Pune: World-renowned
astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar has expressed serious concern at the
rising trend among people to get married after the matching of horoscopes.
He has
said that Indian society needs to worry about this trend, along with
its fascination for superstitions like Vastushastra and Feng Shui, which
have never passed scientific Scrutiny.
Blind
belief in the divine powers of spiritual godmen is another area of concern,
said Narlikar. He was speaking on ‘scientific temper’ at the two-day
6th national conference of the Federation of Indian Rationalists
Association (FIRA), Which started on Friday. The Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana
College at Wagholi, off the Pune-Ahmednagar highway, is the venue of
the conference.
Narlikar
observed that he had come across many couples, who themselves had married
without matching horoscopes. Their children, however, were more than
willing to go for a horoscope match to find some sort of an assurance.
“We
have to worry about this,” Narlikar said. He also called for an investigative
approach, involving scientists, journalists and professional magicians,
in exposing claims by spiritual gurus of possessing divine powers.
The scientist pointed out that horoscopic
astrology was borrowed from the Greeks (post Alexander’s visit to India) and the Arabs. “Prior to the Greeks
and Arabs, there is no mention of horoscopic astrology in our literature
and Vedas, but for the odd mention of omens,” he said.
“We have borrowed and imported superstition
and have improved upon it. We have a big job ahead to change this mindset,”
Narlikar said. To bring about this change it would be better to concentrate
on school children rather than adults, he added.
Narlikar
also expressed unhappiness at the Union government’s attempt nearly
seven years ago, to legitimise studies in astrology by way of University
Grants Commission (UGC)-funding for separate astrology departments at
Indian universities.
“There
is no one at the UGC willing to give straight answers to the move, which
we have strongly opposed,” he said.
The meet
was inaugurated by N.D Patil, leader of the Progressive Farmers’ Front,
who lamented the state government’s apathy towards introducing an
enactment to curb black magic and sorcery. “For a government that
never stops calling Maharashtra a progressive state, the delay in bringing
about the enactment is unfortunate,” he said. Patil also
called for efforts at the primary and secondary
education level to counter superstition.
Narendra
Dabholkar, president of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti,
which organised the meet, FIRA president Narendra Nayak, G. Vijayam,
executive director of the Atheist Centre, Vijayawada, and others spoke on the
occasion.
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