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HomeIndiaWary of ghosts on TikTok, Instagram? This DU graduate 'treats' people possessed...

Wary of ghosts on TikTok, Instagram? This DU graduate ‘treats’ people possessed by spirits

Known popularly as Manu bhaiya, this 42-year-old godman has a huge fan following on social media and a large population of women visitors come to him for 'treatment'.

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New Delhi: It was mid-afternoon and the road to Chhawla village in southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh was choc-a-bloc with vehicles hired by visitors from Rajasthan, Haryana and  other neighbouring states to come to a ‘Shani Dham’ (holy place) nestled inside the quaint hamlet.

The dham itself is a huge pandal erected on a plot of land. Outside its boundary walls, some 300 people were huddled under tarpaulin sheets. These visitors were waiting to seek the blessings of 42-year-old Manu, a self-styled godman-cum-exorcist who claims to ‘treat’ people possessed by ghosts or spirits.

The pandal is adorned with images of Hindu goddess Durga, Jesus Christ, photographs of Sikh gurus and Muslim shrines. “Just as there is no one god for all, ghosts also don’t distinguish people on the basis of religion,” Manu told ThePrint.

Shiv Dham
Inside the pandal of Shiv Dham | ThePrint Photo| Manisha Mondal

Known popularly as Manu bhaiya, this science and commerce graduate from Delhi University isn’t any ordinary exorcist.

Unlike other self-styled spiritual gurus or godmen, he has a large fan following on social media — 1,276 followers on Instagram, his YouTube channel Shani Dham Manu Bhaiya has over 1,400 videos and 663 fans on Facebook.

Manu also doesn’t fashion himself as a traditional baba or godmen. “I am like a brother to all those haunted by ghosts and spirits. That’s why my name is Manu bhaiya and not Manu baba. My efforts at warding off evil spirits are a kind of prayer and social service to people,” he said.

To keep up with his ‘modern’ appearance, Manu doesn’t sport a long beard or wear saffron-coloured robes. He simply dons a kurta-pajama and keeps finely-styled hair.

For this modern-day godman, it wasn’t unusual if a ghost or spirit took to Instagram or TikTok to influence the number of likes on a particular post.

“If someone dies while doing a TikTok video it is only natural that her or his spirit talks about the social media app only. You will not believe me but a spirit, which had seized control of a Haryana girl’s body turned out to be a big Justine Bieber fan,” he said.


Also read: Interpol issues Blue Corner Notice seeking information about fugitive ‘godman’ Nithyanand


From a YouTube channel to opening a Shani Dham

Manu lives in a house that is situated a short distance away from the dham, with his wife and children.

Talking about his transformation as a godman, he said, “I studied at Delhi University with science and commerce as subjects. Sometime in 2004, I had a sudden enlightenment about my inner wisdom. I have since practiced meditation continuously and have done penance for 40 days on many occasions. I began serving people just four years ago, in 2016.”

He started a YouTube channel on “curing” people from ghosts in 2013 and eventually rented a piece of land in Chhawla village to establish the Shani Dham in 2016.

Ravi, a 33-year-old from Maharashtra, who has been “bringing hundreds of people” to the dham for the past three years said he first spotted Manu’s YouTube channel while “searching for ghosts on the internet” in 2017.

Rajabala, a 52-year-old woman from Hisar in Haryana, was similarly brought to the dham by her son (who did not wish to be identified) who came to know about Manu via YouTube. Rajabala was seeking cure for pain in her hands.

The dham’s website says apart from treating people possessed by ghosts or spirits, Manu also cures ailments related to the eyes and skin, asthma as well as pain in the foot, back or spinal cord. Pain, it says, are a result of “negative energy” and can be treated by spells that are used to rid spirits.

Most people who came from states such as Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar and Haryana sought cure for ailments such as pain in hands and feet, restlessness or infertility.

Shani Dham
Visitors at the Shami Dham | ThePrint Photo | Manisha Mondal

Also read: Why godmen seem to get away with murder in Punjab and Haryana


‘Ghosts cause pain, seizures’

Around 80 per cent of visitors to Manu’s dham were women, many of whom believed that the ailments they were suffering from was because they were possessed by ghosts or spirits.

Sunita, a 25-year-old woman from Rajasthan, said, “I started suffering from nausea around two years ago. Be it day or night, the spirit or ghost would overtake me at any point of time.”

Shani Dham
Sunita who had come from Rajasthan to visit the Shani Dham | ThePrint Photo | Manisha Mondal

For many others again, visiting the dham was compelled by superstitions their family believed in. A youth from Punjab, who came for his mother’s treatment, said, “My mother had seen his videos on the internet. I have brought her here just to clear her misgivings.”

Manu, however, said, “Ghosts prefer to reside inside women’s bodies. If a woman suffers pain below her navel or feels discomfort while urinating, it is indicative of being haunted by ghosts. Severe pain in hands and feet, black spots on the body following seizures, restlessness etc. are signs that a ghost has been inhabiting inside her body.”

In a video on his YouTube channel, Manu can be seen talking to a minor girl who is allegedly possessed by a ghost. She can be heard saying: “I do reside in her body but I am also a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. That is why I never went below her navel.”

Delhi-based gynaecologist Dr Punit Bedi blamed deficient food intake in women and lack of awareness on issues surrounding mental health.

“Many women lack nutrition in their daily food intake. Moreover, societal norms tend to suppress mental health issues. Women in the age groups of 30-35 and 50-55 often suffer from depression-related illnesses. Severe cases of clinical depression are also observed in many instances but these often remain unattended,” he said.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, between 2001 and 2014, 2,290 women were murdered after being branded witches.


Also read: Kalki Bhagavan, guru who started as LIC clerk & now has ‘undisclosed income’ of Rs 500 cr


Thousands spent in havans everyday

Manu insisted that he did not “use social media” to promote his dham. “Anyone can shoot a video here and talk about it. I cannot restrict that.”

One of his associates, who did not wish to be named, however said, “Four to five videos are uploaded on YouTube every day and Manu bhaiya personally approves them.”

The dham remains open for followers from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm and about 80-100 people stay here each night. On Saturdays, the crowd swells to thousands.

While Manu claimed that everything was “free of cost” in his dham, apart from the langar and dirty bed sheet-blankets, everything else came with a price.

People pay for a havan which is performed as part of the ritual to ward off evil spirits. A normal ‘havan kit’, consisting of a coconut and other small items for prayer costs Rs 500.

The youth from Punjab, who has been quoted earlier, said, “By forcing people to buy havan material on 10 to 20 occasions is like turning them into permanent customers. This is the kind of genesis that is needed to build an empire like Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh did.”

He also spoke about a poster opposite the ‘havan kund’ where details of Manu’s bank account has been mentioned for people to deposit money.

A married, childless couple from Giridih in Jharkhand, who did not wish to be named, said they had to deduct a large portion of their monthly budget for ration to visit the dham. It was their last resort to having a child, they said.


Also read: Basava Premanand, the godman buster who challenged Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi


 

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