Original subtitles

- I have discovered a secret oracle in India

that has on it the name of my mother, the name of my father,

my name, my brother's name, my wife's name,

all the details about my life from the moment I was born

and right into the future.

And it even told me the time of my death

and, to access this oracle, allit needed was my thumbprint.

(upbeat music)

I'm here in India on myfirst mystic journey.

In the UK and USA, Jane and I are known

as the most psychic couple on the planet.

We've had some crazy times and had the opportunity

to give readings to A-list celebrities.

- I really enjoyed the reading with Craig

because he hit some real accuracies

about my father and our relationship.

They are the real deal.

And it kinda blew my mind a little bit.

I'm not a mind blower, you know, by nature,

but, you know, it was real.

- We have both had a fruitful life

and seen many mystical things.

But my trip to India has certainly opened even my eyes.

As psychics, we have both been invited to do many TV shows

about the paranormal, but what I'm about to experience

in India is absolutely astonishing,

so astonishing that even my wife, Jane,

couldn't get her head round it.

Is it possible to know the future?

Can my destiny really be changed?

Jane and I have been to India before,

but, this time, I face this journey alone.

I'm already exhausted from the plane trip

and I haven't even started yet.

Well, here we are, we're here.

This is India.

India's never as you expect it to be, I think.

A mixture of new roads going in, really old areas.

Old people carrying all sorts of stuff everywhere.

Mad traffic as usual.

Still feeling prettytired after the journey.

It's a long haul.

It seems even in a big city,

everywhere you go, there's gods.

Saw Ganesha straight away as you come out the airport

and then there's all the gods lined up.

I mean even adverts seemto have the gods on 'em.

It's amazing.

That's the thing with India, it seems to be everything.

Now matter howcommercialised it gets,

it seems to always retain its spiritual roots

even in the industrialised parts of India

like Chennai is here.

(horns honking)

I'm here in India because an ancient

Indian astrological oracle says that I can influence

my destiny by performinga series of rituals

and charitable acts.

Enjoy it while you can, Craig,

because it's going tobe a gruelling journey.

Now, this Nadi Oracle, as it's called,

that's driven me here was written down some 5,000 years ago

on a sort of parchment made from palm leaves.

My wife Jane and I are no strangers to the paranormal,

but what it said shook me to the very core of my being.

Here, in this nice hotel, the grime of the real India

feels a long way away,but the oracle predicts

that I'm about tobegin a scary adventure

that is going tochange my life forever.

About a year ago, an Indian friend of mine called Vivek

wanted to set up a new service to introduce to the west

the idea of these Nadi Oracles.

Now, he did ask me if I could test his reader for him

and find out if the guy was, you know, a fake or real

or doing what the sceptics would call cold readings

and things like this.

And I've tested other mediums and psychics in my time

so I seemed to be in a position

where I was very well-qualified to know

if these people were real or not.

Now, we set up a consultation on Skype and he connected me

with an Indian Nadi reader in Tamil Nadu.

Well, I connected with the reader

and he started going through the leaves, one at a time.

They're palm leaves that have been written in Tamil,

old Tamil, translated from Sanskrit.

And, according to legend, been rewritten every 500 years

and stretch back in time, they claim,

five to 10,000 years ago.

He started by going through and reading the leaves

one at a time andwould ask me questions.

And, I thought, here we go, cold reading.

Are you a miner?

No, no, no.

Do you import precious metals for a living?

No.

And he went on like this with all sorts

of strange questions, but it seemed meaningless

and then one leaf comes up and says,

was your ex-wife's name Tina?

Well, yes.

Nobody knew that.

That's something certainly not published about me anywhere.

Was your mother's name Ethel?

Yes.

Was your father's name Donald?

Yes.

Is your name Craig?

Yes.

Were you born at 1:30 in the morning

on the 24th of January 1954?

Yes.

And he reeled off facts like this, names of my brothers,

my sisters, things thatI'd done in my life.

Had your father worked in this profession

and that profession?

And gave a whole list of not just me,

but my family, thingsyou could never research

even with the Internet at your disposal,

remembering also that I'd given him no information

whatsoever about who I was.

So there was no way he could look this up.

So you could imagine, here was a message being sent to me

in a set of palm leaves that are allegedly 5,000 years old

with my name written on it and all he had was my thumbprint

to go by.

In a few moments, I'm going to meet the Nadi leaf translator

who read the first leaves for me and the remedies

for the first lot have been done

and he's going to be bringing a special amulet.

When you do the reading,do you also have to look

at the astrology as well or is that in the leaf already?

You just read what's in the leaf?

- You only read what is in the leaf

and, if there are some doubts,

we can clarify using astrology.

- I see, I see, so you can use--

- If we have some doubts, if the astrologer has some doubts

related to planetary position, it may change some.

One or two person, theremay be some change,

so, to clarify that, the astrologer may use

the basic astrology, if he knows.

- Okay.

Mr Santosh makes thesepredictions, but does not claim

to be psychic or have clairvoyance.

He simply translates what is said on the leaves.

In my case, this included things about my life

such as the occupation of my father when I was a child,

how I'd been a painter, how I'd worked in the media,

the illnesses I've had in my life,

how I'd been a single parent, how I had dedicated my life

to working as a psychic medium,

and told of my career as a writer.

Mr Santosh was one of three readers

in different parts of Indiathat I had contacted anonymously

and yet all three readers had given pretty well,

the exact sameinformation and forecast

with a similar destiny,including the agewhen I will die.

Some people would find it rather worrying

knowing when you're going to die and what illnesses

and troubles you're going to have in the future.

Mr Santosh has done someof these remedies for me

and has brought me a special talisman that was made

during the fire rituals he had performed on my behalf.

Vibhuti?

- Yes, Vibhuti.

- And that Vibhuti is put on there afterwards, yeah?

I keep it in the Vibhuti or?

