Andhra Pradesh - Guntur   

A beacon of hope for the ailing

P. Samuel Jonathan

Healing centre at Pedakakani near Guntur drawing huge crowds

COMMUNAL AMITY: Devotees belonging to all religions pray together at `swasthisala' at Pedakakani to fulfill their wishes. - T. Vijaya Kumar

GUNTUR: Faith can move mountains, is one of the famous sayings of Jesus in the Bible. It is faith in the healing prowess of Kakani Swasthisala, popularly called as `Kakani Thota' at Pedakakani near Guntur that has been drawing thousands of people over the years.

A vast multitude of people cutting across barriers of caste and religion from far flung areas in the State, suffering from various ailments seek divine intervention in their pursuits, throng the dusty tracks of Pedakakani every Monday. The RTC plies special services from Vijayawada and Guntur keeping in view the heavy flow of devotees.

Massive organisation

What started off as a small prayer cell in 1949 with just six members has now grown into a massive organisation with thousands of Churches and healing centres sprung up in cities and towns across the world. It was late Fr. Devadas, who laid the foundation for the healing centre, which was later nurtured by late Rao Saheb J. Raja Rao, an erstwhile Zamindar from Guntur.

After the death of Devadas, the healing centre became a beacon of hope to many people. People who got healed later testified and soon the word about the centre spread out. "We believe that there is direct relationship between faith and healing powers. Healing is an act of God which works in people through faith,'' Bible Mission secretary J. Samuel Kiran told The Hindu on Tuesday.

No discrimination

Stories of many an ailing popular cine star visiting the centre and getting cured of his ailments abound in the village. Locals still recall how a popular and ageing cine star, suffering from blood cancer, came here without revealing his identity and got cured. Some like, P. Rajesh, a software engineer at HCL Technologies in Chennai too testified that he got the job, after attending the meeting for three weeks at the centre. "There is no discrimination on the basis of religion, caste and creed in the centre.

Every visitor would be allowed to pray and we even provide meal for the devotees,'' Kiran says.

It is not just a case of church drawing people. Pedakakani seems to have imbibed the perfect secular traditions.

It has a dargah, frequented by hundreds of people every Friday and a Sivalayam, all within a vicinity of five km.

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