India is home to bizarre ways of life and it is a known fact that self-claimed god-men and women fool people into believing the impossible. Lack of knowledge and information is a very dangerous thing, especially when it comes to people's lives. There have been several times that these 'people of God' have provided absolutely impractical solutions to people's problems and the novel pandemic COVID-19 is without a doubt, the latest topic of discussion.
Based on a video that is doing the rounds on social media, a city-based pastor from Pune is endorsing a "sacred" oil along with "Blood of Jesus" chant 100 times a day, in order to prevent people from getting infected. The 25-minute-long video shows?pastor Peter Silway of Vineyard Workers¡¯ Church, Dapodi, talking about the benefits of the same and how this can help to keep the virus at bay.
So, while the whole world is working endlessly to come up with a vaccine for COVID-19 that has claimed thousands and thousands of lives till now, claims like these not only invite trouble, but make you question certain people's conscience. Introducing an idea like this in a country where literacy and education are still catching up is a huge risk because of how much blind faith religious preachers evoke.
The?Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) strongly condemned the pastor's statements. Milind Deshmukh, state chief secretary of MANS said,?"This is hypocrisy in the name of God. What will happen to an infected person if he/she relies on such remedies - thus keeping self away from treatment and solution? These people will give rise to another disaster by spreading this contagious disease."
He also added that such claims are violation of the?Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013. He said, "At such a time, promoting yoga or gaumutra as cures need to be banned and people associated need to be booked."
Silway¡¯s spiritual secretary, Rahul Waghmare, gave a clarification on the pastor's behalf and said, "It is true that he has called for spiritual cure to the deadly virus, but he has simultaneously emphasised on the use of hand sanitiser and avoiding contact with infected people etc."
Pune divisional commissioner, Deepak Mhaisekar, also disapproved of the pastor's statements and said, ¡°Any attempt to create confusion among the people will not be tolerated. We are equipped with enough powers under the Epidemic Act to legally act against such people."
It is a request to all to refrain from participating in any such activities that claim to spiritually heal you from COVID-19. It is a virus and people should only trust medical officials to offer any kind of treatment on the same.