One of the best parts of childhood for me was to enjoy the mythological tales and become aware of the world where Lord Hanuman could fly, as the emergency herbal treatment is to be delivered to his master’s brother; Laxman. Lord Ram travelling by Pushpak Viman (aero plane), Lord Ganesha being planted with the head of elephant as his human head was chopped off by his father, all this was uncritically digested. Karna is born from the ear of his mother; Kauravas are born from the mass delivered by Gandhari, the mass being divided into 100 pieces and being preserved. Such fanciful imaginations were so engrossing that questioning them never came to my mind. With growing up years, some exposure to science and then rigorous training for close to decade in a medical school forced one to revisit the childhood fantasies built around mythological fictions. Realization gradually dawned as to how to distinguish between fact and fiction, history and mythology. The beauty of imagination; fiction of the pre-Historic times, does still remain etched somewhere but is not a guiding principle for understanding of social phenomenon and processes.
While going through the tough medical discipline, one came to see the complexity of human body, histopathology, immune systems, blood groups, bio-compatibility and what have you. A mere thought that Lord Ganesha could carry an elephant head if taken logically will lead you to so many questions. If the head is severed from the body; for how many minutes one can survive? The head houses the brain with higher centers for control of breathing and heart pumping amongst others, so how long can one remain alive to be a recipient for other’s organs, and that too the head of an elephant? What is the difference in the immune system of human body and elephant? Even while transplanting kidney to one human being to another there are battery of tests carried on meticulously to assess the compatibility between recipient and the donor. So there was all this paraphernalia, if Mr. Modi is to be believed?
A mass delivered from uterus; can it be divided into 100 pieces? What type of micro surgery is required for splitting the fertilized ovum? Can uterus be located near ear? I am sure all these questions must have cropped up in the minds of the doctors, who had the privilege of listening to their Prime Minister in person when he was inaugurating their hospital. They heard, “We can feel proud of what our country achieved in medical science at one point of time. We all read about Karna in Mahabharata. If we think a little more, we realize that Mahabharata says Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means that genetic science was present at that time. That is why Karna could be born outside his mother’s womb… We worship Lord Ganesh. There must have been some plastic surgeon at that time, which got an elephant’s head on the body of a human being and began the practice of plastic surgery”.
Hope the hospital he inaugurated is not planning to undertake such miraculous surgeries and splitting of the ovum in to hundred pieces! Many in the country surely must be feeling happy that their PM has given glory to ‘our’ past achievements! By all accounts it was a pastoral society or might have been the beginning of agricultural times, with hunting stage still lurking somewhere. The facts are very different from the utterances of the PM.
The practical impossibility of these fictional tales being true cannot be overemphasized. As understood with great pain and scientific enterprise the fictions of mythology of Mahabharata or Ramayana do not stand even a chance of being actualized. All this requires a huge infrastructure, body of scientific knowledge of human body, physics, astronomy, and myriad other components of knowledge which have been growing from the past but have taken definitive contours in last few centuries only. With all this progress in scientific enterprise today none of these ‘glorious achievements’ can even be dreamt of even today. The World of science has taken giant strides and built up on the cumulative knowledge of human society as a whole. Surely there are many contributions which came up in ancient India, and they need to be underlined, and their wisdom and logical method highlighted. Some of these are the ones related to Charak Samhita (Medical science), Sushrut (Surgical techniques); contributions of Aryabhatt in astronomy and discovery of zero. What is important is to build a method of thinking and logic which can take us to the next step of the knowledge, ultimately leading to techniques and applications, which in turn can be used to enhance and enrich existing scientific knowledge.
It’s not that it’s only in our country that such mythological fantasies developed. All old civilizations have such interesting myths. In Egypt, in prehistoric times the tales of Cleopatra tell us that she had belief, like probably many other Egyptians, in the supreme power of many gods who had animal’s heads, like Baboon God head Hedj-Wer and Annubis the jackal headed God. Had the likes of Modi known about this Egyptian belief, the claim of ‘export of our knowledge’ claim would have been registered by now. What a coincidence with our own Lord Ganesh? Is it again a case of plastic surgery or flight of imagination? In Greek mythology, Chinese mythology and many other traditions such fictional characters do merrily abound.
