[VoxSpace Exclusive] Cult Part One : The Most Horrifying Practices Within The Cults Of Hyderabad

Editor’s Note

What is a Cult? The definition most people know is that Cult, is a gathering of people who look to celebrate and propagate a fixed idea of spirituality or belief. Although that is true, Cults today mean a whole lot of different things for the society. The feature that you are about to read consists of five different cults (Three in Part One and Two in Part Two), which are headed and attended by people of prominence within the society we live in. The more you read about these Cults, you will understand that these groups/collectives have been and are resorting to means of propagation which are miles away from peaceful propaganda. Cults were historically founded to defy the existing position of religious and political beliefs and sought to bring out a more inspiring change. Illuminati was perhaps the most famous Cult, as it had members like Galileo Galilei, and it saught worldly development. From that to becoming groups which prosper in despicable violence and horrifying experiences, Cults have come a long way.

What you are about to read below are practices of Cults within the city, which are highly disturbing and incredibly gory. We have collected documentary evidence for the same, as some of our writers have joined these Cults in middle of 2016. The article is based purely on the basis of their findings. The incidents reported have been verified for authenticity and concerned authorities have already been intimated for the due course of action.

Proceed with caution. All the views expressed in this articles regarding religion, humanity, traditions, rituals and more, have all been communicated to the participants and are not ours in any manner whatsoever.

Not Suitable for Young Readers And Impressionable Minds.

CULT ONE – Jeevan Utheja Happiness Home – Balanagar, Hyderabad (Inputs By Mr.FOX)

‘Just slightly cut it’ The Yaprona says, almost in a whisper. The smell of incense sticks is already making everyone dizzy enough to actually focus on what he is saying. But that’s thing, he always says, Humans hear more when someone whispers something because then they want to hear it. That holds true, as each of us is holding a calm pigeon in our hands.

Namm Kaalina Namm Tharika Namm Lopidha kera

The chants begin. Forty-two voices, whispering the same chant of wellness and joy, over and over again. The hysteria gets to me, and the blade goes skin deep, and I feel the warmth of the bird’s blood dripping onto my hand.

Namm Kaalina Namm Tharika Namm Lopidha kera

The pigeon tries hard to flap its wings, but the life slowly drips out. I look around and see my fellow Jeeva’s squeezing the bird, from the lower part of its neck. The blood comes out to a flow, when you squeeze the neck, from the base to the top.

Namm Kaalina Namm Tharika Namm Lopidha kera

And we lift the pigeon up and bring its neck, the place where we’ve cut the vein, to our lips. The pungent sour blood touches the tongue. And supposedly the evil curses residing in my body will get dissolved in the blood, flowing from the bird’s neck into mine.

Introduction To Jeevan Utheja

This is August 2016, and here I am in the industrial part of Hyderabad, known as Balanagar. Behind the HAL quarters, there is a ten-year-old collective called as Jeevan Utheja. I am meeting one Jeeva (participant from the collective), here at the bus stop, who will in the next hour or so, join me in the Jeevan Utheja. This Jeeva is someone I know as a friend of a friend, and he claims that all the sadness in my life is because I am not worshipping my soul. He believes in Yaprona (the leader of this collective) when he says, Be Naked, Be Sure, Be Happy. Initially, when I thought of this, I was reminded of the naked cult of Osho in Pune. But more I got to know about this cult, I knew it was soon becoming my matter of interest. I had to cover this. And therefore, I led enough hints with the Jeeva , letting him know that I wanted to get into this Cult as well. And once some asks, these Jeeva’s aren’t supposed to say no. People in this Cult (as many following) genuinely believe that the Yaprona has attained a pathway to Godly power, Yaprokum. And Yaprona welcomes everyone.

