“In the middle of the night, my wife suddenly woke up from her deep sleep and started screaming. She spoke with a voice as heavy as a man’s. Sometimes she laughed loudly, sometimes she shed tears and mourned. When she gritted her teeth and shook her head, her heart trembled with shock. Seeing the messy hair and red eyes on his face, I was filled with fear.
“I have two children. The little ones. When they saw their mother in such a condition, they were scared. Run away from him. These innocent people do not know good and evil. Who knows how many more like this will be written in the fate of the children Horrible night. Pawan’s eyes filled with tears as he said these words.
This is not the story of Pawan alone, but the story of thousands of people who attend the Mehandipur Balaji temple in Dasa district of Rajasthan. Those people, their witchcraft, tantric spells, ghosts and all that ruined everything. But I believe that his welfare will come only if he applies to Balaji. That’s why complainants from all over come here every day with their pain.
Here, everyone has their own story and their own pain. Some said his wife was possessed by a demon, others said his sister was possessed by an evil spirit. Their suffering is difficult to understand from a scientific perspective. But pain is an emotional feeling. This cannot be known by observation. Here we talk to many unfortunate people and families like Pawan’s and try to understand the hidden pain within them.
Ramsiya is from Gorakhpur and lives here
At around 11 a.m., 40-year-old Ramsia was seen selling cucumbers from a cart not far from Balaji’s main building. Lose weight. Ramsiya came here from Gorakhpur about 8-9 months ago. Now, a compulsion binds them here. He said: “A crisis has brought me here. I am possessed by a ghost. Have horrible dreams. Spirits are visible. Fights happen. The wind from high above destroys everything. It is such a relief to be here , I am still alive. Who knows what will happen if I leave? At this point, Ramsia took a deep breath.
How do you know you are possessed by a demon?
“We have asked Pandit to complete the investigation. It turned out that the enemy possessed me. Since then, his health has been bad. The head remains heavy. Even medicines and pills have no effect. Now everything is in Balaji hands.
You were originally here to treat illnesses, so why did you start selling cars again?
“Sir, what is the forced sex? There is no charge for Balaji’s treatment. But accommodation and food have to be arranged. That’s why they sell food to fill their bellies. That’s how we make a living.
Are there any benefits to Balaji’s darshan and puja?
Absolutely! Things have changed a lot compared to before. So now I want to go back to China. From now on I will visit once a year. For the first time, a smile and hope of returning home appeared on Ramsia’s face. He further said: “I miss my family so much. Having three young kids. He also comes to mind.
Mehndipur Balaji Dham is home to three main deities. One of them is Balaji Maharaj himself, who is believed to have appeared here in an awakened state. The second one is Pretraj and the third one is Bhaironath. Whose home is in the mountains.
17 year old girl from Haryana
On this mountain we found a family with their 17-year-old daughter. The girl’s face was filled with innocence. Those eyes seemed to have been awake for months waiting for sleep. My daughter is in grade 11.
The girl’s mother told her: “Everything has been bad for the past three or four months.” She became very lethargic. The doctor said she would be fine. But the medicine had no effect. That’s why we brought you here. He said looking towards the court. She didn’t say a word in front of him. My daughter’s pain should not be the butt of laughter. Because of this fear, she rarely spoke and became silent.
A family member around 50 years old told us that people come from all over to seek relief from problems of upper castes, vashikaran, witchcraft and so on. Headaches, heaviness in the shoulders, and burning sensation in the eyes are all symptoms of breathing problems. Secondly, when the medicine starts to wear off, it becomes clear that this is a ghost and vampire thing.
Urmila of Kanpur
Urmila, 50, from Kanpur, told reporters that she and her husband have been coming here for 20 years. “I used to have dirty dreams. My health was very bad. There was a demonic influence on his head. When I started coming here, I felt relaxed. Since then, people come to visit once or twice a year times. Now I’m completely fine.
What symptoms did you have when you were sick? Did you see a doctor?
“Yes, we used to go to the doctor as soon as our health deteriorated. We had constant headaches. My shoulders were heavy. There was a burning sensation in my eyes. My whole body was itchy. Money was spent on medicine like water, kid. But there was no rest. Life changed when I came under my dad’s wing.
What do your neighbors or relatives say about your condition?
‘Who’s in trouble? Everyone is a mean friend. Neighbors don’t even drink the water at home. The relatives all turned away. He will neither attend any weddings nor invite anyone to his home. It seems that society has rejected him. Who will you complain to? Not a good time. remain silent.
Suddenly the tongue was blocked and the ghost was not even allowed to speak.
A woman who came here for treatment on condition of anonymity told reporters that one day a few years ago, her tongue suddenly stopped. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t get a word out. When he was unable to speak, he informed his family through gestures. Thereafter, a nearby baba performed exorcism treatment on him. She started talking again. That day was the beginning of all of these things.
One night, a few days after this incident, the woman felt something overpowering her body. My shoulders started to feel heavy. Have a severe headache. He then suffered a stroke. After the attack, he remained unconscious until he returned to normal. The family themselves later said she screamed loudly in a man’s voice.
She screamed, “We’re taking him with us.” The woman’s family were stunned when they saw what happened. Family members said that starting that night, the woman began to experience frequent ghost attacks. Once he had a seizure, his voice would suddenly change. The woman’s eyes will become red and no one in the family will dare to pick her up.
