"for centuries, asia has been home to the mystical and the magical." "to superstition and to religion... and what may seem strange to western eyes is often an accepted part of everyday life here... is what we witness true evidence of the supernatural or is it just the power of belief?" "." "few countries in asia take the spirit world more seriously than here in the phillippines, where psychic detectives search for clues from beyond the grave." "three members of the vizconde family were found brutally murdered this morning." "on the night ofjune 30th, 1991 police arrived at this upscale house in a suburb of manila horrified by what they found." "estralita vizconde, mother of two stabbed twelve times." "7-year old daughter Jennifer stabbed 19 times and 19-year old carmela, raped, and stabbed 12 times." "...loving husband and father, lauro vizconde, was away on business when it happened." "he returned to face a tragedy." "with few leads for the police to pursue vizconde embarked on an extraordinary investigation of his own:" "to find out who the killer was by speaking to his murdered family." "the belief in the supernatural- and particularly that spirits live on long after people die has always been an important element of philippine culture psychics, fortunetellers and soothsayers are a strong part of a belief system that lives side by side with religion in a country where more than" "80% of people are catholic." "the belief that the spirits in the afterlife take care of the needs of the living is so commonplace that this international businessman and devout catholic called on fifteen psychics to help him solve the murder of his family." "but he says it was this woman, who helped him find the answers." "jinky, who has requested her identity be hidden offered to help vizconde connect to the spirit world." "during one of her first sessions, jinky claims she heard a little girl singing a song." "vizconde immediately recognized the tune it was a song that he had shared with 7-year-old jennifer many times in the past." "and for vizconde- it was proofjinky was in contact." "through jinky, jennifer revealed that carmela, her older sister, knew the killer." "with this information, vizconde was able to come up with a list of suspects including carmela's friends the psychic used this list to ask the spirits for guidance... the angry auraiii appeared around the name hubert webb the son of a philippine senator." "according to vizconde, hubert webb attempted to date his daughter carmela but with little success." "vizconde believed webb masterminded the killing spree-as a form of revenge." "but he had no solid evidence." "today lauro vizconde still lives in the same house where the horrific murders took place." "he says being here keeps their memory alive." "carmela was dragged to this corner where she was bound, sexually assaulted and repeatedly stabbed." "when jinky first arrived at the house she says she immediately felt the aura left from the crime." "but it was outside the house that jinky claims she sensed something that the philippine national bureau of investigation had not turned up evidence that would fortell the answer to the murder case." "in her mind's eye, jinky says she saw a person guarding the outside of the house while the murders were taking place" "according to vizconde, the police refused to take this evidence seriously and the unnamed accomplice remained a mystery." "in 1996, five years after the murder the police got a surprising break." "31-year-old jessica alfaro, a self-confessed former drug user.... allegedly bothered by a guilty conscience jessica alfaro confessed to being an accomplice in the crime." "she also told the media that she had been posted outside the house similar to the vision jinky had described." "more importantly, alfaro fingered hubert webb as the murderer." "vizconde finally had what he needed a witness to help the police convict the man who had killed his family and to corroborate what a psychic detective had already told him five years earlier" "in january 2000, after eight and a half controversial years hubert webb and five others were put behind bars where they are now serving life sentences for their roles in the vicious murders ofjennifer, carmela, and estralita vizconde." "did jinky really speak with the spirits from the afterlife?" "if not says vizconde how was she able to give him the answers long before the police had the evidence?" "for vizconde-what matters now is that he believes his family can finally rest in peace thanks to the extraordinary gifts to a psychic and the power of his belief." "stories like this are not uncommon in the Philippines where the living often seek guidance and advice from the spirit world." "at the quiapo market in the heart of the capital city of manila stalls offering icons of the virgin mary stand side-by-side" "vendors selling fate and the future." "why is it that for many Filipinos the calling of the spiritual world is so strong and so real?" "many people here are highly intuitive." "we are feeling people and we have very strong intuition former businessman jaime licauco is widely known in the philipines for his TV appearances and books on psychic powers." "filipinos believe that