ALTERNATIVE HEALING
While many trained medical professionals attribute the causes of various sicknesses to virus and bacteria,
this is not necessarily the case in Ladakh. In the mountainous Himalayan region of India, it is not uncommon for patients
to turn to a Healing Oracle when trained doctors are unable to effectively diagnose and heal them.
In the Ladkhi region, people are more open to accept the idea that their illness could be due to internal "pollution".
The Oracles of Ladakh
Mysterious Spiritual Healer
Ladakh has many interesting and mysterious aspects and one of the most well known institutions among the local population is the Oracle. The rituals of Ladakh Oracles are little known to the outside world, even though as many as 200 may be practicing in the region. Reactions to the oracles' healing rituals vary. Some patients claim to be healed immediately. Others say there is little improvement in their condition. Some visitors come only to be near a Lha-mo—which translate to "divine female person".
HEALING BODHISATTVA
Tsewang Dolma is one of the more prominent traditional healers or Oracles in Ladakh. Having practiced for 27 years in Ladakh, Asia and other parts of the world, she has helped countless people with ailments and issues brought to her attention.
"I was 25 when i first felt a strong weight upon me - like an energy coming onto my body. I thought nothing of it and let it remain for two years." she shares. Whilst the two years passed, trips to the doctors were fruitless as nobody could identify the issue. Finally, she was asked to consult a Rinpoche. It was her moment of truth. "I was told that a deity had chosen me to be an Oracle." she explained.
Tsewang Dolma is one of the more prominent traditional healers or Oracles in Ladakh. Having practiced for 27 years in Ladakh, Asia and other parts of the world, she has helped countless people with ailments and issues brought to her attention.
"I was 25 when i first felt a strong weight upon me - like an energy coming onto my body. I thought nothing of it and let it remain for two years." she shares. Whilst the two years passed, trips to the doctors were fruitless as nobody could identify the issue. Finally, she was asked to consult a Rinpoche. It was her moment of truth. "I was told that a deity had chosen me to be an Oracle." she explained.
As an Oracle, Ama-la, does not, under any circumstance, attempt to diagnose physical ailments in the way a doctor does. During the session, Dolma is in trance and essentially allows the healing deity manifesting in her to take over the entire time. She has no recollection of the details after each sessions.
After each session,
it feels like i have woken up from a dream.
Tsewang Dolma
Affectionately known as Ama-la
Beyond
Medicine & Science
In Ladakh, Dolma in her capacity as an Oracle is a name recommended to patients when doctors cannot find an answer to the ailments - underscoring the fact that some things do go beyond Science and Modern Medicine.
The Oracle can sometimes be seen performing healing by miraculously sucking out substances from patients with ailments through a thin copper pipe. Her aide, Bodhi has witnessed the Oracle sucking out all sorts of murky fluid and sometimes globs of blood-like substances from patients
In her capacity, Ama-la's sense of respect for her patients' privacy is obvious. Not once does she ask about any of the patients she had seen as an Oracle, but as Dolma, she always had people thanking her for her help - which she attributes to the deity's compassion for sentient beings. There is always a line waiting to see the Oracle at every session and a variety of ailments were presented.
It is not an easy job and she is often tired after each session, seeing sometimes up to 80 patients a day. Only someone with great compassion could do what Dolma does everyday to help those in need
Bodhi Tongspon
