Lek Lai "The Steel Eel"

A holy mineral found in Thailand mostly near the Mekong river deep within caves or growing on trees in the forests.. Why must it be gathered in a ritualistic manner, why can't one simply take it? It's time for us to learn about the mystical nature of a living mineral in this weeks article with Sadhu Dah.

Many locals of Thailand would excitedly perk up at the mention of the words "Lek Lai", they may even inquire to see it, if only to catch a glimpse of this divine mineral. Perhaps they have a story of its power to share with you. In Thai culture it is believed to be a kind of metal-animal and not merely a mineral found in nature. Lek Lai comes in all shapes and sizes as most types of minerals tend to, its color can be a shining reflective black, a rainbow tinted fusion of colors, or even transparent and white. Some Lek Lai are even silver in composition, or gold, but no matter what it looks like the common notion is that this mineral is sacred and should be treated as such. It appears as rare metal alloy or mercurial substance. It is mainly found in Thailand, but in Indonesia they refer to it as "Badar Besi".

The Lek Lai is not merely found, but it is summoned and petitioned with ceremony, often times beseeched by a Naga guardian (half serpent half human cryptid) or a living composition of intelligent matter that is quasi-physical in nature known as Phraya Sming Leklai. He is said to appear before an Ajarn or Bhikkhu in the cave after being prayed to and will appear as a long black snake-like eel. If he is pleased by offering and prayer then he will drop some Lek Lai before the Bhikkhu or Ajarn which they may gather and take with them. This giving of Lek Lai is a part of the Phraya Sming Leklai, part of his body and still alive and sentient even when separated.

There is not just one type of Lek Lai as I'm sure you are beginning to understand, but dozens of very different substances that can be called Lek Lai. The words Lek Lai translate as "the steel eel", in reference to the capacity of some types being able to become liquid in composition. In many legends the Lek Lai is said to swim through the mountains, that it is always moving and goes where it pleases.

"What is the actual process to harvest Lek Lai?"

A Bhikkhu or Ajarn must have the proper knowledge and ritual understanding to carry out the extraction, it is a scientific process that if done wrong can have devastating effects. The extraction attempt performed by someone incorrectly can cause serious damage to the energy body, fracturing of the mind, and even death if it is performed by someone who is not well prepared and spiritually protected.

On the "auspicious day" (lucky or special day), the monk goes out with his devotees (or alone) to the identified cave or section of forest. Sometimes very powerful masters can do this in temple and conjure the Lek Lai from the sky or through the flame of a candle, but these days such masters with this skill level are becoming ever rare. In the invoking ceremony various images and statues representing local deities are set up in an altar space while votive candles and ritual offerings (mostly flowers) are laid out in specific points of the cave for an energetic grid of alignment to conduct the ritual. White sheets will be strung up so that they may catch Lek Lai that rain down from the ceiling.

The ceremony itself consists of deep meditation and rapturous states of Samadhi, followed by the repetition of sacred Kathas and Pali mantras, it is often followed in tandem with a percussion of bells and other ancient instruments and sacred relics

Harvest Time!

The Lek Lai will then flow from rocks or out from the tree and will behave and move like a snake, it either takes a solid or liquid form before finally presenting itself to the holy man.

After the ceremony is over and a base enchantment is done, the Lek Lai will be cut when it is solid and moving, with a ritual knife, or molded while if it is in liquid form. The Bhikkhu or Ajarn will then invite the Lek Lai to enter amulet molds or casings where they immediately turn solid. Sometimes during ceremony the Lek Lai will rain down, that's why the white sheets are hung up.