In the next ten minutes or so, I meet another Jeeva, who wants to see if “I’m Fit” to come in. Once I pass in, I get the audience of the Holy Yaprona. The Yaprona, a middle-aged man with red streaks in his hair, greets me with a warm smile. He holds my hands, and intertwines his fingers with mine, and looks straight and deep into my eyes. He doesn’t utter a word for a minute and just stares blankly at me. Then he says ‘Hello’, and leaves my hand. I later understand that, within the confines of this cult, there is no consideration of gender. And you talk only when you are holding hands, be it a man or a woman. After attending Jeevan Utheja sessions (lasting from 12 AM to 3 AM) every Friday for three weeks, I was finally taken in as a Jeeva.

Below are a few teachings of Yaprona which may give you a little insight of what the cult stands for.

9th September 2016

“……..when we look to us, we own nothing, isn’t it? We are here because we are not sad but unhappy. What is the difference between Sad and Unhappy? Anyone? Ok, when we are Sad, we are also helpless. Helpless is a weakness, not from outside, but from inside. This weakness we show and we are judged. Unhappy means we are not joyful, isn’t it? We are lacking the happiness; in what we do. Then we are unhappy. But Jeeva what is more dangerous and how do I identify when I am unhappy and when I am sad. Means, can I do it? Yes. Of course, you can. When you wake up you feel nothing is right with you. You are in a job, which looks and feels good, but you are not happy, isn’t it? You will leave it, if the situations are good. But you can’t, no? You are having a beautiful wife, she is rich also, but when you are sleeping with her, you don’t feel love towards her. Why? You should be happy. But you aren’t. That is being Unhappy. And I will tell you Jeeva, that is more important and dangerous to our health.”

21st October 2016

“……..God is bullshit. What is God? Who is God? Jeeva have you seen God. God is in energy in us. Touch yourself now. Masturbate here, and in the last second, before you ejaculate your semen, you will feel strangeness in your body. Your mind is not at this plain, Jeeva! Your mind and Body come to a perfect sync while you spurt out your semen. Means, we are going someplace, isn’t it?  If we are someplace else, we cannot be here. Logic. For two or three seconds, we are not here. So we are capable, no doubt, to go to Uromi (the new world). We are not Aware of the pathway, only that is the problem. When we are aware, we don’t have to care for this world. Now let us get into Mokaram (a naked huddle we are to do every day, where you touch the penis or place your hand on the vagina of the person standing to your immediate right). Jeeva, let us transport and see what the new world is. I will show you Uromi, in your mind’s eye. Let us start”

The process of awakening to Uromi every day is basically helping the fellow Jeeva come to the point of ejaculation while standing, as he/she keeps on chanting a mantra. You keep rubbing his dick, or insert your fingers into the Vagina and flick, till the Jeeva stops the chant when he/she can’t take it anymore. I had to jerk off into a new palm every week for 7 months. I’m not Awakened…… I’m Ashamed.

The ideology of Jeevan Utheja is that we have been placed on Earth by formless and nameless entities which are punishing us. Their belief comes from the fact that, Entities have made us blind. What if, we are the Aliens (and therefore we can’t find any others in the universe). It is a similar concept taken up by western cults as well. Jeevan Utheja is built on the foundation that, once we tap into our inner goodness, we will be able to see these Entities. Until then we are Blind, and all we can see when we look up into the sky is Stars and Moon.

Relief Techniques:

A few rituals which are supposed to bring the Awakening are,

Recipe For Eternal Happiness:

Extract a virgin’s fluid (vaginal discharge) before she hits her monthly menstrual cycle. Infuse honey and milk, and drop Cloves and Garlic into the mixture. Let the mixture stay for three hours. Later gulp it down in one go.

Recipe For Revenge/ Anger Transfer:

Recite a mantra ‘Nijori Kimlon Nam Horalmi” thousand times over the night, and after such recital, pluck three strands of your hair, and place them in your targets belongings. In one week, the effects should show.

Recipe For Substance Addiction/Cleansing Of Bad Influences:

A fresh pigeon of not more than 20 days old. Suck the warm blood out of its neck, while chanting “Namm Kaalina Namm Tharika Namm Lopidha kera”. In one day, you will see that you are effective and positive.

