IT is now public knowledge that a Pandit has been charged with a sexually related offence. Over the years there have been many such cases, but only a few have reached the court. As I am typing this letter, I am in receipt of a report of another Pandit being accused of making sexual advances to a female. It is understood that the Pandit has since fled the country.

An examination of these cases will reveal that all such offences take place whenever persons go to the Pandit to ‘open book’ or to have a ‘read’ from the ‘Patra’. It always amazes me that Hindus, especially the women, believe that there is such a book (Patra) which has records of their problems as well as the cure. From my experience, Hindu women are very gullible; the more you fool them, the more they believe, Pandits take undue advantage of the situation; they tell them what they want to hear, the weirder, the better. The irony of it is whenever a Pandit or members of his family become ill, they visit the doctor. He does not ‘open book’.

The Patra is not a ‘magic’ book. It is a calendar of events and is issued yearly. The calendar that Hindu purchase every year has been made from information extracted from the Patra. The Patra has the name of the Hindu year; the commencement of each fortnight; the position of the sun, moon and zodiac signs; the dates for religious observances; auspicious dates and time for commencing projects. It is also used to determine the birth sign and name of a child.

The Patra does not give even a clue regarding the nature or cause of a person’s problems or illness, or the cure thereof. If that were the case, the Pandit’s place would be better served in our hospitals. It cannot say who has stolen your valuable possessions. If that was so, all cases of larcenies and missing-persons would have been easily solved. The Patra has nothing whatsoever to indicate whether a person or his/her home is possessed by evil spirit or not. The Hindu public needs to be protected from unscrupulous Pandits.

Our illness and problems are most times of our own making – our eating habits, or spending habits, our working habits, or sleeping habits, our ‘playing’ habits, our praying habits – in other words, our general lifestyle. Most of our illnesses are stress related and of a medical nature and therefore explainable. An unhealthy lifestyle can result in obesity, hypertension, diabetes, ulcer, cirrhosis, arteriosclerosis, etc. ‘Things’ do not just happen; they are caused. Women for example go through different ‘moods’ every month due to changes in their body cycle. Also, many are not aware of the symptoms of the pre-menopause and post-menopause periods, thereby wrongfully attributing their ‘unexplainable’ feelings to some strange illnesses or unseen power or even blaming other persons.

No doubt, there are some unavoidable hereditary health problems, but with proper counselling, they can be controlled. A healthy lifestyle can prevent many heart aches. ‘Prevention is better than cure’. People allow themselves to get sick and then visit the doctor, who can only bring temporary relief in most cases. Then they go to the Pandit who recommends ‘this and that work’, according to his mood. The Hindu public needs to be educated, and the Pandit should be trained to provide counselling services as well, instead of ‘playing doctor’ and ‘psychic’.

The million dollar question is: “Who is in charge o the Pandit?” Simply, no one. The Pandit is answerable to none. Who can become a Pandit? Anyone. How does anyone become a Pandit? Anyhow. The entire Hindu priesthood is unregulated and very much disorganised.

Training in the lore of Hinduism ought to be the prerequisite before any one can be appointed a Pandit. Like the doctor, who looks after the physical health of the nation, the Pandit looks after the spiritual health of his charge. The state protects the health of the nation by only allowing those who have satisfactorily completed a course of study in medicine to practice. Likewise, the Hindu public ought to be protected by some authority by instituting such measures whereby only competent persons are appointed Pandits. From a representative sample I estimate that 90 per cent of Pandits perform way below average. The Gita says: “That worship where no sacred verses are read brings deleterious results.” “No sacred verses” will also include inappropriate verses, as well as verses incorrectly read. No wonder Hindus are always experiencing difficulties. But there exists no mechanism to compel a Pandit to submit himself for training. I suggest an oversight body be set up with the following functions.
1. Train, certify and appoint Pandits
2. Draft a code of conduct for Pandits
3. Monitor their performance and exercise sanctions against erring Pandits
4. Maintain a register of Pandits
Pandits must become accountable. They are not private individuals, but public servants.
PANDIT R. BALBADAR