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Exposing The “Miracle” Of Blindfolded Sight- The Story of Ranjana Agarwal

Narendra Nayak — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:30:34 +0000

This is the story of a little girl of fourteen and the ambitions of her mother whom we met at the studios of Live India TV channel on the evening of 18th June. The story begins on this date, when I received a call from the channel asking if I could visit their studios if I was in Delhi. When the call arrived, Shubrum, Rakshi and I were on our way over to their house, after a very important and successful meeting with the present director of Vigyana Prasar Network, Dr.Anuj Sinha. Since Shubrum had a meeting, Rakshi and I decided to go for the live broadcast to investigate the case of this girl, Ranjana. It was the claim of her family and some others that she had the unique power to see blindfolded. Some of these folks also accompanied her to the studio. It was claimed that she had been given a certificate by the Ministry of Human Resource Development that she had the power of seeing with a cloth tied over her eyes! That was supposed to be in recognition of her ‘unique talents’. It was quite clear that this girl who was from a village near Varanasi wanted to go places!

Ranjana Agarwal with her mother who was manipulating her

On the panel which went on air at 9 pm there was an astrologer, an ophthalmologist, Rakshi and myself. The discussions started with the so called “unique talents” of this girl, with some prerecorded footage of her showing her so called remarkable talents! Then the whole drama started. The opinions of the panel were asked.The ophthalmologist said that the phenomenon needed testing. The astrologer, as to be expected, said that it was a case of supernatural powers. Rakshi said that there was nothing supernatural and I promised that by the end of the program I would prove that she had no supernatural powers.

The tests started with a blindfold being tied round the girl’s eyes and a newspaper shown to her. She brought it down at such a low angle that she could read it through the gap between the blindfold and her nose! When I said this was something that anyone could do, the blind fold was tied around my eyes and I was asked to read something held higher. Obviously I could not do that. That was said to be my defeat in round no.1! The discussions continued and when it was Rakshi’s turn she said it was to be seen as to how this girl was doing it. The anchor kept on harping about the unique talents of this girl and how these were recognised by the govt of India, throughout the program!

Then we took a break and there was an argument between the anchor and Rakshi! When the show was off the air, heated discussions were going on. Though I tended to agree with Rakshi, I am a veteran of many such shows and decided to hold my peace in the larger interests of the movement. This was followed by more heated arguments and Rakshi went off the air. But the panel continued without her and so did the nonsense!

Two pieces of cotton were kept on the girl’s eyes and the blindfold put back on. Again she managed to ’see’ a paper held before her eyes, through the same gap. When I suggested that I would put the blindfold properly on her the anchor declined and said that I would get my chance later! That was never to come! In the meantime there were many other superfluous things going on, They were showing footage from Mahabharath, the part where Kunti put her unique powers into Duryodhan etc. The astrologer was harping on about the powers of Sanjay in the Mahabharath who could read written words from miles away! So, I pulled out a currency note from my pocket and challenged the girl to read its serial number from ten feet away. The astrologer backed out saying that the events he mentioned had happened in Threthayuga and it was Kaliyuga now!

Then came the denouncement! The next chance to prove the so called miraculous powers of the girl was another test. She was to have dough applied to her eyes and be asked to read the words. I said that I wanted to participate in this and went near her with two pieces of sticking plaster in my hands. I had observed where the gaps were between the blindfold and her cheeks and wanted to apply the dough to that area. When the ophthalmologist got ready with the dough, the girl complained that her eyes were hurting and that she was having problems seeing! I had anticipated this, as I could see the girls mother signaling to her, apparently out of the sight of all the others, that she should say no! The very sympathetic anchor said that she was a small girl and hence should not be subjected to more trauma! He who was keen up to that stage saying that we would conduct more and more tests to demonstrate these unique powers of the child, suddenly turned very sympathetic when the going got really tough.

I had got ready with the plaster, but there was no question of applying it now as the girl was shedding copious quantities of tears. The whole drama had been planned and carried out in such a way that the girl would be let off when it came to the crunch. She was to be ready to cheat when the criteria were not rigorous, and when really tough tests were to be applied such a drama would be enacted to get her off the hook! But, I was not willing to be a party to this. I was very vehement that the whole thing was a drama and asked why the rigorous criteria of applying dough to her eyes was not done in the first trial. I also wanted to know why I was not allowed to access the girl the first time! There was no need to go on for an hour when the so called miraculous powers could have been exposed in a few minutes.

The whole thing is about TRPs. They wanted to sacrifice a child at the altar just to improve their viewership. It was obvious that the driving force behind the whole farce was her mother who wanted to bask in the glory of her daughter’s unique “talents”. The whole exercise was fueled by the ambitions of the TV channels to improve their ratings. In fact before it went on air I was requested to wait for some time before I expose this girl, as the whole show was to go on for an hour or so.

Those in on this plan wanted the so called special powers of this girl to be certified by us, which is why I had been invited. This invitation led to their exposure and downfall. In the process, the child was hurt and had to undergo humiliation in public. But the very relevant issue here is that the child was put up to this sort of exploitation. The anchor had been talking all that time about a ‘testimonial’ awarded by the Ministry of HRD, govt. of India. I was wondering, on what grounds did the government issue this “testimonial”? How could have this department verified that this girl had the ability to ’see’ with her eyes blindfolded, before issuing the testimonial? The anchor was also bragging about the ‘certificates’ issued by some local govt. medical officers. Who had given them the authority to certify this so called miraculous power?

Edit: On further checking this certification has been verified to be genuine. The target now includes the ministry of HRD, the government of India, which has so carelessly declared that this girl has the ability to see blindfolded.