Let us again affirm one thing very clearly. These things are just a few of the ignorant and atrocious practices/rituals Jeevan Utheja has. These mean nothing and are not in any way effective at all. It is advised not to believe in them, and only consider them as part of an academic research.

CULT TWO – Shanroo Idealistic Society, Attapur, Hyderabad (Inputs By Shalini Gupta)

When I first met my friend, who was suddenly seeming happier than usual, I thought that her recent affair was truly working out. In days to come, she revealed to me that Shanroo Idealistic Society was the reason behind her upbeat attitude (although she dropped out after three sessions). The first thing I asked her was whether it was a Cult of sorts. She plainly defied it. She said it was a Yoga & Wellness centre at the far end of Attapur. She said I should try it too, as it has nothing to do with any religion or caste or creed. It is a just a harmless group of people, sitting and discussing their stories and finding a solution. You know, more like a Group Therapy.

I didn’t pay it much heed. But when you are thrown out of your Job unceremoniously, you start skipping your EMI’s and your boyfriend starts connecting your present sexual adventurism to what you may have done with your Ex’s, you start getting more receptive to these thoughts. Shanroo Idealistic Society seemed harmless. And when I finally walked out of Shanroo, ten months later, one thing was sure. I had stopped believing in my abilities entirely. Today I’m recovering both psychologically and financially, but those horrifying nights I spent in Shanroo, still haunt me as recurring nightmares.

When I was asked by Mr Fox to share my experiences, I seriously didn’t know where to start. He helped me out with the thought process, in constructing a stepwise encounter, which worked out for a bit, but then the thing is – I can’t recall what actually happened and when. The order of events is all mixed up. Only memories are there, but not the incidents in their actual occurring. I remember the first two weeks vividly. We were introduced to the ranks of participants. There were around fifty people enrolled in it. Most of them employees of my age, a considerable number of teachers, and a few politicians as well. Initial sessions were all about, Yogic stances, and the importance of Ancient scriptures for our understanding. Our teacher, Mr Lamba, was a well-renowned physician in the city, who gave up on his practice and took up this collective.

The Reclaiming Practises Through Your Grief

The main doctrines which we were explained were – ReBirth, ReLive, ReGain. Those I understood clearly, as that’s what, coming from a Hindu household, I was taught in my childhood as well. But then came the other three important doctrines – ReMorse, ReFuse and ReClaim.

Mr Lamba would start the session at 8 PM every week. There was no particular day as such. The organisers would send a text via SMS/Whatsapp of the next session. After a month of going there, the participants were made to sit in a big circle. Mr Lamba walked to the centre of the circle and spoke about Empathy and Sympathy. ReMorse. After he was done, an old lady, who was draped in just a yellow sari with no blouse underneath, walked to the centre and sat there cross-legged. Once she had a good look at everyone, we noticed tears in her eyes. In the rapid few moments, she started crying. She cried and cried, till she started wailing, beating her head with her hands. Weeping so much that it started affecting us. Some of the fellows around me, already started crying, because of it. Some were scared to death. And some, including me, just stared at her, left confused as to what was happening. Mr Lamba spoke from behind us and said that one by one, we all should go to this lady, and do as she said. She kept wailing at the top of her voice. The pitch of her voice would drive anyone insane, but there was something tragic about it too. ReFuse our singular suffering was the idea here.

And so, one by one people went to meet her in the middle. She would hold hands for some and look at them as though she was weeping for something tragic that happened in the participant’s life. She would ask you what your biggest loss was. I for one replied losing My Father three years back was. Then she asked his name and cried like anything. She would touch my cheeks, and hair, as if she was my mother, and wept. And that brought back my memories of him, and the maniacal lady made me remember all my grief and pain that I had locked up inside of me. And before I knew, I was hugging her and crying. I remember when I got away from her after twenty minutes, I had never felt so dizzy and relieved at the same time. That was perhaps my mistake. The Holy Milk they gave us right after, made us laugh our way into the night. Suddenly, the world seemed a much happier place. The only catch was that the effect would wear off in a day or two, and later onwards, you would crave to go back and have a few laughs. ReClaim our happiness.

