Leklai
Introduction
Lek means Metal and Lai means flow literally in Thai. There has been a lot of skepticism regarding this material. Many says it is manufactured and someone hides somewhere on top of the caves and starts throwing them onto the cloth while the monk is doing his chanting so as to make it look realistic. The material is actually glass, some sort of hematite ore or mild steel origin, it has multiple colors, gold or reddish in color, some of it even looks like aluminum. Some of these Leklai even comes in the shape of a Buddha or a figurine of a monk. Too good to be true. The Saming Lek which is a black long rope like thing which suspend itself in mid-air while coming down from some crevices. It looks like doctor’s scope. How can all this be real?
Myths & Facts
First and foremost, for those who doubt, have they personally witnessed the manifestation of Leklai themselves? Have they been to the caves personally to see through all the hassle that has gone into it? For those who brought these Leklai to be 'Verified' by a Gemologist and the results came out to be made of glass or cubic zirconian. I would like to know what exactly does a gemologist study? Minerals or Religion, Spirituality, Phenomenon ? First of all science and spirituality does not work hand in hand a 100%. There is no way to explain certain logic when it comes to the phenomenon aspect.
Glass will always be glass, Obsidian is volcanic glass, when you melt sand it becomes glass, Tektites are glass but are formed by Meteorite impact. The way it is formed is different but it is still glass. Similarly Leklai Kaeo means Glass Leklai, how it is manifested whether by spiritual phenomenon or otherwise it is still Glass. It is the process of how it was formed that holds value to a believer.
Background Info
There are many types of Leklai and they are manifested differently, no molds were used in the process. “Glass Balls” aka Naga Balls roll away on the surface of mud under water while you try to bring it out from the water. Leklai formed out of open space. Unless you go there yourself to witness this manifesting event, there is no other way of explanation.
You need 4 flights for such trips, 9 days. Minimum to cover all 4 different provinces, pay the carriers,4 wheel drive, accommodation, fees to enter private property, money for the monk’s effort and many other expenses. So if you buy a Leklai for a cheap price, it does not make sense because you can’t even cover the cost from them.
There are fake Leklai on the market , these can be bought from some places in Thailand. They are very cheap and look almost similar to the real thing. For everything real in this world there will always be fakes. You have a choice whether to believe in the phenomenon or not but if you have not witnessed things yourself, always give it a benefit of a doubt instead of jumping into conclusion.