Sangom sir, this is why they have two convenient conditions, (i) faith and (ii) sufficiently spiritual. But this மாங்காய் test is a good one, I would like to see sravna who claims he has achieved positive results to make a mango appear through mantra shakti, or make a lost limb grow. These claims of mantra shakti is always about curing cancer or other ailment that cannot be easily verified.
Talking about illusion, the case of phantom limb (google it) shows clearly what our brains can make us believe.
Cheers!
Nara,
I am divulging something from my family, perhaps for the first time. I was told (by my mother) that she had an elder sister, very much more beautiful and intelligent but, of course, educated up to 7th. grade or so only. This late periyammai of mine one day developed giddiness on seeing the sun at the bathing ghat of the pond. There was no developed allopathic cure available then, possibly in the entire travancore state. So, as was the wont, ayurvedic vaidyan was called, elaborate kashaayams etc., were prepared and given. But her condition grew from bad to worse and a stage came when she could not withstand even the normal bright sunlight in the rooms and curtains had to be used. Otherwise she would swoon.
She was married but I did not ask my mother, for politeness' sake, whether the condition developed before or after the marriage. Anyway, the marriage itself was unhappy and the sil dropped her one day in his fil's house and just went away, it seems.
My gf was a man of some means and he, it seems, tried very many vaidyans and also doing many homams, poojais and other religious rites. He himself was a vaidikan knowing many rites and rituals, and so I have no doubt about his "spirituality". Since this was a case of his daughter, there is no doubt that he would have been sincere in doing all these rites.
At last he got some advice from someone to do "aditya homam", after reciting some particular mantra certain number of times; both the homam and the mantra were not known to him or others of his calibre. He somehow secured the details, recited the mantra the required number of times and did that aditya homam also. But all to no avail. The daughter expired, without cure and my grandfather had a shock.
In another case, one of my cousins தாயாதி, had his daughter suffering from a peculiar intestinal condition - hardening of the intestinal walls. Twice or thrice surgery was done, and the intestine was shortened. (This happened during the 1990's.) Doctors said no further surgery would be possible because her physical condition had become very weak. So my cousin who had all along been a non-believer, turned into an ultra-high voltage believer, suddenly. he went from one jyosyan to another, one temple to another, and performed many poojas and all. At last, one astrologer told him that if he got sudarsana homam with 10008 times recitation of the mantra, performed by pure vaishnavas, according to the vaishnava (vaikhanasa) sampradaaya, there would be definite cure. So he arranged accordingly (and I think about 30 or more priests had to chant from morning till late afternoon and do the homam. What to say, there was not even a temporary betterment and his daughter died within months, as had been indicated by the doctors.
I have not yet come across any case where mantra had cured any illness or brought any fortune to someone.