The next sessions are all a blur. I remember we were given Holy Milk as soon as we arrived. We laughed and hopped around (my feet had literal blisters when I woke up the next morning). Teachings would go on. We were asked for a fee of thirty thousand, after seven sessions. No one thought a second before paying that. After all, this was our paradise.

Then, I was Raped.

Does Any God Demand My Body?

In one of the sessions, after having the Milk, Mr Lamba called me into his prayer hall. He was naked. And when I walked in, I was a bit startled about his appearance, but somehow it didn’t feel out of the place. The Milk had made everything seem good. He quickly unbuttoned my pant and asked me to lay down on the floor. I remember still wearing my top. He never touched my upper body. He crouched over me and thrust his dick furiously inside. In sessions to come, although I had vivid dreams of this occurring time and again, I was helpless. In my mind, it was just a small thing. No one would know. I would be happy. That’s all that mattered. Slowly, Mr Lamba, gave way to many other men, most of them many years older to me.

Thankfully, a month later, I was called back to Bangalore, as my mother had fallen sick. I had to stay away from Shanroo for three months. That sort of recovered what was left of me. I realised that if I had to stay away from Shanroo, I had to stay away from the city itself. I managed to find a job in Koramangala, and I’m content with my life now. I met Mr Fox there, and have been friends with him ever since. I just hope no one else goes through my torture ever again.

In our research, we found out that the Milk (that Ms Shalini refers to here), was a combination of Scopolamine and Flakka. One causes blurred memories and leads to zero control over motor movements. The other gives you incredible high and hallucinations. The lawyer representing Mr Lamba in the case against Shanroo Society defends the case by owing the Rape to a narcotics caused Hallucination. We are still awaiting the verdict, as we unequivocally support Ms Shalini in her pursuit to seek justice.

CULT THREE: Mohanamma Thanda, Hyderabad (Inputs By Shankar Sudarshan)

Before I start with my findings, I would like to Thank, Mr Fox, and VoxSpace for giving me the opportunity to bring out the story. This is an important story that the society needs to know. I would also like to tell you that, this compilation of works, was not picked up by seven different Television news channels, and more than ten mainstream newspapers. Most of these platforms say that they can’t run it because they don’t want to get into any trouble with this particular group of people. Group of people. Well, I don’t know if I can call them that. You won’t call them that when you read the following. The group of Eunuchs who are holding a curse over the welfare of this city. This story is about one of their religious cults, based across the city called Mohanamma Thanda (The Tribe of Mohana Mother)

Part One – Biranpalle, Warangal, 1926

There was a storm in this year, it is believed. The calamity with it took away all the crops and washed off the paddy fields. Then the local panchayat sat together and discussed all the alternatives which could be done to recover the loss. Fields and Cattle were almost gone. While the elders of the village sat down to arrive at a solution to save what was left, there came an old lady from a small tribal village nearby. She stood before the elders, with a staff in her hand, and proclaimed that she could stop the rains from damaging their village further on. In return, she was to be given only one child between the ages of seven to eleven months. Once she had the baby, and when she would step outside the village outskirts (where the banyan tree was) she wouldn’t come again. The elders shooed her away.

But the rains became worse. Thunderstorms hit the village, and this time uprooted huts and even cholera started to spread, causing many lives to be lost. In a fit of desperation, the Sarpanch called for this Old lady, from the Tribe nearby. After much persuasion, she came back to the village and agreed to help the villagers. She made seven hundred dolls, one for each villager, and sat in an empty hut. There she prayed and prayed till the dawn. By the next morning, the rains stopped. The old lady had kept her end of the promise. And as promised she now demanded a child to be given to her. The question was who? Which parent would be brave enough to give up their child for the greater good?

Then the villagers hatched a plan to avoid the bargain altogether. They prepared a clay structure, in the shape of a baby. They draped the clay baby in silken clothes and had one of the women, carry it to the border of the village. On the outskirts of the village, near the Banyan tree, the woman placed the clay baby within a basket, which was handed over to the Old Lady. The Old lady picked it up and walked beyond the tree. However, to her shock, she realised as she entered the forest, that she had been duped. She couldn’t go back because of the promise.

