ਕਬੀਰ ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਸਿਮਰਨੁ ਛਾਡਿ ਕੈ ਰਾਤਿ ਜਗਾਵਨ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਸਰਪਨਿ ਹੋਇ ਕੈ ਅਉਤਰੈ ਜਾਏ ਅਪੁਨੇ ਖਾਇ ॥੧੦੭॥
Kabir! Those who give up meditation on the Lord, and get up at night to wake the spirits of the dead,
shall be reincarnated as snakes, and eat their own offspring. ||107||
– Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 1370
Women who cannot have children, for whatever reason, sometimes become desperate and get trapped by evil tantriks. These tantriks tell them to perform strange spells and rituals to have children. One such ritual taught to these gullible and uneducated women is that they should go to a well near a Shamshaan Ghaat (cremation grounds) at midnight, get naked, take a bath there, cook roti, and eat it in the Shamshaan Ghaat. They are told that by doing this, they will be blessed with children.
These women are further advised to perform more rituals near a burning dead body and to recite evil spells for two reasons: firstly, to kill the children or relatives of the person whose body has been brought for cremation, and secondly, to bring the souls of those children into their own wombs.
Bhagat Kabir Ji has written about the eventual fate of such evil actions and has given us the above salok as guidance.
Bhagat Ji, in the above salok, says that if a woman seeking children does not do Hari Simran to fulfil her wish, but instead goes to cremation grounds to awaken dead spirits, then in her next life she becomes a Nagin (female serpent) and eats her own offspring.
Even in this day and age, we cannot help but notice that many people are involved in black magic. Advertisements of tantrik babas are commonly seen in Punjabi newspapers. In India, every now and then, one hears news of horrific acts committed by tantriks, which many times result in deaths or severe injuries.
It is understandable if Manmukhs indulge in such practices because they do not know any better. But when you see or hear about Sikhs getting involved in such things, it truly breaks the heart. What is it that you cannot receive from the house of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji? And what is it that you fail to receive from Guru Sahib’s house that you think you will get by indulging in evil practices?