It has
been a weekend of ‘miracles’ across India. The first was on Friday
evening, when seawater off the Mumbai coast at Mahim became miraculously
sweet, thanks to the blessings of Haji Maqdoom Baba, a 13th Sufi saint
whose shrine is nearby. Thousands of people converged on the beach to
drink the ‘blessed water’ and to be purified by it. Few of
them noticed or cared that untreated sewage and industrial waste from Mumbai pours
through the Mahim creek into the sea. It is true that the seawater near
Mahim on Friday was not salty but the fall in salinity levels was not
because of divine intervention or the saint’s blessings but the result
of this year’s heavy rains. Rainwater being lighter than seawater
remained on the surface making the seawater relatively sweet.
But no one was willing to listen to the explanation or pay
heed to civic authorities cautioning the public against
drinking the toxic water. The water near the Mahim Creek is dangerous
as it is contaminated with cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic, pesticides,
plastic waste and faecal matter. But thousands drank it believing that
the blessed water would cure them. It will be a miracle, indeed, if
those who consumed the water do not fall prey to disease.
The other
‘miracle’ over the weekend was that of Ganesh idols supposedly drinking
milk. This is an old story. In September 1995, many devotees across
the world flocked to temples to ‘feed’ Ganesh idols with milk. The
‘miracle’ of milk-drinking Ganesh idols has been scientifically
explained as the result of a combination of surface tension, capillary
action and siphoning.
The mass
hysteria witnessed over the weekend would seem funny but for the fact
that those who plunged into toxic waters or ‘fed’ Ganesh idols with
milk are credulous people, yearning for signs of divine intervention
to change their otherwise troubled lives. There are any number of people
who turn to ‘godmen’, faith healers, lucky stones and so on to rid
themselves of their distress and misfortunes. And there are many who
are waiting to exploit the insecurity of these people. This exploitation
will end only if the myths surrounding miracles are dispelled. That
requires a sustained campaign by rationalists, the scientific community
and the media.
|