That's from the fire, is it?

- Talisman was taken from the fire

and, after that, Vibhuti was put on it.

- Put onto it.

How would I use this now?

What would I do with this?

- [Mr Santosh] You can roll it.

You can roll like a small cylinder

and you can buy a cylindrical tavis.

- [Craig] Okay.

- [Mr Santosh] And you can put it in there.

- So you roll it up and put it in there.

And this has writing on it, I see.

- Yes, the mantra.

- [Craig] So this is the mantra?

This is a protected mantra?

- [Mr Santosh] Yes, thisis a protected mantra

of Lord Shiva.

- Yeah, wonderful.

It's so nice to receiveit in person like that.

I so thank you for all the effort you made.

And I'd love to come back again to you

later on to do some morewith the beliefs further

because there's other cans now to open, isn't there?

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

- [Mr Santosh] Thank you very much.

Namaste. - Namaste.

(speaking in foreign language)

Before I start my questand perform the remedies

to clear my past life karma, I visit the holy ruins

of Mahabalipuram and make a prayer

to the Indian elephant god, Ganesha.

Mahabalipuram is an extraordinary, ancient temple complex

that was carved out ofsolid rock and granite.

So this was a cave? - Yeah.

- Originally, and it has been carved

from a cave into a temple?

- Yes.

- So all these stones would have stood here

centuries and centuries?

- Thousands of centuries.

(speaking in foreign language)

- And this is the one they carved out of solid rock?

- Yes.

- To make the temple.

- This golden tank, first known buttermilk tank.

- Buttermilk?

- Yeah, making butter for the butterball.

- Did that on a big scale, didn't they?

So they make masses of butter and that's used for what,

the blessing or?

- Butter, eat.

- Oh, for eating?

So it is actually practical.

(calming music)

So this is Vishnu?

- [Guide] Vishnu.

- And the next one would be

Shiva.- Shiva.

So Vishnu and Shiva.

And that would be Brahma? - Yes.

- [Craig] So why is Brahma not in the middle of them?

- [Guide] This always Shiva, the first.

- [Craig] Yeah?

- [Guide] Vishnu (speaking in foreign language)

- Right, they did thingson scale, didn't they?

I mean that is like

a lorry full of butter, isn't it,

to put on the lingam.

I presume it would all come

pouring all down here.

- [Guide] Yeah.

- The Nadi leaves have prescribed a list

of ancient temples I'm to visit and perform rituals.

This complex is seeping with the energy of the past

and is a starting point where I can take in the wonders

of India's past and also seek a blessing

for a successful journey.

I believe in Hindiusmthat the first creation

had an elephant holding the world up?

- [Guide] Yeah.

- So would that be that?- Yes.

- This part of the temple complex

is where they used to do the ohms.

I can't resist this, I've gotta do an ohm.

I've gotta do an ohm.

Ohm.

Ohm.

Just as a Christian maypray to St Christopher

before starting ajourney, the god Ganesha

represents the aspectsof the one universal God

that clears the obstacles in the path.

(speaking in foreign language)

I have no problem with praying to an elephant-headed God

as I believe it's the same one God that can be found

in all religions, but he, she, comes in many forms.

This is a divine symbolic act to clear my path.

So this is the first stage of the remedies of the Nadi

and the first place I have to visit

is Bhagavan Ramana's ashram.

I've got a three and a half hour drive,

so it's a bumpy road, wish me luck.

An ashram is a hermitage, a spiritual retreat,

that is usually centred around a holy man or guru.

I'm visiting one at the base of a sacred mountain

called Mount Arunachalathat I hope to climb

as its powerful energies are said to awaken the spirits.

Ah, there's the mountain now.

This is my first good look at the landscape of India.

I feel excited because I'm soonto meet another Nadi reader

who is going to guideme through the remedies

and help me with the rituals I have to perform

in the days ahead.

(speaking in foreign language)

- His first task is to take care of you.

First, health and then the surroundings, environment.

And then the travel, spiritual events, all those things.

- Yes.

- It might be--

- Fortunately, Gopienath speaks reasonably good English

and explains that tomorrow morning,

we will be walking roundMount Arunachalaman

and visit Ramana Maharishi's ashram afterwards.

We will set off at dawn.

These first energetic remedies are designed

to help my health now and in the future.

Some of my family thinkI'm completely mad,

but the leaves gave me such amazingly accurate information

about my life that Isimply cannot ignore it.

There's a lot of good things ahead for me

until my predicted death at 3:00 a.m. in the morning

in the winter monthsas I approach about 82,

but there's also a few things that I need to sort out

that are the result of my karma from past lives.

I make the good happen and the bad fall away

and I need to do these remedies.

The first step is to build up lots of good energy

which means visiting some holy places.

(speaking in foreign language)

My first stop is the holy mountain of Arunachala

and the Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi Ashram at its foot.

(calming music)

Below me, I can see the Shiva temple at Thiruvannamalai

where I am, tonight, to perform some puja ceremonies

with the priests after MrPrakesh performs a simple remedy

here on the holy mountain.

On this mountain and, particularly, at the dark

meditation room at the top, I seem to be aware of the energy

that plugs right intomy mediumship abilities.

Right here and, also, while walking,

I can feel the closeness of the spirit people near me.

I've just been at the top of the mountain

where there's atremendous energy there.

I'm still a little bit woozy from it.

It's just the most incredible energy

I have ever felt in my life.

Incredible, incredible feeling.

Never known anything like that, never.

As part of the rituals and, you know, the remedies,

I must be given a stone from the mount.

Mr Prakesh has read in my Nadi leaves that a number

of these rituals have to be performed at a specific time.

His astrology almanack is consulted and now is the exact

right time to get my stone.

We descend the mountain path and as we enter the ashram,

are greeted by some clever monkeys.

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, the founder of this ashram,

believed in the unity of all things

and that, if we askourselves the question,

who am I?