spirits are all around them people pray to their dead relatives for protection, for help, even for financial help and actually help comes, and they believe this is a gift from the people who have departed." "forjaime licauco, the notion of psychic power is a gift shared not only by professional psychics but he believes, by everybody." "I would say that all the people of the world have this but maybe because of our greater sensitivity a great acceptance of it, then we are able to manifest it more because there is less restriction unlike for example, in the western country" "where you will be labeled insane here there's certain parts of the country that accept this as a natural ability you want to talk to somebody, there is no telephone you go to a psychic to find out whether your cousin has arrived" "from manila or not." "when mysteries of modern asia returns can a dead man reveal the truth about his own murder?" "in the philippines, belief in the supernatural is so strong that many call upon the spirits of the afterlife in times of need." "in the lobby of a manila office building a group of psychics is trying to make contact with the dead." "two men jumped off the bridge up there on the 8th floor and we're here to find out whether we can converse with one of them and see if we can help him to move on... tony perez is a respected author, a university lecturer" "on magic and the supernatural as well as the founder of a unique group of psychics known as the spirit questors." "okay rosa, do you see either one of the two men?" "Yes, I can see clearly now it's darker tonight they look for answers to the mystery of two men who had fallen to their deaths near the building." "mike, go into rosa and see you can astrally project through time..." "I see him falling and screaming." "then seconds later he lands face down on the floor." "a few seconds later, blood all over ... the spirit questors are reachable 24 hours a day by phone to anyone in need providing a unique social service to the community we can be there on saturday at 9p.m." "they are detectives, psychics even a form of ghost busters - although perez disagrees." "some people call us ghostbusters, but that's not really what we are." "we don't drive away spirits because we believe in co-existence." "some people think of us as a spiritual emergency squad or a swat team for spirits and in a way it's true." "and it isn't just the living who call on perez and his group sometimes, he says, the call is from the other side." "in the case of philip pestano perez remembers responding to a spirit's desperate plea to clear his name and expose his own killers." "on september 27, 1995 naval officer philip pestano died from a gun shot wound to the head while on duty." "when his parents were escorted to their son's cabin they found a suicide note at his feet." "but the pestanos suspected foul play as just two days earlier, a mysterious phone caller had warned them that philip was in danger." "the grief-stricken pestanos turned to the spirit questors for answers did their son commit suicide?" "and if not, who were the killers and why did they murder philip?" "perez was particularly drawn to the case and agreed to help the pestanos by holding a seance at the pestano residence." "he's behind his father, his hand is on the shoulder of his father." "rosa was the channel." "I had members of the family stay with us in the circle." "and then we didn't have to call philip. he was already there." "I saw Philip in his white shirt and jeans and he gave me the details of the events from the day of the murder." "according to perez' colleague, rosa philip's spirit described how three men aboard his ship entered his cabin forced him to his knees and then shot him in the head." "leaving a pool of blood by the door the killers dragged his body to the bed, placed the gun nearby and hastily forged his suicide note." "through her communication with the spirits, rosa also revealed a possible motive for philip's murder." "she said philip told her that officers on board were engaged in illegal smuggling and when he refused to join in they decided to kill him." "the main message of philip was just that he did not commit suicide he did not put an end to his life and he was murdered." "that is all what he wanted his family to know. and that he was very much alive and well in the spirit world and he wanted justice." "although no one has yet been indicted for the death of philip pestano." "the navy has agreed to set the record straight: from suicide to murder." "according to perez, this was not enough for philip as his spirit pleaded with him to do one more thing: to clear his name." "towards the end of the quest, philip came to me and then asked me whether i would write his story." "and at first i said no." "eventually, perez relented and wrote a book entitled: a young man cries forjustice beyond his grave." "trying to get his messages through about justice, about truth, about corruption." "he was a person who could change my mind even if he were not already here with me physically." "and I think that is amazing and that is how spirits affect us whether we are aware of it or not." "for believers, the spirit world moves in mysterious ways ..." "In