While the child’s alleged miraculous powers were exposed on the show, what was the gullibility level of those who certified her? Did none of them have any sense as to see how she was reading blindfolded? My conclusion was that Rakshi had been right from the beginning. It was not about the exposure of so called ‘miraculous’ power, but about a greater exposure of how a publicity-hungry parent, TRP-crazy media and gullible public joined to make a celebrity out of an ordinary myopic girl who was peeking at things held under her nose through the gap between the blindfold and her cheeks. The case needs a more thorough investigation by some agency looking out for children’s welfare, because Ranjana Agarwal is only fourteen years old and legally still a child.

Professor Narendra Nayak is the President of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA). He regularly tours the country, giving demonstrations and holding workshops to develop scientific temper.

Cancer Cure Scam: Cytotron Therapy Ad Continues To Run In Newspapers

Narendra Nayak — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:41:00 +0000

The treatment know as Cytotron therapy has no scientific basis and is not noted in any approved text book on cancer therapy or prescribed by any oncologists. But for the past few months this “therapy” has been advertised as a cure for cancer. In its latest avatar, the ad carried the name of a doctor. After we had threatened to complain to the State Medical Council and get his name struck from the medical register for advertising unproved remedies, it disappeared.

But the ads continue to run today. Since the matter is an offense under the Drugs and Magic remedies (Objectionable Advertisements Act), we have brought this to the attention of the assistant drugs controller for Dakshina Kannada for necessary action under the act.

It is criminal to raise false hope in patients by promising cures for which there is no evidence. The entire ad is misleading. We could as well make up one as follows:

Ms. Meena Kumari (name changed), 53 years old, complained of dysentery and was diagnosed with cancer etc. etc. She went in for a quack treatment at ABCD clinic for XYZ therapy and passed away within 3 months. Which goes to prove that XYZ therapy is fake and can be fatal within a short time. It is not known whether the cancer was the cause of her mortality or the quack therapy that promised a very rapid cure.

I request oncologists and physicians to take up this issue with their respective bodies and announce to the public the facts about whether this therapy is approved for public use. In general treatments for diseases are not advertised in India, except by quacks, which should make us suspicious of the antecedents of the treatment and the administrators of the same.

Sex, Lies and Religion

Narendra Nayak — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:30:13 +0000

Over the past few weeks the Indian media has been bringing to light stories about holy men indulging in not-so-holy activities! Well, screaming headlines and video footage bordering on pornography for the sensation mongering media have brought to the fore what religion is about- sex! If one were to look for the common factor between jihadis, swamis and the priests of the Roman Catholic Church it could be only one- obsession with sex.

As has been said before, one craves more for what one has been deprived of, and sex is the one thing that has been denied to all these categories. It is not that such behaviour does not occur between followers of other religions in similar circumstances, but their number is significantly less and hence does not hit the headlines as often. However, some such acts have been reported among Jains and Buddhists too.

The behaviour of Nityananda whose tapes have been played ad nauseum on some of the TV channels has been justified as consensual sex and that being caught on video has been said to be invasion of his privacy. The saffron robed pimp who has been caught in Delhi can get away with lack of evidence. But, more despicable is the act of the Roman Catholic clergy who have traumatised innocent children and probably scarred their psyche for life. No number of apologies from Vatican can remove this trauma from the minds of these children who have been betrayed by the very guardians of the religion whose deity was supposed to be watching over and protecting children! Well that brings us to sex and the jihadis- what do they have in common? If one recalls most of the jihadis are young boys brain washed into sacrificing their lives for a trip to heaven where they can indulge in carnal delights to their hearts content with dozens of virgins who will remain in that state regardless of the number of times they indulge in sex!

Why do religions have this obsession with sex and prescribe celibacy for their so called enlightened? Many of the so called preachers have to lead very austere lives- with exceptions of course! If you take the Roman Catholic clergy only delights that are forbidden to them are that of indulging in sex! They can enjoy all other luxuries in open, while the forbidden one could be indulged in secretly or with unsuspecting children. There is a saying- If you want gay nights and good dinners, dine with saints and bed with sinners! The Roman Catholic Church believes in prescribing abstinence in only one department. The same is applicable to many of the so called Swamijis and Jagadgurus of the religious establishments in our country. The jewellery that they wear would put to shame the brides of the wealthiest of our land. All this is excused as the desire of the devotees. Probably the same could be the excuse for indulgence in sex too. If a devotee desires the same, what is wrong with fulfilling their desires? Thus would run the argument of the defenders of these swamijis!

Not to be left out of the debate on moral degradation of the saffron robed, the squeaky voiced one who teaches people to breathe and the one who has made millions by indulging in contortions and thumbing his nose at people joined the debate by demanding strictest of the punishment for those who call themselves as swamis and indulge in such immoral activities. What about those who call themselves as that and indulge in land grabbing, extortion and such rackets? What about those who promise cures for everything under the sun without a shred of evidence to support their claims? They would naturally be silent on these issues as these are precisely the things in which they indulge!

Why should ‘celibacy’ be prescribed for these people? One argument of the saffron brigade would be that suppression of sexual urges leads the diversion of this energy to other channels and this is supposed to be the reason for the extraordinary shine on their faces and the rest of the body. The Roman Catholic Church may talk about the original sin and the need to be kept away from it. There are quite a few cults who prescribe celibacy for their followers. One young lady who was the follower of such a cult called Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vidyalaya had attended one of our five day workshops for miracle exposure. After tolerating her presence for a few days, I asked her a question about Brahmacharya prescribed by her cult. She replied that it would lead one closer to god etc, as brainwashed by her cult. I had to ask her where she would have been if her parents were celibate? She had no reply but mumbled vaguely. Then I asked her whether her cult forbids breathing, eating etc. her reply was in the negative. In that case why should they forbid only one biological activity, that too which is very much needed for the continuance of the race? Of course, my pointed questions resulted in her absence from the program from the very next day. She was a very junior activist of that cult. The more well-known people like the Nobel peace prize aspirant squeaky voice and the contortionist have more convoluted excuses for celibacy and justify by it by various ‘reasons’. This abstinence theory is more of a Christian import as it is the biblical concept of ‘original sin’ of Eve that has labeled reproductive activity as a curse of God! This idea of abstinence from sex or Brahmacharya was also promoted by Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi as one of the most desirable of virtues, probably induced by the guilt in his mind that he was indulging in that when his father had died.