We will come to realisethat everything,

including the person asking the question, is God.

Ramana believed that animals are as much

a part of God as we are.

(water splashing)

This is the meditation hall of the Rama Krishna Ashram,

and we're gonna spend a little bit of time now meditating

in the place where Rama Krishna used to meditate.

(religious chanting)

Where I sit I can see pictures of Ramana on the wall

and a golden statue of him in the altar area.

At the age of 16, Ramana had something

like a near death experience in which he entered

into a state of divine consciousness

and realised the true nature of the self.

He became aware of a divine current within him

that could never die.

Soon after he came to this spot at the base

of the holy mountain, hedecided to remain here

for the rest of his life.

For long periods of time, his mind was in such a state

of transcendence that he completely neglected his body

and he was incessantly bit by ants.

Some people found him and realised

that this was a holy man who was to become

one of India's greatestspiritual teachers.

(calming music)

It was a nice experience.

We did what they call thearathi, where they put the fire

across the face and cleanse through the fire.

So it was a verynice experience.

Here we are now at the Triveni Mali Temple.

(calming music)

(speaking in foreign language)

We went in and we've done some Archana,

which is like part of the Nadi clearing.

It's part of the remedies and we've been in front

of a number of Indian gods and done some amazing things.

And, actually, I feel very almost high from it.

It's an amazing place with an amazing sense of atmosphere

and real, deep sincerityfor the priests

that are working there.

It's been a hard day climbing the mountain

and a late night on thetiles of the temples,

but now it's 3:00 a.m. rise to walk

around the holy mountain.

And I'm shattered before I start.

There is definitely something special

about the subtle energy here.

Even though the scenery is mainly sort of streets,

there's a feeling of the energetic presence

of the mountain with every step I take.

Legend has it that MountArunachala is the place

where Lord Shiva manifested as a column of light

to settle the argument between the god Brahma and Vishnu.

It is one of theholiest places in India

and many great saints and sages

have lived here in its caves.

The act of walking around it is called Giri Pradakshina

and it is said to removethe sins and desires

and bring freedom from rebirth.

One step, they say, brings happiness in this world,

a second happiness in heaven and, a third,

gives the bliss of Satyaloka, the ultimate heavenly plane.

It is best to walk around slowly in silent meditation

or chanting a japa mantra.

Now, we've gathered the spiritual energy from temples

and the Holy Mountain,the Nadi Oracle tells me

that I must now seek out a holy man.

Mr Prakesh has checked his almanack and the timing

is now just right for us to do this.

It's a long journey in a hot car with lots of detours

and it seems to me that Mr Prakesh is using his almanack

like a sack now.

We drive across swamps, waste lands and dirt track roads

in search of these elusive holy men.

(horn hooting)

Then he spots the placewhere the Nadi leaves

say that the guru will appear.

It's a rough dirt road and the engine sounds a bit strange.

(engine rumbling)

We are part way up the hilly, dirty track

of the sacred Mahadeva mountainand the car's broken down.

Got to take our shoes off for in the Ashram and, really,

this ground is like a grill.

It's terrible.

I'm not putting this on.

It really is bad.

I'm just beginning to thinkthat providence has stopped us,

but now I see this ash-covered guru appear from nowhere.

If we hadn't brokendown at this exact spot,

we would have missed him completely.

When I arrive at his ashram,

I'm told that he hasn't been seen for nearly a year.

Normally, he does not leave his cave

where he's been living since 2002 where he gave up a life

of luxury and wealth.

But, somehow, we've arrived at exactly the right moment

he's decided to turn up.

The Nadi oracle saw thisexact moment coming.

It seems I've now moved from sneaking up on the guru

to a frenzied chase around the temple as he activates

all the shrines to the various gods.

Everything has gone kind of wild.

(energetic drumming)

(religious chanting)

(energetic drumming)

All this racket is to wake the gods in the shrines.

(energetic drumming)

And we line up for moreblessings and dash off

to follow the holy man through this maze of shrines.

(energetic drumming)

(bells clanging)

(energetic drumming)

Time for a quick touristsnap and we're ready

for the holy man to emerge.

(gong clanging)

(energetic drumming)

My head is beginning to ring with all this noise,

but, wait, I see him coming towards us.

(gong clanging)

By any standards, Maha Ananda Swami is an odd-looking guru.

He's what's called a Siddha Yoga.

That's someone who has special psychic powers

and miraculous abilities.

One of these is the ability to meditate or sleep

in a pit of fire.

(gong clanging)

I'm beginning to think this is all sounding

a little bit crazy, but another power is his ability

to tell the future of anyone who touches his feet.

(bells ringing)

This yogi is also the custodian

of ancient medicinal remedies and makes use

of many rare herbs to cure all sorts of ailments.

He also feeds people sacred ash, called Vibhuti,

often to cure infertility.

Maha Ananda Swami is already very old and it's said

that on midnight of the25th of December 2002,

Lord Shiva appeared before him and had decreed

that he will live foranother thousand years.

(bells ringing)

He certainly has a strange aura.

I feel it's like he's angry with everyone,

but it's a sort of divine anger,

perhaps, somehow tryingto shake everyone

out of their spiritual sleep.

I am told that this yogi never eats and it is said

that he has not eaten or taken water for a number of years.

At temples, they usually give out what's called prasad,

which is a holy meal.

This is usually just a taster, but here they serve

vast quantities of freefood to worshipers.

(energetic drumming)

They say this man doesn't just walk through fire,

he actually lays down in it and can sleep in the embers.

(energetic drumming)

(religious chanting)

I can see that he's going into a trance

and I hope he may startto make some prophecies.

(energetic drumming)

(religious chanting)

(bells ringing)

I feel he's showering blessings to anyone watching.

This sight of a guru theHindus call Darshan is amazing.

