High tech mystics
> Thai sorcerors who once lived as cave-dwelling hermits have embraced the internet, gathering followers from all over the world
followers in places such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Singapore, and travels far and wide to offer spiritual solace.
But his jet-setting is on his clients’ tab, in a luxury lifestyle that could not be further from the solitary, forest-dwelling existence of his predecessors.
Thailand’s traditional hermits were ascetics who disavowed worldly excesses and spent most of their time alone in the jungle, engaged in deep mediation.
“Now hermits have to live in towns so they can help people easily,” Toon explained to AFP outside his luxurious home – a decorated compound that merges a traditional Thai sala with a modern house, replete with a shiny black SUV in the driveway.
“Also, I have a wife and I’m worried she couldn’t live in the forest,” he added.
Anthropologists say Toon and his 21st century peers, whose numbers are estimated to be around 200 in Thailand, are only the latest players to profit from a ‘supernatural boom’ in Asia.
Free-market forces and technology have abetted, rather than diluted, superstitions that can dictate everything from daily routines and business moves to high-level political decisions.
Thailand is renowned for its coterie of occult figures and spiritual fads.
Unlike other governments in neighbouring countries lthat have suppressed folk religions, Thai authorities have given fringe practices a free reign to flourish.
From life-like ‘angel dolls’ to limited edition protective amulets, superstitious crazes routinely sweep the kingdom, fuelled by celebrity endorsements and media coverage.
Many of the charms are aimed at promoting wealth.
“The reusees (hermits) fit into the recently emerging popularity of this kind of practice,” said Thai anthropologist Visisya Pinthongvijayakul.
“A lot of customers, especially business owners, now come to Thailand to seek auspicious power from alternative people other than monks,” he added.
It is undoubtedly a lucrative business for people like Toon, whose clients pay hundreds of dollars for the ceremonies.
Thanks to the power of the web, he now has more foreign customers than Thais.
But he claims his practice hasn’t changed at all.
“All of my followers are human ... and so their thoughts are the same: they want love, they want good luck, and they want to be rich.” – AFPRelaxnews