The hope and prayer is that in order to prove the point, those in seats of power do not divert and waste social funds for investigations of these fantasies. While an average person can believe in Lord Ram’s travel in Pushpak Viman or someone else travelling on a flying mat, if those in power believe in these things; the danger of public money and state funds being diverted for ‘research’ in these fantasies is very frightening. One recalls that during Zia Ul Haq’s regime in one of the conferences was on ‘how to solve the power shortage’. Encouraged by the atmosphere where it is supposed that all knowledge is already there in our holy books, one ‘scientist’ presented a ‘research paper’ which argued that jinns are an infinite source of energy and that should be harnessed to solve the power crisis in Pakistan! Mercifully, one hopes that state did not allocate funds for such a research! Any way science is a universal knowledge not owing allegiance to any country or religion. There cannot be anything like a Hindu science or a Muslim science!
While individuals can harbor the reality of mythology, the matters will be difficult if the chief of state has belief in these fictions being part of History. That will be a big set back to the progress of scientific, rational thinking and enterprise. This combination of mythology, religion and politics will make the matters worse. Many competing mythologies will be struggling with each other for their acceptance and being encouraged by such utterances. And the fantasies of power of jinn’s and plastic surgery for Lord Ganesha will a have field day.
Even I hated that particular example of his, not because I consider it wrong or whatever, but I absolutely didn’t want people to debate on things which are absolutely questionable. Now I’ll hate it when will people will dig into it and make fun of our respectable Gods
Dont get hurt Vaibhav,those who make fun of others gods are grave fools .
I think Hindus have complicated their history over the years.
In the coming 100 years same time will come again.Full of mythological stories mixed with real ones ,confusing all.
Kalyug has started .Devil is at its height, using his pawns,and creating war and destruction all over.
You know how countries are boasting of their nuclear weapons .
Very foolish , bomb one nucleare weapon and there will destruction all over ,devil is using his men in Iraq,Syria and else where.
Mr Ram Puniyani has no other work than bashing ‘Hinduism’. The complete article is absurd and dis-respecting. You condemn whatever PM does, I don’t really bother. but bash Hinduism for something Modi does, is out of question. It is infact insult to Hinduism. In fact if you would have published such articles on Islam in Pakistan, you will be behind bars under blasphemy law in no time.
MuslimMirror I request you not to publish such article please. Your sole intention must be to spread awareness and peace in the country, not to divide people on religious lines and insult religions other than Islam. I had so much respect for you muslimmirror. You lost it big time.
Hindus dont know how to explain it .
They have misunderstood what it is.
Since the birth of fisrt man and woman on this world ,a fight is going on between right and wrong,all prophets fought for right.
There divine knowledge which come from Almighty Allah,then there evil knowlde of devil or bad Jinns,and then there material knowledge ,it is our science ..
What Hindus interpreting it is wong
lets talk abt Salman Rushdie ” Satanic Versus ” … then u c what he thinks abt ur prophet
i challenge you to have a debate on it,and I will prove that rushdie has abused even shree Ram in the same book
tell me the page number ?
TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDEGE HE ABUSED MANY HINDU GODS
AND CALLED INDIRA GANDHI “THAT GRAND WIDOW “”
Rushdie ko bhool jao yaar, vo to chuhe ki tarah bhag gaya
It was already published in other news paper way before. See the link below.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/why-do-our-scientists-not-speak-out/article6592791.ece
Accept the truth by discarding the myth.
Stay out of commenting on our religion.
I never comment against any religion. I simply said accept the truth, dont make wrong meaning out of it.
The truth is that by killing animals on EID… people feels proud.. I dont want to hurt your reliogion.. but please dont make negative comment on our religion..
Muslim Mirror,
What’s the motive in publishing such an article. If it is ridiculing Modi, there are a lot of other ways. I don’t see any purpose served by such articles where people start ridiculing gods, goddesses and prophets. Please make it a platform for healthy debates and discussions rather than such things.
Definitely it is useful article ,let our Hindu brothers know what real is.
All what is in mahabharata,ramayana has two sides but purely no science in it.
such things are possible by magic ,by jinns,or by divine knowledge,
But certainly no science in it…
like the ways your prophet flew on horse 🙂
I was disappointed by his venue, his example to illustrate, pamper his audience. Let me ask, “Would PM Modi use his sentences uttered in the Mumbai hospital in a non-Indian, aka, non-Hindu, like his present talk in Australia, his past talks in the States, etc.” If not, why? He fasted to the WH dinner. Both sides of arguments need to be looked at from the long-term strategic viewpoint, not short-term myopic, politically expedient.
Nothnig to be disappointed dear,Christians are degrading Hindus and muslims are calling them ignorant,Mr Modi might have felt hurtful.
India is ancient land of vedas .