And then I'm called to touch his feet.

Of all the people here,I couldn't believe

that it was me that he would call.

As I touched his feet, a divine energy

seemed to sweep through me.

He had a message for me thathe told to Mr Prakesh in Tamil.

It turned out to be exactly the same predictions

that the other Nadi readers had already told me.

This temple complex or Ashram is based around the idea

that the Yogi, the city Yogi, who's a sort of a power yogi,

stepped into the fire which was built for Shiva

and merged with it and became flame himself.

And this was witnessed by a whole group of people

and he was treated as an incredible saint.

Now, we have the blessings of a guru,

the Nadi remedies now charge me to get

the blessings of the planets.

So it's a paddle in the water and into another temple.

Here, I'm to reduce the negative effects

of the Planet Mercury.

(crowd chattering)

This Nadi oracle is completely different

to the way Western astrology works.

The sun, moon, planets and the stars are represented by gods

and they, in turn, symbolise our good and bad

past life karma that will influence our future.

According to the Nadis, I had past lives in India

and some glorious and some not-so-glorious past lives

and the planets in my horoscope reveal the areas

I need to work with.

Bad aspects, shown in theposition of Mercury in my chart,

will weigh down my ambitions.

So pujas done here are said to speed up my success.

We've come out of the Temple of Mercury,

done puja there.

And this is for thingslike quickness of mind.

It's for speed of actions of things,

many medicinal things associated with it,

and a general quickeningof our actions.

Behind is a Shiva tree of healing.

And, in particular, it's for healing for children here,

for fertility, hence the cots.

(gentle music)

My mystical journey takes me deeper into sacred India

to discover its secretsand find out more

about the hiddenoracle of India.

There's spiritual work ahead.

My journey will take meoff the beaten track,

but first we find a place to buy the materials and flowers

we'll need to perform the puja.

These I've been doing on the advice of the oracle.

It tells me that I was once a holy man

and will become a holy man again.

When the pujas are performed, you pay the priest

to perform a personal blessing.

Money changes hands, but the effect is that the temples

have money to feed the poor and do charitable work.

In this way, money comes and goes,

but virtue comes and grows.

They're gonna do the puja now

and then they will give me the garland.

A lot of poor and destitute people hang around the ashram

as here people are fed twice a day

ever since his death in 1823.

Initially, I get a personal blessing by the temple priest

and then a second blessing by the sadhu

in the nearby shrine, but there is a great mystery here,

for it is claimed thathe never actually died,

but went through a sort of resurrection

in which his whole physical body was transformed

into divine light.

He then locked himself into a room

and told his followers never to open it.

When the authorities insisted it be opened,

the room was completely empty.

They say he continues to live with us in a body of light.

I get my blessing that the Nadi oracle asked for

and the priest gives me some books too.

I feel instantly connected with this dead saint.

He is said to have never eaten

and, eventually, becamea being of light.

All strange stuff, but what a wonderful god,

not to eat, but tomake sure everyone else

is fed long after you're dead.

I've just done the pujanow for Ramalingaswami

and they've given me a book as well.

A very rare book in English so I can learn an awful lot more

about this incredible saint that dealt with jyoti, light.

Every step on this spiritual journey,

doors just seem to swing open.

(gentle music)

It looks like the poor are gathering for meal time.

There's facilities here toaccommodate hundreds every day.

This is the Samadhi tomb of this incredible saint of light

and we might think of it as a tomb,

but it's a natural fact.

He was locked into a room or locked himself into a room

and his body just disintegrated into light.

And when they did open it up, there was nobody there.

It's an incredible miracle.

As we are leaving, the Nadi oracle has prescribed

yet another puja blessing.

By now, I can really feel the energy

surrounding us start to build and I'm sure

this must be having some tremendous effect upon my spirit.

And, with my karmic debts, I'm definitely buzzing

with energy and feel really ready to burst.

I can feel the energy changing in me as we draw closer

to starting the Nadi remedies proper.

So we've been given Vibhuti in a packet

and this is like the symbol of Shiva

and you put it three lines across the forehead here

and also to here and this is used as a symbol of Shiva.

This is actuallythe Samadhi tomb

and not manyWesterners get into it.

So this is it.

On the wall here, we have all the stories

and miracles of Ramalingaswami.

And they are also giving me permission

to see areas restrictedto the normal visitor

and some sacred trees and herbs that have special

medical and spiritual properties.

(gentle music)

That is the neem tree, the neem tree that they grow here,

which was there at the time of Swami.

So when you touch it, it contains some of the blessing.

Ramalingaswami dissolved into light after his death

and, at his temple here now, regular miracles happen

in which people see a light here.

(gentle music)

Once a month, the saintcreates the lights here

and thousands of people gather to watch the light appear

in front of thesedoors, regular miracles.

And there's one other thing that I find

personally rather incredible.

This miracle happens every 24th of January.

That's my birthday, another weird Nadi coincidence.

Back in the grounds, the destitute continue to gather

for their evening meal.

It's nice to thinkthat the money you give

in these ceremonies helps to put food in hungry bellies.

One thing they have thatwe don't have is time.

These guys have been waiting all day.

(gentle music)

On the way out, we stop again.

What I thought was a public toilet

turns out to be another small temple.

It's getting really late now, but we have a few more

specific pujas to do before moving on.

To be honest, I've losttrack of what's next

on the remedy list, but I have heard

we have a big day tomorrow, a very long drive

through the night and a fire ceremony in the morning.

I get my blessing and the gods get my garlands.

(speaking in foreign language)

(religious chanting)

Well, it's early morningand I've gone native.

This stage, we've got tonow start the remedies

in of themselves so I have to dress appropriately.

So I'm looking here like Sri Baba.

So now it's another long journey.

We have one more templestop ahead and then I do

a very specific fire remedy to clear my karma.

Our first remedial step is to pay homage to the leagues

and to the Maharishi who wrote them.