So then she vowed that her progeny would seek revenge. She was Mohanamma. She started the Tribe. This story becomes the basis of Hyderabad’s most notorious Infant Kidnapping Cult – “Mohanamma Thanda”

Part Two – The Woman of The Night And The Blood On The Doors, 2003/05

People in Hyderabad may have heard of this scary urban legend, which went by the name “Oo Sthree Repu Ra” (Oh, Woman Come Tomorrow). In areas like Izzat Nagar, Borabanda, Nizampet, and Madinaguda, somewhere in the winter, reports started flowing all over that, people were sighting a lady clad in a red sari, and a face covered in turmeric walking the lanes at midnight. The lady was claimed to be standing outside their door and windows every night. Only a handful of people in the city know the actual truth behind this urban legend. And unanimously it is agreed that this is the work of “Mohanamma Thanda” the cult of Eunuchs spreading unspeakable fear amongst the residents.

In 2003, I was working as a senior journalist with a reputed newspaper in the city. This Urban Legend had caught the fancy of many gossip mongers. The Woman in the red sari, was anything from a revenge-seeking widow, to a publicity stunt by a filmmaker, and even a Goddess who was supposed to roam about the roads for her bridegroom (as per the prophecy). It was at this time, that we took the help of the Local Police, and undertook a joint operation to expose the actual truth. In a well-planned operation, we set up traps across the city, for these imposters. I remember the descriptions that we used to receive. And the rumours which started from simple precautions to avoid her wrath went as far as sacrificial rituals to ward off this Sthree (woman).

During one of these days, as the whole frenzy reached its peak, we received a phone call from a person running a coin Box, in Borabanda. He claimed that Buffaloes in a herd of seven were being directed to enter a shed near Qassim furniture, for sacrificial slaughter. The SI passed on the information to us, (but was explicitly ordered not to enter this area, and spark any communal riots). Three journalists from different newspapers and I went to the said address. It was indeed true.

On December 21, 2003, seven buffaloes were sacrificed to the unknown deity, and their heads placed at the doors of seven prominent people within the area. All the surrounding houses were advised that if they could mark their doors with the blood of the sacrificed Buffaloes, a simple mark of X, and hang a small pocket of Garlic, the Sthree would not visit them ever again.

In the next few nights, this practice spread across the city like wildfire. And people being creative as it is, made the X into something more meaningful. A simple command as such, which directly addressed the Sthree. The command which said – Oh Sthree Repu Ra (Oh Woman, Come Tomorrow). A few believers validated the working of this ritual by claiming that Sthree had indeed left them alone. In uncontrollable madness, a small glimmer of hope is all we need isn’t it? And thus, the Urban legend and its equally atrocious solution spread across the districts of Adilabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Mahabubabad, and much more. But was this the whole story? Certainly not!

When we reached out to the concerned SI (A.Raju) for a comment on the incident, he denied talking anything on record. However, he did agree to a few pointers as expressed by Shankar. In doing so, he also raised a very curious thought which is worth sharing. He said “When people in Borabanda believed in someone, a woman in red sari in this case, without actually seeing her, and purely based on a rumour, they slaughtered seven (more than thirteen in real) buffaloes, just for their satisfaction, let me ask you – Which is the bigger and more horrifying cult? Us or the Cult behind Sthree? Who is more dangerous to the society – Us or Them? At least we can arrest the Mohanamma Thanda behind this whole operation. What do we do with the people outside? What do we do about Us?

Part Three – Final Truth Behind The Woman And The Missing Infants

It’s so ironical that, when Sthree did nothing, people went crazy and undertook devilish sacrifices. But when she started doing something, the public got so struck with fear that they refused to come out of their homes.