Well, this leads us to the question of the sexual indulgences of the so called renunciates. Is it illegal? Well if seen from a legal point of view, sexual intercourse between two consenting adults of the same or different genders is not a crime. There are laws on adultery applicable if the woman indulging in heterosexual activity is married, but if she is not, then it cannot be called as anything illegal. However one has to note that these sections on adultery are gender specific- they are applicable to the woman only! It does not matter if the man is married! The supreme court has come to this same conclusion about the cases filed against an actor in Tamilnadu for advocating premarital sex. It may be recalled that cases had been filed against this lady for making a public statement to that effect a few years back. There had been demonstrations by women’s groups and a number of cases filed against her all over Tamil Nadu just to harass her. The judgment in her special leave petition filed at the Supreme Court had quashed all these cases and had also pronounced that sexual activity between consenting adults cannot be construed as a criminal offence. We have to see what the Dals and Senas of our district have to say about it. Their view is that even being together or speaking to each other in a public place is an offence, and the police act like agents of these people. This sense of outrage is even more when the male belongs to another community and the female is a Hindu!

We do agree that the clergy of all religions are human like all of us. If they are, then it would behove them to act like humans and not like superhumans. Let them give up their hypocrisy about these things and stop giving themselves fancy names and fancier titles. They should not demand or get any exemptions from any laws of the land and get facilities at subsidised rates or free and land at throwaway prices. Often, they are the repositories of the ill gotten wealth of corrupt politicians since they are exempt from tax raids. Let them be treated exactly like us ordinary mortals and then we shall agree that they too can indulge in those activities in which we do! When this is the case, women shall treat them like they do other males and no one will think that the children are safe with them. If all these happen I am sure that their robes shall lose their charms and they will be categorised as the ordinary mortals that we are. The shine on their faces due to the austerities that they allegedly practice will disappear and from Brahamacharis they will become sansaris like all of us!

Astrologer Bhaskar Shetty Accepts Rationalist/Skeptic Narendra Nayak’s Astrology Challenge

Editor — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:44:51 +0000

We have reported on many of the past challenges issued by rationalists to purveyors of supernatural beliefs. The challenger in many of these cases (1,2,3,4,5), Mr Narendra Nayak, president of the Federation of Rationalist Associations of India, has a long-standing challenge issued specifically for astrologers. Here it is in his own words:

“We shall provide the date, time and place of birth of 10 individuals along with the appropriate solutions. The challenger can cast the horoscope and state the following within 90% limits of accuracy- is the individual male or female, dead or alive. “

On the 23^rd of December this year a challenge from Mr. Nayak was published in the online newspaper DNA. The article quoted him as saying “We will provide them [astrologers] with the date and time of birth of 10 individuals. All they have to tell us is whether these individuals are male or female, and whether they are dead or alive. If an astrologer can guess eight out of the 10 correctly, then the prize of Rs10 lakh is his”. In the article, Mr. Nayak declared the minimum requirement towards participating in this challenge as a fee of Rs 5000.

The article also reported on a certain Bangalore-based astrologer, Y Bhaskar Shetty , who has come forward to accept the challenge! The paper describes him as a leading astrologer with “many political titans for clients”. How someone could be considered a “leader” in a pseudoscientific discipline is beyond our understanding. Shetty is ready to part with the money towards entering the challenge, and is only asking for transparency in the process in return for his investment.

According to the paper, Shetty thinks that “humans are the microcosm of the universe and have to maintain their poise and alignment with the planets in the solar system.”. The article also quotes him as saying “Astrology is all geometry and gravity”!!!

Since Shetty is claiming to know everything worth knowing about these people from their horoscopes, Mr. Nayak has modified his challenge to accommodate Shetty’s claims. Here is the revised challenge in Mr. Nayak’s own words:

“We shall give him the date, time and place of birth of ten living persons and he can give us the following details:

1. Male or female.
2. Education qualification.
3. Whether married or not.
4. Job in which they are employed.We shall provide him a proforma which he can fill on the spot after casting the horoscopes and reading them. We shall send the proforma later.

The challenge shall take place in Mangalore and we shall intimate the date to him. The details will be in numbered sealed envelopes one of which shall have the details of the date, time and place of birth and the corresponding one will have the solutions along with the name and cell numbers of the concerned individual for the details to be verified. I do hope this fulfills the conditions of transparency that Mr. Shetty calls for.”

In follow-up correspondence with Mr. Shetty’s people, it was established that the challenge will take place in Bangalore. Shetty’s messengers have said that the astrologer does not want to take Mr Nayak’s money in event of his failure. They proudly declared the extent of Shetty’s wealth, no doubt accumulated over years of hard work misleading the gullible.

The last bit of correspondence between the two concerned parties took place recently with Mr. Nayak declaring that the challenge will take place in Bangalore and that he will be restricting the people whose names and birth data will be submitted for prediction to the 20-30 age-group. Mr. Nayak has proposed January the 14^th as the date of the challenge and has issued the following additional instructions:

“He has to cast horoscopes on the spot or use any other methods to predict within 60 minutes and all the time he will be under our supervision so that he will not resort to any unfair means. If that is acceptable we shall go ahead with it. We shall do it under full media coverage and I shall mail a format of the questionnaire to be filled for each horoscope to avoid any vague/ambiguous answers, along with an agreement to be signed. The proceedings shall be open to public and media will be welcome.”

Finally, we have some slightly unrelated but excellent recent news to report!

Mr. Narendra Nayak has been re-elected as the President of the Federation of Rationalists Associations of India for the next two years, and Mr. Somu Rao is the new National Secretary.