We start by visiting thetemple that was built

by the great king who is responsible for safeguarding

the Nadi leaves and preserving them for posterity.

Today, there are Nadi readers absolutely everywhere in India

and only a tiny, tiny fraction of them

are true practitioners.

Most are just ripoff artistswho will fleece people like me.

It's interesting, though, how much value the ancients

placed on these leaves that were protected

by the kings of old whoworshipped the leaves

and built great temples like this one.

Again, we plunge into the dark heart of the temple

that houses a huge lingam which is a phallus-like stone

that is an abstract representation of the gold Shiva.

I do the puja rituals in front of the lingam

in the inner temple and, next, have a chat

with my interpreter Gopienath who explains where we are.

So one of the biggest temples in India,

called the,

- Gangaikondacholapuram.

- You got that.

And, inside, is a giant Shiva Lingam

which we've done our puja to and this was the temple

built by the king that protected the Nadi leaves.

With some of these impossible to pronounce names,

it's not surprising that I sometimes feel

completely lost in India, but I'm sure

Gopienath can help me.

Viewing the incredible temple,

I'm impressed by its scale and grandeur.

I've unnoticed that no matter what position the sun is,

these temples never cast a shadow.

And, now, is the timeto take a bit of a break

and contemplate where we'vecome from and where we're going.

(gentle music)

But my next stop is to take in some of this spiritual energy

that we've been accumulating and float for a while

through the tranquillityof the mangroves.

(gentle music)

So what's this all been about so far?

There were some pretty far out predictions in the oracle

that was initially readto me by Skype at home

and transcripts sent to me by email.

(gentle music)

The oracle tells me of much spiritual work ahead

for my wife, Jane and me.

We've been working veryhard with our mediumship

over the years, but it says that, in the future,

we will be able to do our work for free.

This will be achieved, it says, by setting up

a charitable trust, a foundation, so that we can travel

and do our work and open centres around the world.

- [Man] Yeah, yeah.

Yes, right.

Ah, yeah.

Yeah.

- Ohm.

(speaking in foreign language)

The Gayatri mantra is very beautiful

so long as it's chanted by someone other than me.

(speaking in foreign language)

These rituals at Mr Prakesh's offices

are the start of the remedies proper.

The first step is to pay homageto these incredible leaves

that have been transcribed down through the centuries

and hold the secrets of my past life,

my present life and my destiny.

And, of course, we bowto the great Maharishis

whose incredible clairvoyance made all this possible.

(speaking in foreign language)

(bell ringing)

(speaking in foreign language)

Once this rather smoky procedure is complete,

we can do my first major karmicremedy by doing something

that will completelychange a person's life.

In India, the old and the destitute have no big pensions

and welfare, but, if they own a cow, they are set up

as it provides milk, fuel and a guaranteed income.

Buying a cow at a good price from someone in debt

can also free them from problems too.

So let's go do a remedy.

Let's buy a cow and a calf.

For a few moments, we actually own a cow and a calf,

part of the remedies.

And we've also been waiting for the planets to move,

for mercury to get in the right place

for the right time to give this cow and calf away

to a poor person.

(horn honking)

The lady's just arrived, she doesn't speak English,

but she's a poor ladyand we're gonna give her

the cow and the calf.

And, hopefully, they'll completely transform her life.

If you directly do someone a good turn,

they will often thinkgood thoughts about you.

We spiritualists believethat thoughts are things

so that these positive thoughts will uplift the giver

and also help to break their karmic bonds.

- [Man] You guys cantouch it and look at us

and we'll take some photos.

(gentle music)

- [Craig] I'm feeling a little bit choked up actually.

Very sensitive cow, I think.

- [Man] Yeah.

- Very sensitive.

(gentle music)

I found the whole actionof giving the lady

a cow and calf quite moving.

Perhaps, it was energetic changes to my karma

or maybe it was the feeling of honour

that came from being able to do something so humbling.

I changed a person's life.

That's a big deal to take on board.

(speaking in foreign language)

(gentle music)

Quite teary.

Em.

(horns honking)

A few days ago, we got stuck on a dirt road

on a mountainside with a boiling radiator

and, now, we've got allthe luggage coming off

and trying to rope it back on from the car

after leaving a ropey hotel.

(energetic music)

Now, for my next remedy.

We strip to the waist.

I reveal my flab to the world and we begin the ceremony.

A great deal of preparation has gone into this ceremony

and we have gathered together many special herbs

from all over India.

Everything here has beenspecially put together

for the ceremony and will be dismantled afterwards.

(speaking in foreign language)

My finger is tied as a symbol of being connected

to the benevolent powers from the gods.

It's a bit like the tying of the knot

from a pre-Christian wedding ceremony.

I'm not sure why I haveto bang my temples.

Maybe an awakening of some kind?

Next, I have to givemy name, mother's name,

father's name, wife's name and so on.

(speaking in foreign language)

Craig.

- Craig.- Craig.

- Craig. (speaking in foreign language)

- Father's name.- Donald.

- Huh? - Donald.

Donald.

(speaking in foreign language)

Ethel.

(speaking in foreign language)

My wife?

It strikes me that the names and their order

are exactly the same as the details

that were written in the Nadi leaves

when I first consulted them.

(speaking in foreign language)

I tell the priest theinformation, but the Nadi oracle

had known this information thousands of years ago.

It gives me that eerie feeling that the ancient seers

had seen this moment.

(speaking in foreign language)

Strange things run through my mind as we invoke the gods

and I open myself to the hypnotic power of the rituals.

(bell ringing)

(speaking in foreign language)

One priest gives fragrant flower offerings to the gods,

while we prepare to cast 108 aromatic

and medicinal herbs into the fires.

First, I have to carry the fruit offerings clockwise

round the temple.

(speaking in foreign language)

(bell ringing)

These are now put to the consecrated fires.

