I Will
tell you if you are possessed and if yes, help you get rid of the evil
spirit,” these words may have well been spoken to you. “If your
hand turns pink after I touch it then you are possessed and all you
need to do to shoo away the spirit is perform a pooja,” the ‘miracle
man’ would have claimed. Your hand will turn pink too but not because
of the ‘powers’ of this ‘miracle man’ but because of science.
So falling
prey to these claims of a ‘baba’ would not mean just being relieved
of a ‘spirit’ but also of your hard-earned money. The message is
clear. It is science and not miracle and spreading this message is Narendra
Nayak, President of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations.
The organization is committed to the development of scientific temper.
Nayak,
also a professor of Biochemistry at the Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore,
was recently in Mysore to interact with the students of Demonstration
School (DMS).
Battle
superstitions
“It
is necessary to reach this age group and open their eyes to reality.
Children will help me battle superstitions,” said Nayak. All that
these ‘God men’ or ‘miracle men’ do are tricks and I want to
educate children about this, he added. During the interaction, Nayak introduced the children to the
chemicals used to make ‘miracles’ happen.
The children
were in splits when Nayak told them about Godbaba, considered
a symbol of charity in Maharashtra. “It is believed that when he touches
people’s hand, they turn sweet. But the secret of his shakti is sugar-free tablets,” he said.
He spoke of times when he faced opposition. This has not made him give up. “I do not want my countrymen to be exploited. I want people to think and ask questions,” he said. He has to an extent succeeded in this cause going by the enthusiasm of DMS students. They wanted to know everything from Saibaba’s “miracles to Uri Geller’s spoonbending trick, Bermuda Triangle, pranic healing, rebirth to astrology and height increasing tablets”. “Height-increasing tablets have neither side nor main effects, they are all tall claims,” he said.
Source
of conflict
On conversion, Nayak said, “I am not religious, so for me conversion is a replacement
of one set of superstitions by another. Present day religion is a set
of dogma and a source of conflict; exploitation of the gullible is the
main feature of any religion.” He cited the incident of sea water’
turning sweet’ in Mumbai and said “there are reports of the ‘miracle’
water being sold to people, this is how people are exploited in the
name of religion.”
He also rubbished
astrology and said that he in 2004, he had challenged astrologers to
guess the next Prime Minister of India. “Not even one among the 27
entrants mentioned Manmohan Singh,” he said. On ‘godmen’s contribution
to the society’, he said that their financial contribution was not
bigger than the government’s. “Their exploitation can’t be justified
this way.”
Media played
a crucial role in dispelling such ‘myths’ and developing scientific
temper, he said. “Paranormal events should be critically analysed.
Experts should be consulted while reporting such events. Various state
governments have been supporting this cause,” he added.
To intensify
his miracle busting programmes, Nayak plans to resign from his job and
dedicate more time to strengthening the Association. Apart from creating
awareness through interactive programmes, he trains people interested
in dispelling ‘myths’ “They are also taught to handle the crowd,”
he said.
Nayak
today may be able to convey his thoughts at various forums, but it was
an uphill task initially he says. “Ours is a district, which has a
high literacy rate. Yet, I saw people falling prey to superstitions
and astrology. This happened in my family too. So a few of us got together
and started Dakshina Kannada Vicharavadi Sangha in 1976, to promote
rational thinking and expose ‘miracle men.’ “My aim is to rid
the country of superstitions and I am optimistic,” he says.
You can
contact Nayak on 9448216343 or write to him at
narenyen@yahoo.co.in
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