Magicians from all over the world gathered in the city of Udupi, in southern India. Oddly enough, representatives of this amazing, if I may say so, profession also need to exchange experiences from time to time, discuss their needs and decide how to live on. Yes, it turns out that sorcerers also need such meetings!
However, the 80-year-old sorcerer Himself is married Lalnat Wadi has his own opinion on this.
“Are they wizards?” – he addresses the journalists who surrounded him. – Ordinary fakirs! They entertain people with old tricks and want to be paid money for it.
According to Samjunat, because of charlatans, it becomes not only difficult for real sorcerers to live, but also dangerous.
Recently, in the morgue of a hospital in Mysore (Karnataka), someone named Chand Baba tried to resurrect a man who died from a cobra bite. The relatives of the deceased gathered in the morgue, who watched in respectful silence as the sorceress, muttering spells, took a cobra out of the bag and tried to force her to suck the poison from the dead body. But the cobra remained deaf to Chand’s magical passes, she only tried to free herself from his tenacious hands, writhing terribly. In the end, Chand drove the snake back into the bag and told the audience that the doctors were to blame for everything: they did not allow the dead man to be taken to the forest, where the ritual should be performed, and in such conditions the cobra cannot work.
In the province of West Bengal, a man who called himself a sorcerer tried to heal a seven-year-old girl from fever with the help of a black magic session. Unfortunately, the baby was only getting worse, and then this man began to beat her with a stick to expel evil spirits from her. No wonder the girl died after that. The sorcerer managed to escape the wrath of the villagers by hiding in the forest.
But in the state of Assam, residents of one of the villages beheaded an entire family of five people: these people were suspected of sending deadly diseases to their neighbors. After the lynching, the peasants planted the severed heads on poles and went to the police to surrender to the authorities, shouting slogans against black magic along the way.
Of course, in conditions of distrust, it becomes more and more difficult for real sorcerers to work. But do they really exist, these real sorcerers, or are there only fakirs trying to earn at least a few rupees a day with their simple art, and obvious charlatans who, unable to do anything, take on everything?
Instead of answering this question, the old Samjunat suddenly says that he is ready to demonstrate his skills to the istam, although he usually does not do it for show. A bonfire is lit right on the street, and when it is almost burned out, the magician squats down and plunges his hands into the flickering coals up to his elbows. And what do you think – there was a smell of fried meat in the air? The hands of a mad (in European opinion) old man were covered with blisters? Nothing like that! Samjunat straightened up to his full height, and the doctors were able to make sure that he was not at all injured: the skin looked the same as before this dangerous experience. The audience could not restrain their applause, and then, emboldened by universal delight, the sorcerer demonstrated a truly amazing action, which, by the way, was described in her memoirs by H.P. Blavatsky at the time.
But, perhaps, the possibilities of the old sorcerer are exhausted by such, albeit very spectacular, but still tricks? What else can he do?
– A real sorcerer is friends with the spirits of the forest, water, earth, fire and air, – says Samjunat Lalnat.
– And some spirits are at his beck and call, serve him. Usually people come to me when someone in the family is sick, but there is no money for a doctor. I take it cheaper than I help a doctor more often.
– Have you probably heard how they tried to revive a dead man in Mysore? – the representative of the local newspaper addressed Samjunat. – They didn’t succeed. Could you create such a miracle?
– There is no miracle here. And a strong magician will easily wake up the dead. But is it necessary to do this? If a person has died, it means that he has already passed his way in this life and must be reborn in another, so there is no need to interfere with him.
It turns out that a sorcerer is a kind wizard who is concerned only with curing the sick, helping the weak, comforting the unfortunate. But there is also black magic that carries evil, right?
It turns out that it is impossible without it. Everything in the world is interconnected, and if there is good, then there must be its reverse side somewhere. Any self-respecting sorcerer can, for example, bring a person to ruin and even bring him to the grave. But not everyone will agree to do this.
Samjunat said that there are special spells that send misfortunes, illness or death of the victim. And cursing is the most dangerous form of magic. He is usually sent when someone needs to be punished, to take revenge on someone. The curse can “work” instantly or manifest itself slowly, gradually. A sorcerer is able to curse not only one person, but also an entire family for many generations.
“Anyone can cast a curse,” the old sorcerer explains. – But the most terrible curse is usually sent by a strong magician. If he is on his deathbed at the same time, then it is impossible to resist his charms. Curses that are pronounced at death have a special energy. If the victim knows that she has been cursed, then she is simply doomed to death, she brings it closer against her will.
Actually, Samjunat does not like to talk about black magic, prefers not to resort to it, but sometimes it still has to be done. In such cases, he uses a clay or wooden figurine, and sometimes a rag doll personifying the victim. Well, if you manage to get a lock of the victim’s hair or her nails, even the dust from her soles fits. Saying the spell, the doll is thrown into the fire. At this moment, the one who is cursed begins to experience terrible torments, and when the fire burns out, he dies.
But evil can be resisted, – seeing the confusion in the ranks of the Ists, says Samjunat. – You can buy amulets from me. These are small figures of people and animals. I carved them out of wood myself and smeared them with lizard blood. They are able to repel any curse.
Seeing the pleasure with which the istas disassemble the simple amulets of the Samjunate, we sadly thought that nowadays magic and commerce seem to be inseparable. And how else?
