Jurney to God – The Malaysian Experience with Sai Baba
Excerpts shared for educational and spiritual purposes with reverence to the author. This is a non-profit project dedicated to selfless service.
by J. Jagathesan
DRUGS - THE DEVI L'S SPAWN
Mr. Ang Chooi Tuah (Chandu/opium addict)
(as told by Mr. Ang)
A short, rather cheerful-looking man, this 43 year old Mr. Ang. I had
first met him during Bhajans in Klang and he had even participated in Bhajans
at my home in Jalan Abdullah. I was thus rather surprised to hear of Ang's
chandu or opium addiction when it was mentioned, during the return trip from
Port Dickson. I subsequently recorded his story, told in Bahasa Malaysia, on
the 31st of March 1977.
Ang's addiction to Chandu started at the age of 35
following the familiar path of mixing with wrong company. Ang who had only six
years of Chinese School education and not very good schooling at that
(according to Ang), was already married at that time and had five children. He
was working as a "cargo handler" in a cargo handling corporation. (He
is still a cargo handler but it appears that there has been a change in his
employer in Port Klang.)
To my rather naive question, Ang explained patiently
that chandu was another name for opium and was normally smoked through a long
pipe shared by other opium smokers. Having been hooked to the habit, Ang
continued smoking till he was about 40 years old.
Soon after the addiction began, Ang realized that his
meagre salary was insufficient to sustain his increasing need and so he began
to borrow money and soon fell deep into debt. As the situation became worse, he
found he could not live, let alone work, without puffs of chandu. To quote his
exact words, "when I don't get a smoke for more than ten hours, I feel
like dying. I begin to perspire and my skin gets very hot. The veins in my arms
begin to stretch and twist. It is a terrible pain that I cannot bear. All the
joints in my body begin to ache and my knee joints become so painful that I
cannot even walk."
During the period 1969-1974 Ang's salary was around
$200-$300/= a month and expenses for chandu alone came up to $90/= per month
(and thus he had to support a wife and five children on between $110-$210/= per
month). The chandu was sold in small packets costing $1/= each. The contents
was a black substance, soft like tar, which could be smoked or mixed with
coffee as a drink. By the time he was 40 years old, Ang was on two to three
packets per day.
By this time Ang realized that he was in deep trouble and that he was
heading for self-destruction. His finance was running out, his body had shriveled
until at the age of 38, he looked like an old man. His weight, according to
Ang, fell from 82 katies to 72 katies (i.e. 109.3 lbs. to 96 lbs.) He also was
in dire fear that he would be caught by government authorities and be sent to
prison.
All the above pressures and fears
created in Ang an urge to stop his indulgence with the "devil's
spawn" - but try as he did he could not stop. The craving and the pain
would drive him back to the transient illusion of the chandu remedy.
Then several events began to take
place almost simultaneously (it became very difficult to pinpoint at this stage
the exact sequence of events - though Ang was subject to a thorough
cross-examination by myself and Mr. Rajasukar of Klang.)
Having decided that he wanted to give up the habit,
Ang realized that he needed help. But to whom was this poor, little educated,
Chinese laborer to turn to. He initially approached a doctor in Klang for help.
The kind doctor tried to help. He gave him injections, one a day for three
days. However, the injections gave only temporary relief for five hours. After
the third day of injections the doctor told Ang that he could not help him
further "You must stop smoking chandu if you want help," he told Ang.
During this same period, Ang was moving around or
rather was in the same work. gang as a few Indian cargo handlers. One of them a
Mr. Rajaram was at that time becoming a devotee of Baba and would tell everyone
about Baba and His miracles, how He had helped others and also himself.
It transpired that Rajaram (according to Rajaram, who
was present during my interview with·Ang) had been a very heavy drinker and a
very aggressive individual, especially after a few drinks. Even though he drank
heavily he used to do yoga exercise in the mornings and also read religious
books. He read about Baba and became convinced that He was an Avatar- of God
He began to take part in Bhajans and also in Baba's
birthday celebrations in Kuala Lumpur and Klang 1969. He brought back vibuthi
given by devotees and distributed these to friends, who appeared to get
miraculously cured. One day he bought a Baba pendant and put this on and
immediately after that his craving for drinks ceased and he stopped his
drinking habit. (He admits to an occasional drink nowadays, though looking at
Rajaram one would find it difficult to believe that he had been a
"drinker" and an aggressive individual.)
By this time Ang had already
resolved to turn to God and religion for help, to get him out of his chandu
addiction. He, in short, needed a lifeline to pull himself out of trouble and
according to Ang, Baba in His infinite grace gave him the lifeline.
When Rajaram told Ang about his experience, Ang
decided that his search for a savior had ended. He thought, "If Baba can
help, I will seek His help."
Ang then started praying to Baba and attending
Bhajans. It was a struggle of titanic proportions for Ang, virtually the devil
and evil on one side and good and God on the other.
However, as he found that he was
slowly able to reduce his smoking of chandu ... his resolution strengthened.
One day seeing Rajaram and other friends wearing Baba pendants he decided to do
likewise. He thus bought a Baba pendant and wore it. Ang insists that the
moment he started wearing it, his craving ceased; the battle was over. The pain
that had been tearing his body and soul for five years stopped and he found
that there was no need to go for further chandu puffs. Thus at the age of 40,
Ang "kicked" a habit he had acquired when he was 35 years old.
Baba has subsequently come in Ang's dreams and in the
dream materialized vibuthi for him. This is in itself an. act of grace,
for Baba says that He causes Himself to come in our dreams ..... it is not our
doing.
To my question as to how he considers Baba now; Ang
said firmly, "I think He is God." His wife also considers Baba
likewise and prays to Baba.
The Angs have now eight children the eldest being 22
years old.
To my final question as to how his Chinese friends and
colleagues and relatives take to his praying to Baba, Ang said that they do not
tease him or criticize him for following Baba ...... “for you see they all know
my story" ...... and his five years sojourn with the "devil's
spawn."