We know Ayurveda ,it is knowledge , so were other knwledges ,psuedo hindus might have mislead good ones ….
I have tried to explain in brief ,these pages are not enough…
Ankit. sahab.
Tawheed e Hasti hen ham sara jahan hamara,
Ham kaffiroon kay Kaffir, kaffir khuda hamara….
if u study satanic verses well.kabhi life me quran bhi pad kar samjney ki kosis karen.ur whole coming generation will be blessed.insallah
I dont want to demean quran.. but the followers(ISIS) of holy quran are killing muslims and non-muslims alike in Iraq…
So was BASHAR AL ASAD DOING BEFORE ISIS.
another suppoter of ISIS; please pack up and go to Iraq , your brethen needs you
Dear Jatin how do you know that ISIS follow Quran?
If you have any proof then please share with us?
Mr Ram Puniyani should better consult Congressies who have already derogated Hinduism to all time low…
I pray that the author should never go to any temple or mosque.. because there is no scientific proof that praying is good for life..
Possibilty is there
Be courageous and think over the blind traditions. Then surely India will become a great nation. Science is the key to development not the blind traditions.
All Indian traditions are not blind .
The beauty of imagination; fiction of the pre-Historic times, does still remain etched somewhere but is not a guiding principle for understanding of social phenomenon and processes.
Ganesha placed with elephant head,rama flying in pushpak vahana, Karna is born from the ear of his mother; Kauravas are born from the mass delivered by Gandhari…
There is nothing science in it,it could be pure imaginations or magic or something divine associated with it…a god gift to good humans ..as far kauravs are concerned it could be pure magic ….
Science was not advanced ,so it could be pure divine or magic(devilish)…
They heard, “We can feel proud of what our country achieved in medical science at one point of time. We all read about Karna in Mahabharata. If we think a little more, we realize that Mahabharata says Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means that genetic science was present at that time. That is why Karna could be born outside his mother’s womb… We worship Lord Ganesh. There must have been some plastic surgeon at that time, which got an elephant’s head on the body of a human being and began the practice of plastic surgery”.
RELATING IT TO SCIENCE IS SHEER ILLOGICAL,FOR ME IT IS ABSOLUTE IGNORANCE.LEAVE ALONE PLASTIC SURGERY ASIDE..
THE HOSPITAL STAFF MIGHT HAVE WONDERED ABOUT MR MODI,IF MR MODI WOULD HAVE BEEN ORDINARY CITIZEN ,THEY WOULD HAVE ASKED HIM TO TAKE MEDICINES…
THE GODS HAVING ANIMAL HEAD IS PURE FANTASY ACCORDING TO ALL HOLY SCRIPTURES,IT IS DEVILISH THOUGHTS ,
THE THREE MAJOR RELIGIONS ASKS FOR WORSHIP OF ONE GOD,WITHOUT FORM,UNSEEN,UNBORN,ONLY ONE .
THE FOLLOWING CONTENTS EXPLAINS WHAT GOD IS ,IT IS SAME WHAT MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS BELIEVE
Concept of God according to Hindu Scriptures:
We can gain a better understanding of the concept of God in Hinduism by analysing Hindu scriptures.
BHAGAVAD GITA
The most popular amongst all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita.
Consider the following verse from the Gita: “Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.” [Bhagavad Gita 7:20]
The Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. ‘gods’ besides the True God.
UPANISHADS:
The Upanishads are considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus.
The following verses from the Upanishads refer to the Concept of God:
“Ekam evadvitiyam”
“He is One only without a second.”
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1
“Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah.”
“Of Him there are neither parents nor lord.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2
“Na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no likeness of Him.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3
The following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of man to imagine God in a particular form:
“Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam.”
“His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4
THE VEDAS
Vedas are considered the most sacred of all the Hindu scriptures. There are four principal Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda.
Yajurveda
The following verses from the Yajurveda echo a similar concept of God:
“na tasya pratima asti
“There is no image of Him.”
[Yajurveda 32:3]5
“shudhama poapvidham”
“He is bodyless and pure.”
[Yajurveda 40:8]6
“Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste”
“They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements” (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). “They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti.”
[Yajurveda 40:9]7
Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.
The Yajurveda contains the following prayer:
“Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander.”
[Yajurveda 40:16]8
Atharvaveda
The Atharvaveda praises God in Book 20, hymn 58 and verse 3:
“Dev maha osi”
“God is verily great”
[Atharvaveda 20:58:3]9
Rigveda
The oldest of all the vedas is Rigveda. It is also the one considered most sacred by the Hindus. The Rigveda states in Book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46:
“Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names.”