We will be following this story closely here on Nirmukta. We will be publishing write-ups by Mr. Rao and Mr. Nayak on this challenge over the next few days. Please help us spread the word of this challenge by posting it on your blogs and by bringing attention to the story of this famous astrologer who is boldly taking up the challenge designed to expose his fraud.

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Update: The following is a series of emails between professor Narendra Nayak, president of FIRA, and PK Surendran, News Editor of DNA. Mr Surendran was corresponding in his capacity as liaison to the astrologer, Mr. Bhaskar Shetty.

Wed, Jan 6, 2010

From PK Surendran

To Narendra Nayak

Y Bhaskar Shetty who took up your challenge informs that 10 feb 2010 is his son’s marriage and he is busy with that. After that event, he is free to accept your challenge.

Pl arrange a mutually convenient date. I shall exchange the phone numbers in next mail

Wed, Jan 6, 2010

From Narendra nayak

To PK Surendran

We shall do that, The Bangalore Vicharavadi Sangha shall kindly arrange for a Sunday after the 10th Feb.. for the challenge.

However the conditions outlined like 10 date, time and place of birth being given and he has to inform the following; Male or female,employed or not, married or unmarried,extent of education are not negotiable and we want the answers to be filled in a proforma and the right answers to be within 90% limits of error that is out of the 40 at least 36 should be right.

He should be ready to execute an agreement before hand to that effect. The conditions shall be outlined in detail and the agreement signed at least 7 days prior to the date of the challenge.

Wed, Jan 7, 2010

From Narendra nayak

To PK Surendran

We are having a state level Vicharavadi meet on the 14th March at Bangalore probably in the hall of Karnataka Sahitya Parishath. We could have the challenge at that venue and Shetty will get a chance to demonstrate his scientific skills to all our people from various parts of the state. He will have ample time to get his act ready.

Neither Mr. Shetty nor Mr. Surendran responded to prof. Nayak’s calls for accepting the challenge before the set date.

The Nastik Returns To Devbhoomi

Narendra Nayak — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:41:12 +0000

In this sequel to what I had written about my last trip to Uttarakhand, I am reporting on my latest visit to this state. This is my third visit to this area; the first was in 2006 when I had been to Kotdwar and Pithoragarh and the second was in April,2009 when I had been to Uttarakashi and Hardwar.

Like the previous two this visit is also to train youngsters in developing scientific temper in connection with what we call as our “Miracle Exposure Program“. We have been conducting hundreds of these in collaboration with various organizations, mainly the National Council for Science and Technology Communications, popularly called the NCSTC. This organization had started supporting our mentor Premanand in his training programs and had already published a book called “Seeing is not Believing” in Hindi and English. They had also made a kit for presenting the same, and have been engaged in such activities for nearly three decades.

This time’s visit was to cover the Garhwal portion of Uttarakhand, the areas on the route to Badrinath and Kedarnath. While the whole state is dependent on the tourists visiting these places for pilgrimages, it is also an exporter of manpower! Now, the hydro-electric power is a major revenue earner as most of the state is hilly coming under the Himalayan ranges. The whole region is full of superstitions of all sorts as to be expected where making a livelihood is very difficult, the weather being unpredictable and the climate very cold for most of the year. There are all types of spirits- the good ones being called Devatas and the evil ones as Bhooths! There are various rituals involving supernatural powers like licking red hot knives, dancing for hours supposedly in the possession of spirits, sacrificing animals etc.

There were two training programs arranged by SPECS, an environmental group. This group is lead by Dr. B.M.Sharma. His two colleagues, Bhupendra Negi and Yogesh Bhatt, were to be with me for the tour. The first program was at Karnaprayag, which is about 200 kms from the capital, Dehradun. The training was to be at the community hall of a nearby village, Jakh, situated on the slope of a hill. It was quite obvious that there had been a communication gap. It looked like all the unemployed and the aged of the village had been called to spend their few days with us! Finally at our insistence some young people were called and after that the training program took on some meaning. In the five days we managed to get some rational thinking into the attitudes of some of the participants. The young students of the nearby school who had come did get trained and some of the elders ,particularly the chairperson of the Panchayath, a very intelligent lady, promised to go with the young students and provide moral support for them. This was not bad for this lady, who had started arguing with me on the first day saying how could I deny the existence of Devathas who were the guiding spirits of the whole village!

In addition to the other usual stuff they mentioned a mantrik who had come to the village, taken a clove and dropped that into a tumbler of water. The water had turned red. He had told the villagers that it was due to anger of the gods and had collected money from them promising to conduct rituals to propitiate them. When I performed the same trick they were astonished! It was a very simple matter of dropping a phenolpthalein coated clove into a tumbler of water made alkaline with calcium hydroxide. It was quite apparent that it was not difficult to trick such innocent villagers with the simplest of the items. The highlight of the whole program was the interaction with the students of the local school called the Government Inter College. This took up a whole afternoon of numerous questions and enthusiastic participation by a good number of students. The students of this school who had joined our training were our only hope in that area.

After our program at Karnaprayag, we came down to Srinagar, not to be confused with the capital of Kashmir of the same name, where our second program was to be held. The local organizer, Bhavanishankar, a good organizer, is also a man who had taken up many causes. He was an envrinomental activist, edited a monthly magazine, and also ran a computer center with internet. His choice of trainees was an excellent one. We had students from boys and girls schools of class XI, a whole group of mass-communications post-graduate students from a nearby university and some members of women’s organizations. The last mentioned however, came on the inaugural day and never came back after that! But, the young people were very enthusiastic about learning and gathering knowledge. As one of them remarked to a TV channel, she had been full of many types of superstitions when she had joined the training and was happy that she had given up all of them in five days! They had lots of questions and got very involved. The mass-communication students looked upon this an opportunity to learn about methods of mass-communication as well as scientific temper. They had lots of questions too. They also used this opportunity to film the activities and conduct an interview. The local organizer’s contacts with the press ensured that we got excellent publicity in the local press and on TV. In fact, he announced two awards- one for the best performer and the other for the best report on the program for the participants. We had interactions with the students of the nearby girl’s Inter College, during which there was good discussion and spirited participation by the girls of the same school who were in the training program.