As per the legend that took place in Biranpalle, Warangal decades earlier, Mohanamma went back to the forests and waited for a few years before walking into human societies again. Now the tale goes that, Mohanamma initially would join households as a maid, and abscond with infants after a while. In less than a year, she had kidnapped ten to thirteen infants. All these infants were around seven months old. Boy or Girl, it didn’t matter to her. Eventually, she moved to a village near Basar in Adilabad and started a Thanda (tribe). The infants grew up in a small locked shack she had built for herself. They would not be allowed outside, and no one knew that they existed. After they attained the age of puberty, they were forced to mate with others. As soon as all the girls in the pack were impregnated, she would cut off the penises of the boys. They would then be converted into Eunuchs in a proper ritual within the forest.

These forcefully converted Eunuchs had only one job, that is to bring money, resources for the family, and also propagate a simple idea – Every person is equal. Every Man needs to be Woman also. Penises are just for procreation. And not for Pleasure. Once done with Procreation, Men need to convert into Women.

The tribe graduated to a Cult. And the Cult on the bordering districts of Telangana became a Religion. By late 90’s the Cult “Mohanamma Thanda” gained prominence across the state, even spreading to Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Karnataka. Converted Eunuchs who had a different sense of purpose started moving around. But a sting operation in 1999, had Police arrest and abolish the Thanda under criminal activity with over seventy Eunuchs being arrested.

In order to retaliate, a random offshoot of this Cult took up the mantle of beliefs. But this time, they decided to strike fear and chaos in the society with their carefully planned antics. “Mohanamma Thanda” was again started in 2002, by this Hyderabad based Eunuchs offshoot. But the terror had to be started again. That’s when they thought of sticking to the origin story of Mohanamma. And how she awaits a child to be delivered to her.

Part Four – The Sthree Gets Arrested And Thirteen Children Rescued

“Mohanamma Thanda” the newer group, selected thirty of their members, of equal built and shape. They dressed them up in red saris of exact make. And the whole drama started. They would select areas which are in the lower income bracket, slums and settlements, and one of these people would just stand outside the window. For three hours they would stand near one window. Later they would change the house. They wouldn’t do anything. An occasional passerby would watch them, and be too scared of them to ward them off. After all, the Thanda just wanted to start a terror prospect in the city. Eventually, after the Buffalo fiasco, The Thanda made their move.

In their standing and staring, they noted down houses which had infants. To further sell the story, they started kidnapping them. According to missing files report, I procured from Punjagutta PS, there were seventeen infants ( all of eleven months old) reported missing in the span of five months. The figure grew to thirty in the next two months.

When I asked the concerned SI (A.Raju), he confessed that due to Political Pressure, the police’s hands were all tied up. He declined to take any names but did confess that around four or five MLC elected leaders, believed that “Mohanamma Thanda” was driven by a higher divine power. They wanted that divine power to bless them always. It was some poor infants. One elected leader explicitly said and I quote “Those families have dozens of children. What is there? They can make another one. That’s all they do. Have sex and bring children”.

It was the then DSP of Hyderabad (who was later transferred to Vizag for “city development purposes”) who managed to convince the ruling party, that this needs to be taken care of. He was given an authority (by which time almost forty infants had gone missing across the twin cities) but was specifically asked not to leak any information to the press or media about the operation. The DSP of Hyderabad in the next few days, arrested around seventy Eunuchs across the city and brought them to justice. However, none of this made it to the press announcements.

In 2010, in conversations with an NGO based in the city, I understood that “Mohanamma Thanda” was still prospering in the city. However, they were maintaining the secrecy of their presence. In the infants they had kidnapped last time around, only thirteen had been found. Rest were either sacrificed or inducted. The main branch of this Thanda now is located near Ghatkesar. They await the return/rebirth of Mohanamma this year, as it was written in her scriptures.

I hope that the Police Department this time around takes stricter and timely action of this particular cult. That’s all anyone can hope for really.!!

 

To Be Continued

(For the matter of convenience, we will continue our presentation on Horrifying Cults of Hyderabad, next week again, as we bring to you true incidents which go on to show the atrocities residing in the human mind.)