Once shaped or sculpted, Lek Lai undergoes a powerful ritual of recharging, this empowering is a tuning and focusing of its natural power, great effort and specific Wicha goes into preparing it before it is ready to be used as a powerful amulet. The Lek Lai is considered to be a living being as I mentioned previously, we would say it is part of the Deva classification (heavenly entities that can be called deities). A Lek Lai can be considered as a Deva that has been driven to be born on Earth. There are both ‘Kon Tan’ and Yaksa type Devas found inhabiting Lek Lai, at some point we will go further into detail on Devas, but that's not the purpose of this article. The different types of Devas inhabiting the Lek Lai have their own special powers and properties which differ between each type of Lek Lai.

Some of the reported powers of the Lek Lai are as follows.

-Invulnerability

-Guns not firing in the presence of Lek Lai

-Success in business

-Finding a suitable romantic partner

-Protection from evil spirits

-Healing of illnesses and broken bones

-Raising energies in meditation

-Lersi place Lek Lai under the tongue to achieve levitation

-Blocking different frequencies

Kaya Siddhi

Before we conclude this post, I wanted to go a bit deeper onto these ceremonies and rituals we briefly touched on. If one is to properly gather Lek Lai then they will need to have mastery of the Kaya Siddhi, this is the very super power needed to cultivate Lek Lai from source. Lets talk about a couple of the main Wicha traditions that are employed under the Kaya Siddhi.

Dtat Yen (cold cutting)

‘Peng Kasin Fai’ (the fire staring Kasina), this method employs a culmination of ancient divination and Bhuta Shuddhi (cleansing of the 5 elements) garnered internally and then externalized through the mastery of eternal cleansed fire. Often called the cold method, it is applied using one single candle (one Baht in weight), and is used to melt the Lek Lai in the ‘Rang Lek Lai’ (nest). Under no circumstance should the ritual be conducted by anyone other than an Adept of Fire Kasina who wields incredibly potent psychic powers. The Fire Kasina allows one to use the weak candle flame and amplify it with mental projection, which will coax the Lek Lai out of its nest. It will fall down into the alms bowl where there is wild forest honey inside which is an offering to the Lek Lai. Cold cut Lek Lai will always don the appearance of small rounded beads regardless of the mineral composition. This kind of Lek Lai is considered as top grade above many others, because it is ‘Lek Lai Nam Neung’, meaning it will not solidify in its natural abode. It will remain in a liquid state unless a specific Wicha known as "Akom" is used, only then can it be shaped into solid form.

Dtat Rorn

Cutting Lek Lai is near impossible because of how rare it is and how hard it is to cultivate and manifest, not to mention the skill needed to do so. Removing the ‘Rang Lek Lai’ (nest) is the best way to extract remaining residues. The only way to do that is by first getting the Lek Lai to appear, as stated before, which takes a person who has mastery over the Kaya Siddhi and knows the Fire Kasina Wicha. A master of this would be known as a Kroo Ba Ajarn. Once the nest has been removed, a separate Wicha must be used to cut the Lek Lai, we know this as the hot flame method. The hot flame method allows the Lek Lai to dribble out of the stone nest. If you don't possess the Wicha of cutting Lek Lai with the hot flame method then the Lek Lai will not emerge and dribble down from the nest, it will actually explode in a violent manner. Many inexperienced individuals who managed to get their hands on a nest have been killed by the explosion or maimed by the shrapnel which then leads to death. You see, there's a reason that many Mit Moor (holy knife) are made from Lek Lai. These daggers are never meant to cut human flesh, much the same as a Wiccan Athame (ritual knife). The Mit Moor is used in ritual ceremonies, severing spirit attachments, exorcisms, blessings, empowerment practices, and etc. It is never meant to cut in the physical world, it is a spiritual weapon and tool and a wound created by the Lek Lai will not heal or close and will poison the energetic structure and prevent physical healing and death will soon follow. To perform the Wicha correctly in hot flame method you need a flame that is strong enough and only able to be strengthened with intense psychic energy and proper Kata chanting of Akom. Only then will the stone not explode, and the Lek Lai that is hidden within the stone nest will begin to seep out slowly. You do not need Fire Kasina mastery for hot flame method, but still need mastery of Akom Kata chanting.