Some individuals seem to arrive in the world already equipped with astonishing abilities — gifts so unusual they leave experts grasping for explanations. In this article, we explore the stories of three remarkable people whose talents appeared without formal training, raising a timeless question: Are such gifts the result of chance, or are they blessings from a higher power?
A Brazilian healer with no training and no tools
One of the most extraordinary cases is that of Arigo, a Brazilian man born in 1918. A farmer by trade, he had no medical education or surgical training. Yet he gained fame as a healer and was said to perform surgery without anesthesia, antiseptics, or even proper surgical instruments. Witnesses claimed he could treat hundreds of patients a day — reportedly removing tumors and foreign objects with simple household tools. Many said they felt no pain during the procedures.
American physician Dr. Andrija Puharich traveled to Brazil to observe Arigo firsthand. To test the healer’s abilities, Puharich offered up his own arm for the removal of a benign growth. Arigo used a common folding knife instead of a scalpel and reportedly completed the procedure in seconds, without anesthesia or bleeding. According to accounts, the wound healed quickly with no signs of infection.
How did he do it? Arigo claimed he was guided by “invisible doctors” during surgery. Scientists and medical professionals were unable to find a rational explanation. In the end, some conceded it might involve forces that science simply could not measure.
The girl who paints from dreams
In the United States, Akiane Kramarik is known as “the girl who paints dreams.” Born in 1994, she began painting at the age of four and gained national recognition by the time she was nine. Her most famous painting, Prince of Peace — a hauntingly lifelike portrait of Jesus Christ — was completed when she was just eight years old. In 2019, it sold for US$850,000.
Another work, Co-Creation, painted at age 11, is a self-portrait showing her standing under a star-filled sky, reaching toward a shining star with a paintbrush. “I wanted to express the joy of creating alongside God, and my awe for His love and wisdom,” she once said. “My palette is the universe, and I dip my brush into the stars.”
Akiane’s art conveys a profound spiritual depth well beyond her years. Her work has appeared on television programs and magazine covers, and her website has received over 150 million visits. She has said she was taught to paint by a teacher in a dream — someone she described as living in a “place of light.” While the story sounds extraordinary, the undeniable quality and emotional resonance of her work have led many to believe her talent may be guided by something beyond the physical world.
The Tibetan boy who recited a million-line epic
The third case comes from the highlands of Tibet. Sithar Dorje, born in 1989 to a nomadic herding family, had no formal schooling and could neither read nor write. Yet at age nine, he had a vivid dream in which two red-faced deities — a symbol often found in Tibetan spiritual imagery — handed him two sacred texts and told him to swallow them. When he awoke, he was able to recite The Epic of King Gesar, a cultural treasure and the longest epic poem in the world.
The epic spans more than 120 volumes and over a million lines of verse. Even today, scholars have only officially compiled about 20 million words from the text, and most researchers spend years working on small portions of it.
Despite his lack of education, Sithar Dorje could recite thirteen full volumes without repetition, singing through day and night in a style that vividly captured the spirit of ancient battles and legendary heroes. His performance stunned literary experts and spiritual leaders alike. Chinese scholars of oral tradition coined a term for such phenomena: “dream-bestowed divine instruction,” describing knowledge that seems to be transferred through dreams or supernatural means.
Is genius a divine gift?
These stories, from different corners of the world, share a common thread. The word “gifted” may sound like ordinary praise, but it also suggests something given — bestowed by a power beyond ourselves. None of these prodigies were merely hardworking students; each one describes their abilities as awakened through dreams, visions, or unseen guidance.
What, then, is this mysterious source of talent? Some may call it God, others refer to divine beings, fate, or the universe itself. Whatever the name, the idea that genius may stem from something greater than human effort continues to inspire awe — and invites us to consider that not all knowledge is learned, and not all talent is taught.
Translated by Cecilia
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