All this is to help me clear my past

and ward off evil influences in the future.

Like the phoenix, the spirit is reborn.

As the fire burns so does my karmic debt.

(speaking in foreign language)

The residues from herbsand ambers of the fires

are considered especiallysacred and will be used to make

a special paste that I can use later in times of need.

I now bless the offerings that have been assembled.

My soul has been baptised in the fire.

As the sun is consideredto be the source of life

so fire is its agent on earth.

I find this whole concept very inspiring

as I feel it triggers deep down in my own conscious mind,

feelings that put me directly in touch with archaic memories

from mankind's ancient past.

(tabla music)

Some of the things I am placing in the fire

are said to transmit medicinal smoke

that cures lots of diseases.

Some of these herbs are very rare indeed

and found only in obscure areas of the Himalayas.

(speaking in foreign language)

(bell ringing)

(speaking in foreign language)

Geez, that's cold.

I really am gasping for breath.

Talk about an ice bucket challenge.

(gentle music)

- [Man] Stand up.

- Well, that's it, done.

Some of it took me bysurprise, but I did feel

that something was alsohappening on an energetic level,

call it psychological, if you like,

but I felt something going on

in the very depths of my being,

something that is reallyimpossible to describe

unless you've opened yourself to these things.

Okay, well, I'm feelingquite extraordinary.

I mean you don't do that very often,

but, if I think about it, it's a bit really like a ritual

of rebirth because the fire gets rid of the old.

And then you're reborn by water upon you

which is like rebirth in the womb.

So, in a spiritual sense, it's something

that's very, very ancient that would take you back

to the most ancient time.

So it's a very deep-rooted, unconscious ritual

which I certainly feel this happened and worked somehow.

My next remedy is to be conducted

hundreds of miles away at Velankann.

Before visiting more holy places and being thrown

into more rituals, we take a stroll on the beach.

(speaking in foreign language)

Maybe I can buy an ice cream here?

I just love the pageant of India.

You can buy everythinghere except ice creams,

maybe a goat.

I love the way people get into the sea fully dressed.

But, first, a walk alonga delightful clean beach

and broadwalk before visiting a few more temples for puja.

Mr Prakesh tells me about this place and explains

that it was badly hit by the tsunami

on December the 26th 2004.

People were bathinghappily just like today,

when the sea sunk back and then stampeded onto the shore,

drowning thousands.

The sea came right up these streets too and didn't stop

until it got to the church I can see there in the distance.

It is interesting how the Nadi remedies have asked me

to also take in a Christian site as well as Hindu temples.

This is in preparation for my next charitable work

that will be part of the remedies.

(gentle music)

When you think about it, all religions

are much the same at heart.

Their messages are about love and service to others

and they all believe in the one god

- a god that is omnipresent, that is everywhere

at the same time.

And, just like the gods of India,

the one God can take many forms and the universal truths

are expressed throughdivinely charged saints,

teachers, avatars, prophets and messiahs.

It strikes me that they are all saying

exactly the same thing.

I've seen a lot of charitable acts while I've been in India.

I've noticed that some of the poorest people I've met

are the most generous of all and are only too keen to share

the little they have with me.

Now, it's my turn to do anotherof the prescribed remedies.

When you feed a stranger, it is a powerful medicine,

for not only do you help them, but their positive thoughts

towards you help your own spirit to flower.

It's an antidote to bad karma.

(baby crying)

It's five o'clock in the morning and I just finished

my Hatha yoga and, now, we're going to do

some meditation on the beach.

This will be like a final rebirth.

The sun coming up, showing the change of the personality

and one's life due to the remedies.

(dramatic music)

After all theserituals, I hope my life,

from now on, will run smoothly.

It's getting to the point now that I'm really beginning

to feel India seeping into my soul

and causing huge inner changes.

There's certainly alight dawning within me.

I feel more and more focused within

so that whatever happens sort of out there in the world

is caused by what'shappening in here in me.

The nature of the self is like light,

is joyful and happy.

Once we are focused on the inner light,

we need travel no further for we have found

an unshakable happinessthat nothing can harm

need we ever move from this present moment.

The past is gone, the future it seems is already set

and may have already happened, but the present moment

is God's gift and is there forever.

There is something deeply spiritual about India.

The official name of India is Bharat,

which itself comes from thename of a god of fire and light,

like the sun itself.

Where else in the world would so many people gather

every morning at aviewpoint like this one

to simply watch the sunrise?

As I wait, ready to setoff to do my next series

of rituals and remedies,dawn brings to mind

notions of illuminationand hope with a chance

for happiness and improvement.

The next remedy I have to do is to wash away

the negative karma from my past lives.

I've been travelling India to do a series

of spiritual remedies that the Nadi astrologers have said

is the result of my former life as an Indian Rishi.

The rituals dictatethat my first step today

must be into the sea.

(gentle music)

My astrology guides are now taking me to new holy places

to learn more of the philosophy of India.

(gentle music)

As I return to the mainland, my thoughts

and feelings are elsewhere.

The Nadi prophecies that have brought me on this journey

are from another time, a time when people could see

the future of all of us.

I wonder what is in store for all of us

travelling together in this life.

We are told by many prophets that there will be cataclysmic

things ahead, but our journey would take us

from the spiritually dark ages into a brighter time.

The Vedic text say that many people will,

like I'm doing here, seek out their own salvation

and personal transformation and this will be free

of the dictates of sect, creed and cause

and will unite us all asone family of mankind.

(gentle music)

On my return from Rameswaram, I cross the Pamban Bridge

and I'm reminded that this areaof shallow waters and reefs

connects in a thin line all the way to Sri Lanka.

Ahead of me, there's now a long journey.

I'm heading towards atemple on the way to do

the last of my karmic remedies.

It's been a punishing schedule,travelling day and night,

with journeys back and forth to fit in

with the bestastrological conditions.

