INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

Kuku ji’s guarding deity ‒ is installed on a shelf in front of the scripture just beside
the entrance. 707 To the right a framed and garlanded poster from Dehra Sahib is hung
up, portraying Vadbhag Singh and the significant sites at the pilgrimage centre. Below
the poster a photograph of Mata ji is placed on a small stool. During gatherings
such as on the full-moon day, Kuku ji usually sits on the floor below the portrait of
his mother. Devotees are continually entering the gurdwara to do the customary
matha tekna, present food-offerings, and then take the “dust” from the lower parts of
the pictures and touch the feet of Kuku ji.
At his practice at Paharia Kuku ji diagnoses and treats ill people with symptoms
of minor and major maladies. Visiting a healer (ojha) is often the last resort when no
other means prevails. Patients suffering from serious ailments and diseases may have
undergone unsuccessful medical treatments at different hospitals, while others have
been refused medical care before they end up at Paharia. The most common troubles
at Kuku ji’s practice today are “minor” physical pains, such as fever, headache, stomachache
and so on, but also troubles believed to be caused by spirits and the bad
effect of the evil eye.
Exorcists and healers may have working relationships with a repertory of deities
and deified beings for aid, permisson, and protection in their approaching tasks,
while most seem to chose a particular divinity to be the essential power behind the
work of casting out spirits. In the immediate situation of exorcism a standard prescription
in the repertoire of a healer are the use of mantras and articles charged with
spiritual power. 708 Being a Sikh operating in the tradition of Vadbhag Singh, Kuku ji
asserts it is primarily the power from Dehra Sahib, the mantra he received from Mata ji,
his devotion to God and continuous engagement in gurbani that maintain and make
his healing power effective. To sanction a healing enterprise Kuku ji says he first must
take permission from the highest God (Vahiguru). Before commencing any treatment
he simply shuts his eyes and performs a short simran, which in his view is an act of
complete surrender to the divine power. In a similar fashion he will also take permission
from Mata ji by keeping her in mind (dhyan lagana).
Kuku ji asserts that the blessing he received from Mata ji gave him sufficient
power to cure patients by the touch of his hands, however, only in combination with
the recitations of verses from Guru Granth Sahib. The significant instrument he uses
in the healing process is gurbani hymns, recited and transferred to different material
objects like water, fruits, and oils to be ingested. Clients with troubles in court cases,
for instance, he might advise to memorize particular verses from the Guru Granth
Sahib which they should remember during the court procedures. In case an unex-
707
Shiva, the lord of Ghosts and lord of Death in some of his manifestations, is Kuku ji’s personal
deity and his main protector. As he explained, Shiva is the God of Triloki ‒ the sky, the earth and
the underworld ‒ and can “cut off” all problems he confronts and the deity also “comes” to him
for protection. For a healer, labouring with a large number of spirits, it is considered essential to
have access to a protector deity, especially in cases where he has to transmit torments of clients
to his own body.
708
Coccari 1986, Dwyer 2003.
446
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008