On the last day of the training program we had presentations by the participants. There were five groups and they put up very good performances. It is commendable that they managed to learn to do this in a few days. Then it was back to Dehradun where two interactions were arranged with girls from two colleges. It was in Dehradun that we visited the Singhs. N.K. Singh and his wife Pramila are family friends of mine for the past few years. They have two cute children, the elder daughter Ananya and the younger son Asmit, both of whom have normal vision and are doing quite well. A separate write-up will be posted about the story of how N.K. Singh lost his sight due to the superstitions of his father and family.

After the training programs at Uttaranchal I came down to Delhi on the 20^th of Nov. In Delhi I had a meeting with Dr. Anuj Sinha and Dr. D.K.Pandey, the top people from the NCSTC, part of the Department of Science and Technology of the Govt. of India. They were very keen on developing new trainers for our program on miracle exposure and we have planned to have a training program in Hyderabad in March, 2010, to build the next generation of trainers to continue our work. More about that later.

On the next day we had interactions with parents of children from the Rockfort school in Dwarka, Delhi. This was followed by a small meeting with young students at a home in Khanpur, Delhi. On the 21^st we started a training program for Social Development Foundation at Gharwal Bhavan, Delhi. There were about 40 participants from all over North India, some from Delhi. They spent four days learning various techniques for making people aware about so-called miracles. They were also made aware of the techniques of the quacks and charlatans who cheat people in the name of supernatural powers. At the end of the training program a feedback was taken about what they intend to do with the things learned. Many have promised to start campaigns in their home places. We do need a support mechanism to help them to conduct their campaigns, providing them with chemicals and special equipment that may be slightly expensive etc. We do have to work out some methods by which we can provide them with financial support and monitor their activities. I was supported by Leena, Tyagi and Gurinder. The moving spirit behind organising the program was V.B. Rawat who managed things quite well through his organisation and aides.

After the programs ended I traveled back to Mangalore, and am writing my reports from there while getting ready for the next round of tours!

Narendra Nayak
President
Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations.
Email: narenyen@gmail.com

Challenges Issued From Rationalists To Those Claiming Supernatural Powers In Nepal

Narendra Nayak — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:30:43 +0000

These challenges were released to the Nepal press on the occasion of a press conference at Kathmandu on the 25th of October and the same are applicable to those in India too!

I, Narendra Nayak, President of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, resident of 101, Noel park, Microwave Station road, Mangalore -575 006, India, wish to place on record the following:

I have been investigating claims of supernatural and paranormal powers from 1976 onwards and have so far found no one with such powers. After resigning from the post of Asst. Professor of Biochemistry, Manipal University, Mangalore, in November 2006, I have devoted all my time and money to create awareness among all people of the world about claims of supernatural powers. Over the past several years I have placed all my property down for the purpose of challenging those who claim to have supernatural powers and can perform anything which can be called a miracle, or demonstrate supernatural powers.

Anyone who can perform one or more of the following actions under fool-proof conditions specified by me can get all my property- both movable and immovable properties.

The actions are as follows:

Produce the object which I shall ask from thin air within 10 seconds of asking, using empty hands which shall be examined before-hand.
Float in air for 5 seconds, rising from the open ground to a height of at least 1 foot from the ground, without the aid of any external or bodily support.
Walk three steps over water at the temperature of 25^oC or higher, without the aid of any floatation device or anything else.
Read the serial number of a sealed currency note.
Tell the gender and whether dead or alive (within 5% margin or error) after casting the horoscopes of ten people whose date, time and place of birth will be provided.
Convert water which I shall provide in a sealed container into wine, petrol or any other liquid agreed upon before hand.
Disappear from the display after being photographed by a digital camera with a minimum resolution of 5 mega pixels after being photographed under lighting conditions prescribed by me.
Stand bare feet on burning embers for 10 seconds without getting the feet burnt.
Appear in two places specified by me at the same time and allow to be finger-printed and photographed, the final decision being taken only after comparison of these.
Dip bare hands (to be cleaned by me before hand) into boiling oil provided by me for 10 seconds without getting any blisters or burns.
Produce any exact replica (including serial number)of a ten rupee currency note to be provided by me.
Predict correctly within the tolerance limit of + /- 5% a mutually agreed upon future event.
Any other matter to my satisfaction previously agreed upon.

Terms and conditions:

The challenge is for the performance of these events and not for anything that is claimed to have happened some other time or place.
The challenge shall not be applied to claims or narrations whether published or not, or alleged historical events, or events filmed or photographed or in any way recorded using electronic or any other means.
The above mentioned conditions are only general and the exact conditions shall be specified in writing on a bond paper of the appropriate value as required under the laws of Nepal at least 24 hours prior to the performance of the event.
If any contender is desirous of knowing the values of my worldly assets, they can do so from my chartered accountant on a payment of Indian currency of Rs.1,000 only. The name and address of the chartered accountant shall be provided on request.
The contender shall deposit a sum of Nepalese Rs.10,000 with my nominee at Nepal to prove the serious nature of his/her acceptance of my challenge. The same shall be refunded along with my assets if the challenger is victorious. If not the amount shall be forfeited.
The performance will take place in Kathmandu at a place and time mutually agreed upon.

I do hope that in a country like Nepal where there are many who claim to have supernatural powers some people will come forward to take my challenge and prove to the world their powers.

Narendra Nayak
President
Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations.
Email: narenyen@gmail.com

Below are a few images from recent rationalist events in Nepal. All images were taken by Babu Gogineni, International Director of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU).The notes included for each image are also from Mr. Gogineni.

a). Panorama View of attendants at Meeting: File No. 2619 Inaugural Day of Conference

b). Narendra Nayak, President of FIRA demonstrates to Nepal’s Central Minister for Science and Technology; next to him is Babu Gogineni, International Director, IHEU.