Driving in India is far from relaxing.

Sometimes it's a white knuckle ride on roads

that have huge potholes andsometimes come to abrupt stops.

Well, it looks likewe've broken down again.

We've come a few hundred miles and we're in another garage.

(speaking in foreign language)

This our luxury Indian vehicle for the next few weeks.

The only optional extras you need

are air conditioning and a horn.

(horn honking)

Eventually, we're on our way again

and it's a long drive into the night.

I'm barely conscious as we speed

towards our next spiritual destination.

For me, this journey that's been dictated

by the Nadi oracles has broughtme many spiritual changes,

but there's still many things on my mind.

There's a lot I need to understand and, in particular,

I need to ask Mr Prakesh, my astrological guide,

about the things that the ash covered Siddha yogi

said and what he predicted for me.

Maybe I will get a chance to ask when we get to the temple?

(gentle music)

Finally, we arrive at ourdestination and I feel as tired

and as exposed as these many stray dogs

that hang around this place.

I had no idea where I was being taken,

but I eventually find out that we are at another

tongue-twisting Shiva temple

called Brihadishvara in Thanjavur.

The locals call it the big temple which suits me fine.

The Nadi astrologer, MrPrakesh, is now going to tell me

about what the SiddhaYogi, Maha Ananda Swami,

predicted for me when Itouched his feet at the ashram.

Because we've now finished all the remedies

and we finished all the pujas and everything like that,

and we've been very lucky, haven't we?

- Yes.- Yeah.

(speaking in foreign language)

- He told you, for all the peoples,

he's just blessed you with one or two words.

But he told you a lot.

That is, your family will be good.

You won't have any separation in your family

and your business will be developed into high level,

but your destiny is to, you have to spend

your life in spirituality and to do service in spirituality.

You will be a famous person

and you will do service worldwide.

(speaking in foreign language)

You will have a long life, eternal life,

as blessed by him.

(speaking in foreign language)

In Tamil, he told us (speaking in foreign language)

Means he will live for a long period.

- Live for long period?- Yes.

- [Mr Prakesh] This is the blessing given to you.

- Didn't he say something also about building centres

and things like this?

- [Mr Prakesh] Yeah, that we told, no?

You will be a famousman, around the temples

you will do service, around the world.

That is, by spreading the centres, maybe.

Spiritual centres, maybe.

Nadi centres, maybe.

Like these things.

- This is so interesting becausemy very first Nadi reading,

that you know nothing about, said exactly that.

So it's come kind of full circle, you know.

The first things that I was told

and the last things Iwere told are the same.

So it sounds like destiny has played its part here, I think.

(gentle music)

I thought I was at the end of my journey,

but it seems the real journey is just beginning.

- What our temples (mumbles)

after getting some goodthings in our life,

after getting some blessings from them in your life,

is have a good development.

Once again, if you worship and thank the gods,

it will be good to your life.

(speaking in foreign language)

It will be highly (mumbles)

Giving, he says, goodpotential, performance,

to the other gods.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Craig] Maybe they arejust flatteringly me,

but all this was already told to me by other Nadi readers

that are unknown to my new friends here.

- And then after fetching all those things,

it will be good to you.

(speaking in foreign language)

God will watch you at all times.

- Yes.

- God will watchme at all times.

What a lovely thought.

(gentle music)

What an amazing place to get such spiritual messages.

In fact, the temple walls are covered in Tamil messages

to and from the gods.

This lovely place has the feeling of being

in some heavenly world.

The beautiful carvings and the way the soft light

plays on the stone feels like I'm walking

through an ethereal place.

Inside, there's a god to get blessings from.

And when it comes to Shiva lingams,

this place goes for it big time.

My mum would call it a wholesale outlet.

What I find most interesting is the Tamil writing

carved on the walls.

This temple is over one thousand years old

and the inscriptions are in old Tamil,

which is a simpler form of writing with no flourishes.

(gentle music)

Gopi tells me all about this and how many of these walls

have similar remedies to the ones

that are shown in the Nadi leaves.

(gentle music)

It makes me think that the Rishis who wrote these leaves

may have also knownabout places like this.

(gentle music)

They say that this placewas impossible to build

with the technology of the time.

It is all made of granite and the capstone at the top

of the temple weighs over 80 tonnes

and legends say that the ancients used magic mantras

to levitate it into place.

(upbeat music)

One more tea.

Maybe I can get a loyalty card?

And I'll have some of your best cuisine to go, please.

(upbeat music)

Another journey, another garage.

(upbeat music)

There is actually one more last remedy to perform

and I have a feeling that this is going to be one

of the most emotionallytesting experiences.

This is a hospice that'smainly for mentally

and physicallychallenged children andI know that they keep

things on a shoestring.

My last astrological prescribedremedy is to feed them.

(people chattering)

- [Man] Yes, that's good.

- [Craig] Doing this makes me think of Jane back home.

For seven years, she was a psychiatric nurse for children

and did lots of work like this.

It's kind of a strange coincidence.

I'm thinking of my own children and grandchildren.

(gentle music)

What lessons we can learn from these shining eyes.

How I'd love it if there were more people in my profession,

that is astrologers, psychics and mediums,

which would be less concerned about money and kudos

to actually use some of the proceeds

from their spiritual work to help people.

(gentle music)

- [Child] Thank you.

(speaking in foreign language)

- I've now been asked to open the new Nadi centre.

(gentle music)

Put this here?

- [Man] And you can take this.

They are blessing you.

And you can take some (speaking in foreign language)

(gentle music)

- They treat me like family.

They have good hearts that shows in their smiles.

(gentle music)

Poor people from the village have been invited

to an al fresco dining on the rooftop.

If you want to clear your own path

then there is nothing better than to physically put food

on a poor person's plate.

It's all so very, very easy, just get out there and do it.

