Chapter 5
Deities and Gurus in the Hills
The hill areas of Himachal Pradesh in India abound in village and clan deities.The temples housing these deities are tended by priests who are, in most cases, mediums for the spirits they worship,in addition to which they act as gurus or guides to the local population.Any kind of mundane problem is taken to them at all hours of the day and night, alongwith the appropriate fee,whereupon the spirit of the local deity enters their body and they begin answerring the questions put to them.Men and women bow to them again and again,ask for forgiveness for their past sins and guidance for the future.
On one occassion, I arrived at a remote village which is about 14,000feet above sea level and depends mostly on sheep farming for its livelihood.The villagers grew barley and a few potatoes,assisted by an abundant supply of water,and although they were very poor,they had a magnificent temple to a “Naag” or cobra deity.On the day of my arrival, there was a festival and the image of the deity was to be taken out in a palanquin supported by two strong thick bamboo held by eight men.The image itself could not weighed more than ten kilos, and I therefore could not understand why eight men were needed to support it.They explaineed.”When the deity enters the image in accordance with their prayers,it grows very heavy and starts swinging on its own accord.This swing is so strong that eight men can hardly support the deity as it moves in this weird fashion”. I was introduced to the priest, and the village elders asked me if I would like to question the deity,at a price. As I was keen to see the whole process, I agreed.
The deity was brought out of the temple with traditional respect and put in the palanquin.Eight strudy men had volunteered to carry it and the torch-lit procession moved off through the village with all the villagers following behind.It was an impressive sight.
I remained in attendance, close to the priest.Soon after the march commenced, the palanquin began to jerk,first slowly,then vigorously. I felt the bamboo pole to test the strength of the swing;it was in fact,very powerful.I did not think I could control this swing movement; at first, I thought the bamboo poles were the cause.But the bamboos could not by themselves have made the palanquin swing from side to side in such a pronounced manner. At this moment, I noticed that the priest was getting into some kind of fit and the village headman started imploring the deity in him to speak out.My questions were put to this pandit, who was now in some sort of trance, and he answered most of them vaguely.To me, even the trance appeared unreal.On further pleading by the village headman, the pandit or rather the spirit occupying the pandit’s body, asked me to make a representation on behalf of the village to the central government, of which I was a high official. This I did, as I had promised though, to what effect, I do not know.
I noticed that the villagers were superstitious and this kind of deity worship had contributed nothing but fear to their lives.Fear of the unknown makes men hesitant to take any initiative in their lives. The pandit had made himself all-powerful and an object of fear, and never before had I come across such spiritual degradation.Spiritual life should always be elevating, and should eradicate fear and make people self-reliant.It is better for a man to be a non-believer than to have a belief which cripples him and turns him into a beggar.
Tags: Deities, spiritual degradation, superstitious villagers, trance