the burning rajasthan desert to the west of india's capital city new delhi a travelling band of holy men, inspired by their belief prepare to perform what appears to be magical feats of superhuman strength." "Can science explain these supernatural phenomena" "Or is there a greater force at work?" "After all, to see is to believe" "Or is it?" "." "The holy men claim they fall into trances which, they say, make them impervious to pain." "The extremely sharp edges of these swords don't even leave a mark." "Metal rods pierce the tongue of this holy man ...who then offers a close up view to anyone who wants to see it for themselves." "The holy men say they can even defy fire" "This red hot metal chain comes out of the campfire and into bare hands carried in an otherworldly dance around the village." "These holy men believe their hidden powers, passed on from one generation to the next, come from a divine source." "for this family of holy men, the magic comes from the hindu goddess - kalimata, revered for her strength, intensity, and force." "It is thanks to kalimata and her blessings that i can perform these acts." "only when kalimata enters my body and is happy with me only then can I perform the miracles that I do." "for the holy men to perform these miracles is a sure sign for believers that they are true messengers of kalimata and her powers." "more importantly, the amazed villagers will be awed at kalimata's powers and offer money for this demonstration to go on.... scenes like this play out all over india every day." "holy men make up an enormous spiritual army estimated to be over 4 million strong in a country of more than one billion people." "they are known by many names" "... bopha,swami,guru godman or saddhu." "each claims to derive a divine power from one of the hundreds of gods which make up the hindu world" "Since ancient times," "India has been one of the world's most spiritual lands." "It's the birthplace of two of the oldest religions in the world, buddhism and hinduism." "and for many indians, there are few places more spiritual than this the sacred river ganges." "everyday at sunset thousands of hindus gather on the banks of this magnificent river to bathe in the sacred waters and to pray to their gods." "The fiery offerings of hindu priests bring believers into harmony with the gods and connects them to the power that makes India one of the most miraculous places on earth." "do India's holy men possess supernatural powers or is there a scientific explanation for their extraordinary feats?" "find out when mysteries of modern asia returns." "On the outskirts of the capital city, New Delhi a swami or holy man captivates the audience:" "He lies on a bed of nails" "He holds the burning pot without hurting his hands pierces his mouth seemingly with no pain... and to the crowd's astonishment..." "even." "Levitates" "until sanal edamaruku arrives on the scene" "the levitation is a hoax a trick performed with hockey sticks hidden under a blanket." "sanal edamaruku is head of india's rationalist association and a passionate debunker of holy men." "and the swami is not a holy man at all but an actor, one of sanal's associates." "sanal is one of several impassioned skeptics aross India whose mission is to debunk those who he believes take advantage of the poor - India's holy men and gurus ." "basalu premanand grew up wanting nothing more than to become a guru himself." "fifty years ago his search for a true miracle took him to the banks of the river ganges" "Where he saw something that inspired his faith like no other" "A holy man in the middle of the river. ." "Premanand's joy however was short-lived." "He soon discovered that the miracle walk on water was a trick performed by using planks placed just under the water's surface." "Since then, premenand has become india's most famous miracle debunker." "He has spent the past five decades learning the tricks that make some holy men prosperous." "fire is one of their favorite props" "According to premanand, fire walking -a popular phenomenon in India is also easy to explain." "These firewalkers spend less than 3 seconds on the hot coals and if it's any longer, they appear to be perched on part of the wood that is not burning." "premenand also has an explanation for the piercings." "however sanal's fake swami wasn't using a bent spike this clearly pierces the skin but he says he feels no pain as there are few nerve endings in this part of the cheek, mostly fatty tissue." "likewise, the clay pot is painless as heat rises upwards and the nail trick:" "weight is distributed over hundreds of nails so the actor can easily lie on them without pain." "Sanal says that what riles him most is that many miracle men manipulate the power of belief conning the public with simple tricks and even worse, cheating them out of money they can ill afford." "Towering high above the bustling south indian city of bangalore is a spectacular ashram a religious retreat, where it is said, miracles happen daily across every level of life." "It's a sprawling complex that belongs to this man ..." "sri sri ravi shankar a holy man with millions of followers worldwide... sri sri ravi shankar spent years in isolated meditation before he