When she screams loudly, the hearts of the whole family tremble. When the family didn’t understand anything, they came to Mehndipur Balaji Dham for help. The woman told reporters that she had been coming here for several years and that her problems had been cured to a great extent.
Ghosts often ask for the paan in the middle of the night and threaten to take it away
A female resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district told reporters that a few days after her wedding in 2022, she passed by near Pir Dargah. The woman is wearing a red dress, like a new bride. There is a water tap near the Peer Dargah where her husband stops his bike to drink water. A few hours later, when the two returned home, everything changed.
The woman said she started feeling heavy in her shoulders after returning home. Have a severe headache. When the pain did not go away after taking medicine, she was looked down upon for being a new bride. Even taking my eyes away brought no relief. The brother who accompanied the slain woman told further stories.
He said: “The first day my sister was ill, she woke up around two o’clock in the middle of the night and sat quietly by the bed. She sat like this for a long time, and later her brother-in-law (husband) saw her, I immediately asked her why she was sitting like this and still up so late. After asking her several times, Didi looked at us with very scared eyes and started screaming.
The woman’s brother further said: “Hearing the screams, everyone sleeping in the house came to the room. He was shocked to see the bride there like this. When everyone surrounded Didi, she started to use two A different voice spoke. Didi started saying loudly that we liked it. After that, my sister asked her in-laws to bring the betel leaves.
The woman’s brother further said, “None of the noodle shops were open at night.” After that, the ghost who entered Didi asked for yellow ladoos from the family. Didi suddenly fell into coma after eating laddu. After that night, Didi’s health began to deteriorate. When her health deteriorated, she started eating paan. Then she herself would start crying after seeing the redness of her mouth caused by Paan.
The woman also said she experienced severe pain throughout her body when she regained consciousness. My whole body felt heavy. When this problem started persisting, he started coming to Mehndipur Balaji. Things are much better now. I just feel my shoulders are heavy and have a headache sometimes.
We heard many stories of people being tortured by ghosts or heights at the Mehandipur Balaji Temple. I saw their pain first hand. Now it’s time to understand the symptoms he describes from a scientific perspective. To this end, we spoke to Dr. Satyakant Trivedi, senior consultant psychiatrist at Bansal Hospital, Bhopal.
Do ghosts really take over people’s bodies?
Dr. Satyakanth said there is no scientific basis for things like ghosts, ghosts or spirits to enter the human body. It’s just a superstition. Science builds theories based on facts and arguments. There are no such things as ghosts and vampires in the scientific world. From a scientific point of view, there is no basis for seeing ghosts or entering the body in dreams.
In some cultures, people believe these things for generations. Scientifically it is called “culture-bound syndrome.” According to psychology, ghosts entering the body may be a symptom of a “dissociative disorder.” People feel like a soul has entered their body. or their activities are controlled by others. More or less similar symptoms can also be seen in “psychosis”.
Can a sudden change in voice, constant shaking of the head, or increased physical strength be called multiple personality disorder?
To this question, Dr. Satyakant says that all these can be symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (DID). Here one can live as a different person within oneself. You can experience them. Changes may also occur over time.
Some childhood trauma, mental conflict or some private truth that we cannot tell anyone could be the reason behind this. Science suggests that mental illness and sometimes even neurological disorders may be involved. But in this case there is no need to study “magical religious belief systems” anywhere. If such a problem arises, a mental health professional or neurologist should be consulted. So that these problems can be solved scientifically.
Those who say they are possessed by ghosts say headaches, fever and shoulder pain are common symptoms. No medicine works for anyone. What does science say?
Dr. Satyakanth said that in psychology, it falls under the category of “psychosymbolic disorders.” In this case, the stress or anxiety in our minds translates into physical symptoms. Because the physical symptoms here are linked to poor mental health. Therefore, even traditional medicines are ineffective. In this case, the patient begins to understand that the medication has no effect on his disease.
Humanity is gradually moving towards “magical religious healing”. This is wrong. In this case, you can seek help from a psychiatrist, counseling, or cognitive behavioral therapy. Here, the conflicts of the mind are scientifically understood and dealt with.
Why are most of the people who undergo treatment or exorcism at the Mehndipuri Balaji temple women? Mehandipur priest says women are spiritually weaker than men?
Dr. Satyakanth said that it is a very unscientific thing that women are psychologically weaker than men. Research shows that any type of mental illness can occur in both men and women. However, depression, anxiety, and dissociative disorders are more common in women. But the reasons behind this are more social.
Women feel suppressed in the family system we have here. They have few opportunities for free speech. Few people listened to him. Their opinions are rarely considered in financial or other matters at home. As a result, women face multiple conflicts and trauma. Therefore, they may have more problems, such as dissociative disorders.
If this is really a mental illness, then why do people go to religious places and claim there are no ghosts? How did this happen?
Dr. Satyakanth said the placebo effect comes into play when a person goes to a religious place or performs magical religious practices. In this case, the person will feel that his health is not good due to certain heights. There is something evil about him. And when he feels that he has been helped in a religious place, the patient’s faith in it has an immediate effect.
Therefore, we should stay away from superstition and go to mental health experts based on science.
