The horrific murder of four members of a family, including a couple and their daughter, that has shaken the collective conscience of the society, took place next to Cliff House, the official residence of the Kerala chief minister, at Nanthancode in the heart of the capital city.

Startling revelations in TVPM killings: Cult-driven Cadell sacrificed his family for satanic worship



A day after the badly mutilated and partly charred bodies of the victims were recovered, the police arrested the couple’s son Cadell Jeanson Raja, 30, the sole suspect in the case. Subsequently, Cadell confessed to the crime and said he sacrificed his family while attempting a technique called as 'astral projection.'

Though the police have reused to buy this statement on satanic worship and concluded that he was merely trying to mislead the police, the term 'astral projection' has caught the attention of the people.

Astral projection claims fall flat: 'disheartened' Cadell plotted his family's murder



But if Cadell's statement is true, it is one of the most bizarre crimes in the history of Kerala.

What is astral projection?

The accused, who once pursued medical studies before discontinuing it halfway, claimed that he was involved in Satanic worship and the murders were part of his experimentation with astral projection, commonly known as out-of-body experience.

The term simply means the ‘separation of the spirits’ from the body. It is said that he may be suffering from hallucinations and delusions of psychotic disorders, commonly found in Satanists.

Astral projection is a term used in esotericism to describe a willful out-of-body experience (OBE). It assumes the existence of a soul or consciousness called an ‘astral body’ that is separate from the physical body and is capable of traveling outside of it. The idea of astral travel is rooted in esotericism and occultism. Its origin could be traced to ancient civilizations and Esoteric Science practices prevailed in different parts of the world.

In ancient India, the practice used to be known as transmutation, 'parakaya pravesha' or 'linga sareera'. References to out-of-body experience figured prominently in many of our ancient texts. Books by spiritual masters like Meher Baba, Acharya Rajneesh, and Paramahansa Yogananda also contain mentions of astral projections.

Mystical schools of thought from different cultures, including Jewish Kabbalah, Chinese Tantra, Japanese 'ikiryō', indigenous religious traditions prevailing in Latin America, and shamanic practices in ancient Egypt, have different and unique versions of astral projection.

The psychological element

A human mind is a network of interconnected neurons firing in a particular order. According to psychologists, the experiences of astral projection are induced through stimulation, hallucinations, delusions, and vivid dreams. Simply, there is no scientific evidence for the so-called ‘out-of-body experience’. However, some types of psychological disorders, use of certain narcotics drugs, and breathing problems can lead to such hallucinations.

Also, there is no proof for the claims made by the practitioners of astral projection that they were able to fly and travel to distant places. All these unexplained 'spiritual phenomena' are associated with mere imagination, experts say. Moreover, scientists were able to recreate similar perceptions similar to descriptions of astral projection in laboratories.

Though Cadell has told police that he experimented with astral projection for Satanic worship, one question remains. Why did he choose to try it out on his family members instead of his own body, and went absconding after killing all of them? Certain types of brain tumors can also trigger such behavioral changes in persons, experts say.

(With inputs from Dr. Robin Mathew, behavioral psychologist, Nova Clinic, Kanjirappally, Kottayam)