emerged to teach the world "sudarshan kriya"" "a breathing exercise that is said to harness a miraculous healing energy." "kriya is believed to cure everything from depression to clogged arteries.... for 1 6-year-old sheetal gangan it was severe headaches that were making her life a misery." "worried, her mother brought her to the ashram to see if ravi shankar's healing technique could help her where medicine had failed." "Miraculously, says sheetal, all her symptoms eventually disappeared." "And then there is the case of kapil mathur a medical student trained in England and a devout follower of sri sri." "he emits this amazing radiance, this energy that can only be described as divine." "He's just an embodiment of love." "A life long sufferer from acute asthma and bronchitis" "He too says practicing kriya completely cured him." "I went through this amazing sensation, it was like the ultimate detox" "It was just wonderful..." "You can feel every kind of bodily sensation." "coming from a medical background, i was just thinking this is not medically possible this is scientifically not right" "So I gave up questioning." "Sri sri ravi shankar says kriya is a magical cure because it creates harmony between mind and body." "ravi shankar says that natural energy surrounds us all." "miraculous healing comes when this energy is properly harnessed" "but is there a way to prove that love brings about miracles?" "impressed by the anecdotal evidence" "Dr ganghadar a psychiatrist from india's top neurological hospital decided to put ravi shankar's breathing method to the test." "In clincial trials, he compared its medical effects on patients suffering from chronic depression." "but exactly how or why it works remains a mystery." "there are thousands of people across india who lay claim to extraordinary powers that defy explanation." "when mysteries of modern asia returns the incredible claims of pranic healers ... in the mysterious world of indian faith healing and even more mystical example is that of pranic healing." "pranic healers are said to have the power to cure illness without so much as even touching the patient." "in order to cure this illness pranic healers literally try to clean away the body's punctured and damaged aura... as with the kriya technique patients who believe they are healed by pranic methods swear by it" "these kinds of results have been so convincing to some hospitals in India pranic healing is now being used to treat asthma, diabetes and even heart disease." "but not everyone is convinced" "the pranic healers disagree." "at the pranic healing center in bangalore healers claim they can photograph a person's aura using a special camera" "They say it works by reading natural electrical impulses in the fingertips." "the energy is then translated into a computer image of a person's aura." "healers claim that by examing these images thay can diagnose illness." "Miracles versus science." "is faith healing a mysterious power or are these phenomena a demonstration of the body's ability to cure itself through the power of belief?" "." "but no one can deny that thousands of people say they've been healed and care only about the results - not the doubts a very subtle miracle, but very profound." "don't expect levitation and things like that from this but expect to feel good for sure." "the holy men of india are not the only supernatural healers in asia south korea is home to an amazing group of mystics who practice a kind of white magic.... and are revered by millions throughout the country." "kim kum hwa is a national living treasure of south korea her extraordinary talent is that of being a mudang or shaman a person who the gods have chosen to possess and speak through." "upon her shoulders rests the spiritual fate of her country:" "the nation turns to madam kim to exorcise the spirits of an economic crisis or even to bring about reunification between the north and south." "but sometimes, madam kim helps with more personal tasks like saving the life of a child." "about 1 0 years ago, kang jae hung collapsed while playing video games at a local arcade." "according to his family, doctors said he had only a 1 % chance of survival." "desperate for a solution, jae hung's family turned to a mudang it was madam kim who answered their call." "the first thing she said was that he didn't have to be in a hospital." "she also said not to worry because he would definitely not be dying to save the boy, madame kim says, she staged a "kut"" "a magical ceremony to invoke the gods and ask for spiritual guidance." "I told his mother to grind up some chicken bones and use a syringe to feed him." "and Itold them don't give him any more medication because now I am the doctor." "to his parent's joy, jae hung recovered almost immediately and is today enjoying a normal teenage life." "the doctors were shocked to see him recover and the next day, they declared it to be a real miracle." "so the family - they are grateful." "but it's not really me they should thank." "I'm only a medium for the higher spirits." "kim kum hwa is one of more than 200, 000 mudang in korea." "they serve society as priests, prophets healers, entertainers and counsellors." "hyun key kim hogarth is a