Context: On the final day of Conference when IHEU and SOCH launched Prof. Nayak’s ‘Who Wants to be a Millionnaire?’ Challenge to Godmen in Nepal

c). Inviting the gaathering on the first day of the Youth Conference is dynamic Nepali Humanist and Director of SOCH Nepal, Uttam Niraula.

The Lies Begin: How Sai Baba’s Goons Are Distorting the Intent Behind Premanand’s Deathbed Declaration.

Karan Singhania — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:16:42 +0000

A few days ago we published a report on Basava Premanand’s deathbed statement, in anticipation of the lies that usually follow the passing of great men of reason. Not to be undone, the liars are at it again. A blog dedicated to the conman, fraud and alleged rapist Sai Baba has begun the work of misrepresenting Premanand’s legacy. The first thing to remember before analyzing the events here is that such declarations as made by Premanand are a precautionary measure against exactly the type of attacks that we are seeing from these folks. The second thing to remember is that Premanand was one of the most influential critics of Saibaba. Keeping these two things in perspective, let us take a look at the facts.

The argument made in the article relies on the accusation that Premanand was not of sound mind when his deathbed declaration was made. The implication being that he was coerced into signing it. They then use this to associate Premanand with someone who was a known psychic, claiming that this association meant that Premanand may have actually believed in the paranormal. Let us begin with the primary assertion that Premanand was forced into signing the declaration.

To make this assertion, the article points to facts that are clearly stated in the article we published. But in addition to the facts we have stated, the article makes factual assertions that the writers have no way of knowing. In essence, they lie. Here is an excerpt of their claims:

First and foremost, the “deathbed declaration” attributed to Basava Premanand was NOT authored by him. The “deathbed declaration” was written for Premanand by Indian Rationalists who got him to scribble his signature on it when he was:

Actively dying of metastasized cancer.

Drifting in and out of consciousness.

Barely able to speak.

In a hospital.

Jaundiced.

Unable to write due to weakness.

Too weak to sit up in bed.

“On his deathbed” (as described by nirmukta.com).

Consequently, Basava Premanand was not “sound of mind” on September 20th 2009 when he scribbled his signature on the “deathbed declaration” (which he did not author as falsely stated in the letter). Basava Premanand’s signature was obtained with assistance and the signature was so illegible, a thumbprint had to be used. It is also significant to note that Basava Premanand had very poor vision and could not read without his glasses on. Premanand scribbled on the letter without his glasses and did not look at the place where he was signing (as confirmed by the picture above), which resulted in a completely illegible “signature” (see enlarged signature below):

We made no attempt to conceal the physical condition of Premanand. What the critics are attempting to do here is to equate Premanand’s physical illness with mental sickness. This is dishonest, not that one would expect any better from Saibaba’s goons.

Not only do the Saibaba followers falsely posit to know what Premanand’s mental capacity was at the time, they actively spread lies to distort the truth. Nowhere in the article that we published was it claimed that Premanand authored the statement. Saibaba’s people are lying when they say that we claim Premanand authored the statement. Here is the relevant portion of our article:

The statement reproduced herein was put for his signature. But, his hands were weak and hence we had to take his thumb impression too. The declaration has been witnessed by Dr. Maya Prabhu his sister and Suneera one of his admirers who has been taking care of him.

The statement was approved of by Premanand in the presence of witnesses. If this is unacceptable to Saibaba’s squad of rationalism detractors, then they must also discount the vast majority of signed declarations in the world. This sort of thing is so absurd that it is obvious the Sai-sheep are clutching at straws here.

This deception and banal rejection of common sense is appalling in itself, but it gets worse. The guru-grovelers have a more elaborate conspiracy theory to ‘explain’ why the deathbed declaration was made. As usual, this ‘explanation’ has nothing to do with Premanand, or with reality for that matter, but with debunking a well-publicized string of rapes that Saibaba has allegedly been systematically committing over the years. In order to defend their fraudulent boss, they resort to the oldest trick in the book- smearing the opposition. Here is how this plays out:

First, they make this claim:

It would appear that Indian Rationalists attempted to counter information that strongly suggests Basava Premanand may have entertained beliefs in the paranormal.

What information do they have to say that Premanand “may have entertained beliefs in the paranormal“? Here it comes… Premanand once published a book written by a known psychic, Conny Larson. The book? “Behind The Mask Of The Clown”, a behind-the-scenes look into Saibaba’s web of deception. Wow, what convincing evidence!

This sort of reasoning is so childish that it surprises me every time when employed by adults. The best way to represent this idiocy is through analogy. Let’s say a Nazi agent who is guilty of some crimes against Jews wants to publish evidence implicating Heinrich Himmler in the murder of thousands. If X published the Nazi agent’s book in order to bring down the monster Himmler, the Sai-followers would claim that X sympathizes with the crimes of the Nazi agent and believes that Jews are an inferior race. Therefore, X is guilty by association and Himmler is not guilty of any crimes. This is, in essence, the childish logic that the Saibaba followers use to make their argument.

It should be noted that these Saibaba goons are thugs of the worst kind. Online, they form a network of propagandists intent on whitewashing the terrible crimes that their chosen idol has committed. Their strategy is to go after anyone telling the truth about what takes place behind the scenes. Most of those campaigning against Saibaba are ex-devotees. They comprise a very vocal community online- a community that threatens the conman guru and his flock of gullible fools. Sai’s online intimidation machine uses the most underhanded tactics to discredit these opponents of Saibaba. The conman’s online staff has a series of blogs setup to discredit each of these opponents and thus detract from their message.Their strategy consists of monitoring the individuals closely, accusing them wildly of everything from sexual deviance to drug use and alcoholism, and harassing them online and off. There are also accusations of murder and physical violence against detractors.

