A prominent Indian sceptic has described how a famous guru tried to kill him with a mystic ritual on live TV.
When tantric guru Pandit Surender Sharma announced on an Indian talk show that he could kill anyone in three minutes using a mantra, fellow guest Sanal Edamaruku called his bluff.
Despite his initial reluctance, Mr Sharma agreed that he would carry out the ritual to kill Mr Edamaruku, the President of the Indian Rationalists Association.
Mr Sharma began his chants, sprinkled water on Mr Edamaruku, ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed his forehead as the sceptic giggled.
After several hours of trying unsuccessfully, Mr Sharma said that Mr Edamaruku was receiving protection from the gods.
Two years after the show made Mr Edamaruku a national celebrity, the prominent sceptic has described the bizarre incident in an article in UK newspaper the Guardian.
"After several rounds of chanting failed to knock me out, he tried the whole arsenal of his tantric gimmickry on me," he wrote.
"I was just laughing."
As the show ran overtime, the guru tried some dirty tricks, according to Mr Edamaruku.
"Finally, he resorted to foul play, pressing his thumbs against my temples, hard enough to kill me the conventional way, but was cautioned by the umpiring anchor," he said.
"Prick a pin in the great balloon and it comes crashing down, that was the message."
The 100,000 members of the Indian Rationalists Association spend much of their time investigating claims of miracles from holy men and gurus.
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