well-known author and expert on the mudang." "the mudang derive their mystical powers from their belief in shamanism an ancient religion with roots in central asia." "long before confucianism, Buddhism and christianity came to dominate this country koreans believed that spirits lived everywhere the sky, the trees, and the mountains." "the mudang were the link between these spirits and the everyday world." "who are these women who claim to have divine powers and commune with the spirits?" "and what is it about the mudang that so many turns to them in times of need find out when mysteries of modern asia returns" "nestled in the foothills of the sacred mt. chiri, the mudang flag flies high" "today, a woman is being initiated into the mysterious world of the mudang." "under the watchful eyes of master mudangs, pak hye kong will attempt to become possessed by spirits and prove to all she has what it takes to join this ancient sect" "42 -year old pak hye kong has decided to become a mudang not by choice but because she believes she must." "according to shaman belief in korea, the gods can call upon anyone to become a mudang." "to ignore their calling is to invite the wrath of the gods" "at that time my husband's company went bankrupt." "then my second child died and my third child became disabled in a car accident." "now pak faces a rite of passage, which will determine her future." "if she is successful, she will become a mudang in her own right a new profession and the fulfillment of what she calls a divine calling." "as the kut begins, a senior mudang beckons the gods to attend." "as the beats intensify, pak attempts to make contact with the spirits... as she sinks into what appears to be a mystical trance other mudang join her." "in a colourful display of passion and drama they attempt to commune with the spirits... during the kut, the mudang say they are possessed by a number of different gods... although they are almost cartoon-like in their appearance" "they are a force to be reckoned with.... the spirit of korean general lee is both feisty and imposing... the childs spirit, on the other hand will cry and ask for candy and money" "possession by spirits is central to a mudang's life and they claim to have the power to summon spirits at will sometimes though, as our cameras found it appears the spirits summon them." "who are you now?" "as mudang ha nae turns into a child spirit, she demands money an expected request which is repeated throughout the kut." "but not all spirits are so benign." "questioned about her powers, master mudang madam chong hak bong erupts as she takes on the manner of general lee's spirit." "have you got any money?" "can you give me 1 0,000 quickly" "Because I'll explain later." "are we witnessing an actual possession by spirits or is this an elaborate performance played out to satisfy the spiritual needs of believers?" "for first-timer hye kong the pressure is on." "she must now work herself into a trance powerful and deep enough to allow the spirits to possess her." "if the spirits speak through her- the kut ceremony will be deemed a success and she will be assured a future as a mudang." "but if not, she may find no release from the bad luck which she says haunts her." "as her body moves to a frenzied beat hye kong appears suddenly possessed" "apparently possessed by a child spirit she begins to tell the fortunes of the villagers gathered to see her." "in such a way, they say, a mudang begins her otherworldly profession becoming a source of comfort for the community." "pak's powers however, are still raw." "once honed, the mudang claim they are capable of even greater supernatural powers." "chong hak bong is regarded as one of the country's greatest mudangs and a master of the kut." "she uses a sharp blade to show ..." "that once taken on by a spirit ..." "a mudang appears impervious to mortal pain." "chong's powers are legendary ..." "even frightening when she attempts to ride the double swords." "later madam chong balances the carcass of a sacrificial pig on a pole." "if it balances without support the mudang believe it is a sign that the spirits are present and another chance for believers to offer cash to the gods." "it is also symbolic of the kut itself an exotic cerermony performed to bring back balance and harmony into life." "whether the kut involves genuine possession by the gods no one can be sure." "but perhaps the mudang's sheer power of belief unlocks a hidden strength all of its own." "when the god's enter me, it feels wonderful." "I feel as if my body is like a feather flying in the air." "you open your mouth and start speaking what the god's want you to say." "I've spent my life doing this for many years but i still get surprised about the powers the gods give to me." "sometimes I look at the general god on the wall and honour him so much, thinking how powerful he is." "and that's my life"" "do spirits and gods communicate with the living -and imbue them with incredible powers to solve crimes, to heal the ill and to perform supernatural feats?" "is it possible that cultures steeped in centuries of tradition possess secrets that have yet to be discovered and that the mystery and magic of asia has yet to be revealed...?"