And, even if you thinkthat all this astrology

is just a load of hocus-pocus, you can't deny that this path

we are following here is helping the world.

(speaking in foreign language)

I've come here now to do the opening

of the new Shiva Nadi Centre.

These are the people that did my leaves originally

and it's a great honourto be doing this really

because when I first consulted the Nadi,

I wanted to find a way that I could do my mediumistic

and my spiritual work free of charge.

And it's kind of worked out really

because this is what theNadi people are doing.

We're doing it for free.

There's no hidden...

There's no upsell or anything like that.

This is done for free to help people.

And, even here, peopleare being fed as I speak

and we're going to do a wonderful opening

and I'm really looking forward to this.

I pass through the auspicious banana tree gate

that they've made specially for this occasion

and take the scissors.

I now open the puja area where the prayers are given.

(crowd applauding)

I declare this Nadi Centre open

for the benefit of all.

My hope is that, just assome of the Nadi readers

are trying to counteractthe ripoff merchants

in their industry, so too I may be able to set an example

to Western astrologers,psychics and mediums

to clean up our act.

It's okay to earn a living, but also try to put a bit back

and encourage your clients to join

in the charitable work too.

In this way, we all clear the karma

and have more fortunate lives.

- [Man] Yes, ready?

- Shall I say something?

- Yes. - Yes.

- May this thrive and may it help everybody

and may it prosper and may people find themselves,

their fortunes, their destiny and find their divine self.

- [Man] Yeah.

(speaking in foreign language)

(bell ringing)

- [Craig] As a final honour, Mr Prakesh is going to give me

some lessons in readingthe Nadi leaves.

You don't have to be clairvoyant to do this

as it's simply a matter of reading the predictions

and remedies that were written

in these leavesthousands of years ago.

Carbon dating shows the leaves to be about 500 years old,

but the claim is that they have been copied and recopied

hundreds of times overmany thousands of years.

He charts the Tamil text to the leaves

and they're translated.

Listen carefully, this randomly selected leaf

could be yours.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Man] Your parents are alive?

- [Craig] Yes.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Man] It is common, weare telling in common.

Whatever we are telling to the clients

when really that is to be done here.

- [Craig] Okay.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Man] Your second name is Elona.

- [Man] Second name is Elona.

First husband is separated.

(speaking in foreign language)

- The Nadi palm leaves are all based

around astrology and they tell you information

about yourself and, based upon what you've done

in past lives, determines what will happen

to you now and in the future.

And, of course, we're not going to be stuck

with a bad karma.

The idea of the leaves is that through a remedy,

we can change the bad karma and make it less

and up and increase the good karma

by doing various good actions and spiritual rituals.

When a person consults the Nadi leaves,

if they're unable tocome and do the rituals,

they can have someone else do them by proxy.

So a feeding can be done

or the temple rituals can be done by somebody else,

but it's far more powerful and far more meaningful

to a person if they actuallycome here and do it themselves.

And, even though for me it's been a hard and long journey

and a hard trip across some very rural areas of India,

I think it's really worth it to actually get out there

and do it yourself.

The physical journeys over and, now, I'm reflecting

on the inner journey that's happened to me,

the changes that havetaken place in my soul.

As a typical Westerner visiting India,

I feel conscious that Ihave come from a country

of great materialism and comforts where spirituality

has been lost and is nowreplaced by rampant rationality.

If India's temples crumble to dust

and its teachings where ever lost,

how poorer still would the world become.

(gentle music)

The writing is on the wall.

We all know that the world is heading towards catastrophe

if we do not change our ways.

And, perhaps, these Nadi teachings are there to help us

to put a brake on materialism and to rediscover

a spiritual heritage that's there for everyone,

no matter what yourreligion or nationality.

(gentle music)

The Promethean fires still burn and the lost knowledge

of the ancients is still there for us to discover.

Treading where holy men have walked

reminds me that this hasbeen an inner journey.

My destiny has been predicted and I have been helped

by the astrologers and their teachings to understand better

the reason I have beenplaced upon this earth.

The teachings are as old as the hills.

The oracle that inspired me is thousands of years old

and yet there is nothing really new.

It's the same journey we take now

as the ancients had to take,

We just need to have the courage

to open into the divinity within us.

In every face I see is a little of that Divine Light

that India's teachings take us towards.

Spiritual teachings are not just something remote,

but are anchored in every day life in the things we do.

There can be worship even in the simplest of work.

We are all evolving notjust as physical beings,

but spiritually too.

The teachings tell us that our soul has evolved

from animal into human and our time on earth now,

in human form, is an opportunityto become fully awakened

and that's why so many take to the spiritual path,

touch the feet of gurus and seek the solace of meditation.

I have thrown myself into mystic India

and undertaken rituals that many would find perplexing.

I have had the blessings of the gods and of holy people

and holy places and have done many rituals to open

the path that the oraclepredicts will happen.

Some of this has been a cultural shock,

but I feel that it isleading me to the light.

My adventure has taken methousands of miles across India

and I have enjoyed places that few westerners visit.

But it has taught me also the importance of charity.

As we give to others, their good thoughts

projected towards us help us to evolve too.

It's a win-win situation and, of course, helping others

is part of the Christian messagetoo and the Muslim message

and the Buddhist and Jewish message.

I think I have learned that there is not much difference

between it all.

It's an adventure doing spiritual things

and, when people get really helped

and you see their lives quickly change,

it opens your heart wide.

Will all these strange astrological remedies change things?

I have done the rituals and I've burned the karma.

I have thrown the past into the flames.

I have taken my journeyand explored my soul.

I have cut the ties with my karma

and now a new destiny awaits.

India's just the start.

Indian culture believes that it goes back 10,000 years

to an ancient lost knowledge and that same lost knowledge

is in other cultures, other religions, other beliefs

so come with me on my next adventure.

(upbeat music)