau Pinang (a Tibetan Buddhism group), points to psychology as a possible reason for the senseless death.

"It's very dangerous if someone thinks he or she has supernatural powers just because some mantra were recited or because a leader said so. If the person is so ignorant, dire consequences can occur if the spirits are of the aggressive and evil type," he warns.

Chin, an MBA degree holder, is not surprised that many modern, well-educated professionals still consult mediums and religious leaders as the practice is as old as religion itself.

"Intelligent people can perform illogical actions too," he argues.

While he doesn't go to mediums before making a decision, Chin, 58, consults "highly trained, learned, wise and respected religious leaders" for advice.

Ultimately, for any person, their decision still lies in their power of logical deduction, he says.

"Not every medium can channel real authentic saintly beings. Some mediums, especially the lower educated, with limited understanding of metaphysics and the paranormal, are prone to attract only ghostly spirits to enter their body.

 

[Ganesha]

"There are many instances of people with ordinary illness, or light cases of spirit possession, consulting mediums and eventually being cured," he says.

Chin, a metaphysician and feng shui master, describes a medium as the physical mouthpiece of spirits or "beings of another dimension".

If the medium is a fake, then the whole process becomes a farce. "It's dangerous to consult mediums if one does not have enough knowledge to differentiate between real and false mediums. A fake medium is a con artist waiting to prey on the ignorant and the naive," he notes.

He thinks people do it out of fear born from incorrect religious knowledge, wrong understanding of the metaphysics, psychology and philosophy of religious teachings, and, worse of all, a lack of logical thinking.

The toddler's death is not an isolated incident where belief in the supernatural led to heartbreaking con sequences.

Early this year, two men lodged police reports against a woman medium, claiming that she made their family members join a cult and disown them.

The duo from South Seberang Prai claimed that the medium, said to be leading a cult that frowns on idols and ancestor worship, had allegedly turned children against their parents.

Chin believes there are many religious cults operating in Malaysia, mostly off-shoots of the world's five major religions - Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

"Among these mainstream' religions, there is sectarianism and sub-sectarianism. While many people objectively believed that sectarianism and sub-sectarianism breed cultism, its is, to my opinion, erroneous thinking.

"Sectarianism and sub-sectarianism happen simply because they have been founded to cater to the different mental dispositions and levels of wisdom of the followers. I wouldn't call it cult unless these groups exhibit violent and anti-social characteristics," he opines.

And it's not just in Malaysia that belief in the supernatural has continued to maintain an iron grip on society.

In Britain, the Guardian News & Media recently reported that belief in witchcraft is on the increase and many cases of "ritual abuse" have come under the radar of the authorities.

The British government has reportedly announced plans to tackle the "wall of silence" around the abuse and neglect of children accused of witchcraft after deadly exorcisms were conducted on Kristy Bamu in London two years ago.

Chin points to charismatic religious leaders who cannot abide by the recognised mainstream religious teachings, rules and regulations, as the direct cause of religious cultism.

These individuals set out to build their own group of followers with the aim of controlling the followers, dictatorship style.

"It's very difficult to define the term religious cultism simply because the lines of authenticity in religious activity is already blurred."

Chew says living in an Asian community where mediums are widely accepted, no one bats an eyelid when highly educated professionals consult mediums.

"People are genuinely curious about their future and are always finding ways to improve their luck in wealth, love and other aspects of their lives. I've visited a few mediums myself," she confesses.

"When I was still in school, my mum used to take me to mediums before major exams. Looking back, I am not sure whether all the burnt talisman I drank was just a placebo effect to boost my self-confidence," she muses.

Chew, however, believes that genuine mediums are not doing it for the money as they only charge a nominal fee or accept a token red packet. "They need to earn a living too so you can't expect them to help you for free.

"Good or genuine mediums will think about karmic repercussions before giving any advice to people who come to them for help," she adds. Chew notes that some even take on the role of a counsellor or psychiatrist, listening to people's problems.

Chew tells of a trip to consult a diviner who is supposedly accurate in card divination.

"One elderly lady took more than 45 minutes to ask trivial questions. Later, I found out that she visits the diviner almost daily as she is lonely and all of her children have grown up," Chew says.

Although she has not encountered spirits herself, the Buddhist woman is convinced of their existence. After her mother passed away, a relative took Chew to a medium who condu cted a seance. "We could ask wha tever we wanted.

What was amazing was that the words uttered were exactly what my mother would have said had she been alive. Even the manner in which it was spoken was similar," she recalls.

Asians still prefer consulting a medium or seeking divine help as it has been the norm over the ages, Chew observes. "There is no social stigma unlike seeing a psychiatrist."

 

[kongsimi]

Don't seek mediums unless you want to be defiled by them.