The opponents, often very distinguished people who were once believers in the conman, have their own blogs and websites. Here are a few of the excellent sites maintained by those who have made it their life’s mission to expose the crimes and deceit of Saibaba.

http://www.exbaba.com/

http://saibaba-invigilator.blogspot.com/

http://www.saiguru.net/

http://barrypittard.wordpress.com/

http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/

http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/

http://saibabaexposed.blogspot.com/

For the record, if this person Conny Larson is indeed claiming to be a psychic, then it is possible that he is a conman as well. Or perhaps he is simply deluded. But does that make his claims that Saibaba repeatedly raped children any less serious? The Sai devotees would like you as a rationalist to be diverted by the fact that Larson is a superstitious believer, so that you won’t focus your attention on the alleged crimes of their boss. In the process, they are trying to portray Basava Premanand, one of the greatest rationalists and debunkers of superstition in modern times, as a believer in the paranormal. Not only is their line of revisionist reasoning absurd, but they are now making new enemies in their quest to suppress criticism of their beloved charlatan. One thing they will not be able to ignore is the progress of science and rational thinking. They will try to intimidate and distort their way online, but as more people get educated in India and the tools of reason become available to all, such superstitious nonsense will become less and less relevant.

Here is a BBC video on the story of Saibaba.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Swine Flu, Nilgiri Oil and the Faux-SMS

Manoj TV — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:11:15 +0000

Bangalore, 11/12 August 2009

The “Indian Silicon Valley” is now in ‘panic’. The pandemic of swine flu hasepts got the better of the outwardly modern Bangaloreans. You see boys and girls promenading through the air-conditioned malls in their trademark tight jeans, with inane slogans blazed across their t-shirts. Now, after the swine-flu, they have an extra-fitting added - a mask. It looks like they have taken a fancy for this stuff. With the mask, they now look exactly like pigs!

The morning newspapers scream that the swine flu toll has risen to seven. According to one newspaper the total number of positive cases of the viral disease detected in the country as on 10 August 2009 stood at 864 and the number of confirmed cases in Karnataka stood at 92. (Deccan Chronicle, Bangalore, 11 August 2009). Schools in the city are reported to have been closed.

After having had a light-hearted discussion in the morning with a colleague about the irrational behavior of those who are affected by the fear of swine-flu, I was jolted in the afternoon by a cell-phone SMS that reads: “Pass this message to everyone. Use ‘Nilgiri Oil’ drops on handkerchiefs and masks as one of the preventive measures against swine flu (NIV) - National Institute of Virology.”

The National Institute of Virology in Pune is a pre-eminent institution in India, doing solid research in viral infections and other related fields. And here is a message straight from the horse-mouth advising me to panic and make others panic! As a common man with scanty knowledge of viral infections and the possible medical properties of Eucalyptus Oil (commonly known as Nilgiri Oil in this part of the world, though the tree is not indigenous to Nilgiri Hills, or even India), what should I do? Should I forward the message to my colleagues, friends, and relatives to save them from an imminent attack of the deadly swine-flu? Here is a simple remedy available even in provision stores and with street peddlers! These were the thoughts that flashed across my mind in an instant. Having come across innumerable hoax emails and SMS messages, I refused to buy this message from my friend. Instead of forwarding the SMS to anybody else, I texted her this message: “I don’t believe it without verifying its authenticity”. (As a pleasant surprise, she replied me back: “I knew your answer”!)

Knowing that NIV would definitely have this panacea endorsed in their website, had the SMS been authentic, in the evening, when I got sufficient time to access the internet, I googled for the website of National Institute of Virology, Pune. When the page opened up, the first thing I noticed was a scrolling text (html marque) at the bottom of the page in bold red letters. And it read:

NIV has not recommended any indigenous formulations like Nilgiri oil, etc as use against novel H1N1 (Swine Flu). Please refer to authentic public health information or call the help lines for queries.

Who would have created this faux-message in the name of NIV? A canny crook in the marketing arm of a Nilgiri Oil manufacturer? A prankster? An anti-social, sadist who derive erotic pleasure in creating panic? Or, a practitioner of alternative-medicine a la Aromatherapy who genuinely believes in their snake-oil panacea? Whoever it be, they would be chuckling sitting in some corner of our country, having immensly succeeded in their effort. In this SMS world, the message spread from one part of India to another, from one ‘IT capital’ to another ‘IT capital’.

With the timely intervention of the NIV, one would have thought this faux-SMS would stop to have any effect on the people. Not really, it seems. The panic generated and sustained by the sensationalist media is such that the people continue to believe it despite NIV’s denial. For instance, my friend who sent me the SMS yesterday and who was informed about NIV’s denial, came to the office today splashing her duppatta with Eucalyptus oil!

In due course this panic will slowly die out, but we should continue to be agitated by the tendency of the people to be carried away by rumours. We witnessed similar hilarious antics earlier too, when people ‘fed’ litres of precious milk to Ganesha idols; when they rushed to the seashores of Mumbai to collect “sweet water” and even fed it to their toddlers!

Why do people behave like suckers, fall for every ‘miracle”, every other quack medicine, without bothering to verify whether it is correct or not ? Why do they instinctively forward ridiculously silly chain-letters claiming miraculous benefits if forwarded to a certain number of persons or wrath of this or that deity if not done?

It seems to me, most of those who fall for these things belong to the same category of people who refuse to employ their critical thinking skills regarding the religion and related belief systems with which they are brought up. And irrational behaviour in such a predominant area of one’s life will necessarily leave some marks on other areas too. I also believe that critical thinking is a skill that can be acquired. One need not wallow in the marshy land of superstition and rituals forever.

***

Here are a few links giving correct information on the Swine Flu:

http://www.niv.co.in/swine_flu_links.htm

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/guidance/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2009/h1n1_20090427/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/swineflu_guidance_labs_20090425.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm58d0424.pdfhttp://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

Swine Flu Campaign by the Indian Rationalist Organizations

Politicians Pleasing the Rain-Gods: Religious Backwardness in India

Manoj TV — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:20:21 +0000

June 2009. Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh.