[Rigveda 1:164:46]
The Rigveda gives several different attributes to Almighty God. Many of these are mentioned in Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1.
Among the various attributes of God, one of the beautiful attributes mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3, is Brahma. Brahma means ‘The Creator’. Translated into Arabic it means Khaaliq. Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as Khaaliq or ‘Creator’ or Brahma. However if it is said that Brahma is Almighty God who has four heads with each head having a crown, Muslims take strong exception to it.
Describing Almighty God in anthropomorphic terms also goes against the following verse of Yajurveda:
“Na tasya Pratima asti”
“There is no image of Him.”
[Yajurveda 32:3]
Another beautiful attribute of God mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3 is Vishnu. Vishnu means ‘The Sustainer’. Translated into Arabic it means Rabb. Again, Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as Rabb or ‘Sustainer’ or Vishnu. But the popular image of
Vishnu among Hindus, is that of a God who has four arms, with one of the right arms holding the Chakra, i.e. a discus and one of the left arms holding a ‘conch shell’, or riding a bird or reclining on a snake couch. Muslims can never accept any image of God. As mentioned earlier this also goes against Svetasvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19.
“Na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no likeness of Him”
The following verse from the Rigveda Book 8, hymn 1, verse 1 refer to the Unity and Glory of the Supreme Being:
“Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata”
“O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone.”
[Rigveda 8:1:1]10
“Devasya samituk parishtutih”
“Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator.”
[Rigveda 5:1:81]11
Brahma Sutra of Hinduism:
The Brahma Sutra of Hinduism is:
“Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan”
“There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit.”
Thus only a dispassionate study of the Hindu scriptures can help one understand the concept of God in Hinduism.
___ Encouraged by the atmosphere where it is supposed that all knowledge is already there in our holy books, one ‘scientist’ presented a ‘research paper’ which argued that jinns are an infinite source of energy and that should be harnessed to solve the power crisis in Pakistan!____
THOUGH THE IDEA OF THE ABOVE PROPOSED THEORY IS WILD AND NOT VALID –
BUT JINNS DO EXISTS – WHICH MANY DOCTORS NEVER BELIEVE ,ATLEAST INSIDE HOSPITAL..
And the fantasies of power of jinn’s and plastic surgery for Lord Ganesha will a have field day.
THERE IS NOTHING FANTASY ABOUT POWER OF JINS ,BUT NOT WHAT PAKISTANI ADVISOR PROPOSED.JINS ARE REAL….
As regarding Ganesha,I can not explain much
I SUGGEST AUTHOR NOT TO OUTRIGHTLY REJECT ALL.VEDAS ARE VERY OLD HOLY SCRIPTURES,
THERE ARE HOLY POWERS,UNHOLY POWERS,AND MATERIALIST WORLD WHERE OUR SCIENCE ENTERS.
JUST IMAGINE WHO MIGHT HAVE CREATED THE WHOLE UNIVERSE ,SURELY IT IS GOD AS MENTIONED IN VEDAS ..
IF AUTHOR WANT EXPERIENCE WHAT DIVINE IS —I THINK IT IS NOT HIS CUP OF TEA..IT REQUIRES GREAT SCARIFICE.
OR AUTHOR CAN TRY AT ANY DARGAH AND SIT HUNGRY EATING ONLY SIX IDLIS IN THE MORNING(BEFORE SUNRISE 0LIKE RAMZAN FASTING ) AND NIGHT EACH DAY FOR SIX MONTHS ,HOPE FULLY HE WILL EXPERINCE IT ..
I KNOW MANY WHO DID IT WITH PURE HEART AND MIND AND SAW WHAT EYES COULDN’T SEE IN NORMAL CONDITIONS.
MOREOVER WE KNOW MANY MAGICIANS DOING TRICKS FOR FUN , SOME MAGIC IS REAL HARMFUL ..AND THEN THERE IS DIVINE THING TOO WHICH COUNTERS THE EVIL.
THERE IS MENTION OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN MAHABHARAT WAR BEING EXPLAINED AT FAR DISTANT,IT COULD BE REAL WITH POWER OF JINNS AND OTHER DIVINE BEING…BUT NOTHING SCIENCE IN IT AS BOASTED BY RSS..
RELIGIONS ARE NOT FALSE
EARLY FAKE HINDUS MIGHT HAVE PLAYED MISCHIEF WITH VEDAS AND SCRIPTURES AND MADE HINDUS FORGET WHAT REAL VEDAS ARE.