Sanal Edamaruku head of the Indian Rationalists Accossiation challenges Pandit Surender Sharma a famous tantric holy man to kill him live on TV. Previously Pandit Surender Sharma had boasted that he could kill a man with his spirtual powers.

The TV station cancelled its regular shows to televise the challenge.

http://www.youtube.com/v/t9taL2vcOJ0&hl=en_GB&fs=1
Times article on the challenge:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7067989.ece

bullshido of religion, awesome

It would have been AWESOME if the guy suddenly turned red and collapsed, and then 30 secongs later gotten up saying "nah... just fucking with you."

After reading the article, I must say, major props to Sanal Edamaruku. Definitely the bullshido.net of religious debunking. The crap the poor guy probably has to deal with pales even the most hardened Ashida Kim and Matt Mortons, especially considering that those frauds are vehemently defended by entire provinces of gullible farmers and laborers.

Sucks to be the one to tell them that their Glorious Leader is a fraud.

laughing at magic nullifies it immediately. nobody told the 'victim,' i guess.

on the other hand, sitting and laughing while someone is making an earnest, if completely delusional, effort to kill you takes some balls. i think i woulda punched the old fucker.

That guy will die alright, they just didn't give it enough time. I give 10:1 odds that Sandal Edamaraku will be dead by 2050.

This guy is awesome. I wish we could get Mtripp to dish about more parlor tricks.

Can that guy be our new mascot? He's against bullshit, and I bet his php/asp/actionscript skills are top notch.

bad ass.


can anyone translate the guru's response? i really would love to hear how he rationalizes it.

I thought it was funny that the skeptic just stood there looking bored. Also, how long is it supposed to take to kill someone with your mind? I mean the guy could have fabricated a gun from scratch and killed him faster than this! If you like how this guy debunks people on the tube, you'll dig James Randi. He has plenty of videos up on youtube now.

I also find it amusing when people here say "he's the bullshido of religion" or something similar. As if someone took the critical eye we use on martial arts and applied it somewhere else, almost as if a novelty. Perhaps you are unaware that the skeptic/rationalist/whatever movement is quite large and encompasses all areas of nonsense, including martial arts magic. In other words, bullshido.net is part of a much larger community, even if the members here don't realize it. :)

It would have taken even less time to dissolve arsenic in water, slpash the water on the guy, and go on with the ceremony performing mystical hand movements until the guy croaks.

Well this guy does know how to trample babies anyway:
from: http://www.rationalistinternational.net/

INDIA: Murderous Blessings
A TV program with Sanal Edamaruku puts a stop to a crazy 'godman's' horrifying activities
http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/2010/20100222/images/20100222_1_1.jpg Though Katihar in east Bihar is proud on its Medical College, there are hundreds of people living in the nearby villages who would not seek modern medical treatment for their children when they fall ill. They submit them to a local 'godman' instead, who claims to have magic powers to cure anything from malaria to malnutrition. Baba Jamun Yadav made the poor and illiterate villagers believe that he was able to transfer divine energy through the soles of his feet to their ailing little children. And they allowed him to perform a barbaric ritual.
A camera team of the Indian TV channel Headlines Today caught horrifying scenes of the crazy baba trampling brutally on the tender bodies of hapless infants. He puts one foot with his full weight on their thighs and genitals, the other on their throat, muzzling their screams of deadly terror till they nearly suffocate.
This is nothing but child torture in the garb of religion. But nobody ever stopped the crazy 'holy man' – neither the gullible villagers, nor police and authorities. These cruelties are allegedly going on for some twenty years now. The perpetrator is even making a living out of them as the deluded villagers would shed away gifts and money for his 'blessings'. Nobody knows how many babies have suffered dangerous injuries and sooner or later died as a result of this 'treatment'. And nobody knows what deep psychological wounds and scars this haunting experience has caused in the survivors.
http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/2010/20100222/images/20100222_1_2.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBHTE8vVtps) Sanal Edamaruku on Headlines Today see an abbreviated version of the program (in English) on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/rationalists (http://www.youtube.com/rationalists) In a live program on Headlines Today, Sanal Edamaruku called for an immediate stop to this madness and for action against the 'godman'. He accused the authorities of tolerating these crimes in the name of religion for political expediency. During the program, pressed for a statement, the Health Minister of Bihar refused to take any action as tradition and religion were involved. Nikhil Chaudhary, member of Indian parliament (from the Hindu nationalist BJP), elected from Katihar where this happened, said: if people are benefited by this ritual they have the right to have it performed. He did not hesitate to defend this barbarism as a respectable part of the local tradition. So did the Shankaracharya swamy, spiritual head and chief priest of Kashi Sumeru peeth. Sanal Edamaruku urged him in the program, over telephone, to use his immense influence among believers and stop such dangerous superstitions.
The program made an enormous impact. After less than 24 hours, the godman was arrested for child torture.

Oops... sorry my earlier post was about the same skeptic, but a different "godman" I think. Sorry. Still props to this skeptic.

bad ass.


can anyone translate the guru's response? i really would love to hear how he rationalizes it.

From the website I quoted above:

When the guru’s initial efforts failed, he accused Mr Edamaruku of praying to gods to protect him. “No, I’m an atheist,” came the response. The holy man then said he needed to conduct a ritual that could only be done at night, outdoors, and after he had slept with a woman, drunk alcohol and rubbed himself in ash.
The men agreed to go to an outdoor studio that night — all to no avail. At midnight, the anchor declared the contest over. Reason had prevailed.

Is he really meant to be a Tantric practitioner or just some "holy" man?

Pandit Surender Sharma sells himself as a Tantric holy man

WTF does he actually believe in his powers? like seriously?

why not jus poison/shoot the guy and say your magic made it happen

..or better yet just stand on him like he's doin to those kids