I was accompanying Prof. Narendra Nayak on his tour of MP and Bihar, conducting workshops exposing the miracle-men (and women!). Itarsi was reeling under scorching heat. We regularly gulped chilled bottled water to get some relief from the debilitating heat. Power cuts and load shedding - scheduled and unscheduled - added to the misery of the people. Business establishments - including roadside juice parlors - had installed diesel generators to get over the frequent power cuts. Sitting there in a tiny room in President’s Hotel, opposite Itarsi Railway Station, I could hear the booming sound of generators. I read in the newspapers that the whole of the State was similarly affected from a delayed monsoon. Wells and lakes had dried up. The Hitavada reported (June 19, 2009, Jabalpur edition) from the state capital, Bhopal, that the water level of Upper Lake, the life-line of the city, was at 1674ft- the lowest in its recorded history. In many parts of the city, police were called in to control the crowd collecting drinking water. It is thus only natural that the state government explored all available avenues to lessen the hardships of its people or at least to divert the wrath of its citizens.

Unfortunately, instead of resorting to a prudent scientific water management practices, the government, now ruled by BJP, has been performing obscurantist rituals to have rain in the state. In the year 2008 too, Soma Yagnas were held at ten different places in the state by the ascetics of the Shree Yogiraj Veda Vigyan Ashram of Sholapur in Maharashta at the invitation of the government. (Shockingly, the MP Council of Science and Technology had granted Rs.800, 000 for organizing the yagnas under a scheme “Scientific authentication of traditional/indigenous knowledge”!) The Ashram subsequently claimed a success rate of 70% in bringing rain last year! The Bundelkhand region of the state, the Ashram authorities claimed, which was “hit by drought-like conditions during the previous three years received excess rains” after pleasing the rain-gods! (In Mangalore last year a group organized a wedding of frogs to bring rain. And, lo, it worked! But, when the region received rain far in excess of the regular rain fall, Prof Narendra Nayak suggested divorcing the amphibians to bring down the rain fall within the required level! Unfortunately none heeded to his advice!).

Is there any truth in the claim of the Ashram authorities that their yagnas brought rains to the parched regions? Though this can easily be verified by going through the data collected by regional Meteorology Centres, our newspapers that are enthusiastic in giving ample space to all sorts of ritualistic nonsense - especially those related to religions and gods - are generally averse to disseminating such information. Sravani Sarkar, Bhopal correspondent of the Hindustan Times, however did precisely that. The correspondent gathered the relevant rainfall data from the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhopal. And the data entirely contradicted the claims of the Ashramites! I reproduce below the data published by the newspaper on June 16, 2009.

Soma Yagnas and rains in 2008

Venues	Date	Rainfall %
Amarkantak	Feb 6 to 11	(-) 18 (for Shahdol)
Chhatarpur	Feb 6 to 11	13
Sidhi	Feb 17 to 22	(-) 31
Satna	Feb 17 to 22	(-) 25
Bhind	March 3 to 8	40
Gwalior	March 17 to 22	(-) 4
Morena	April 2 to 7	12
Shivapuri	April 2 to 7	(-) 4
Ujjain	April 2 to 7	(-) 32
Maheshwar	May 5 to 10	(-) 41

One can see from the above table that the percentage of rain fall in seven out the ten regions where the yagnas were conducted were in fact negative! It is evident that the rainfall has nothing at all to do with the yagnas. Yet the Ashrm claimed success by highlighting the rain received in Bundelkhand region and fooled the government into believing so! As usual the believers, following what is called Confirmation Bias in Cognitive Psychology, forgot the negatives. Had all the regions received normal rainfall last year, the organizers of the yagnas would definitely have taken credit for that too.

Was this the claim by the ashram spokesmen that persuaded the government to go ahead with the yagnas this year too? Or was it just a reflex-action of the ruling political party which feeds on the obscurantist ideology of Brahmanism? Perhaps both. Whatever be the reason, the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has once again officially hosted a set of yagnas at various parts of the state to please Varuna, the rain-god. According to the Hindustan Times (Bhopal, June 16, 2009), the yagnas were held at ten different places (see the table below) across the state between February and April this year. Chouhan invited the very same ascetics of Shree Yogiraj Veda Vigyan Ashram of Sholapur and organized the Soma Yagna on February 4, 2009 at his official residence. The Chief Minister then took a ritual ‘sankalpa’ (expression of determination of will) during the yagna as it was necessary, according to Govind Narayan alias Nanaji Kale of the Ashram, for the ruler “to take the sankalpa for the yagnas to become successful”.

Venues	Date	Predicted rainfall dates
Hoshangabad	Feb 7 to 12	Aug 18 to 23
Maheshwar (Khargone)	Feb 7 to 12	Aug 18 to 23
Vidisha	Feb 20 to 25	Aug 29 to Sept 3
Mandsaur	Feb 20 to 25	Aug 29 to Sept 23
Omkareshwar (Khandwa)	March 7 to 12	Sept 14 to 19
Ujjain	March 7 to 12	Sept 14 to 19
Shivapuri	March 22 to 27	Sept 29 to Oct 3
Bhind	March 22 to 27	Sept 29 to Oct 3
Orchha (Tikamgarh)	March 22 to 27	Sept 29 to Oct 3
Chitrakoot (Satna)	April first week	Oct 10 to 18

You will notice that the predicted periods of rainfall lies well within the monsoon season (June to September) of India, which generally receives good rain during this period. These yagna-jokers (well, crooks!) make use of this common knowledge and conducts yagnas to coincide with the season. If it rains, they will take the credit. If it doesn’t, well, they don’t care. Because they know from experience that their credulous followers - including politicians and bureaucrats who arrange these yagnas - would soon forget it before the end of the year and would flock back to them next year!

It is not only the rightwing political outfits like BJP and Shiva Sena that take to religion-based nonsense, but also the centrist parties like the Congress who happily indulge in them. The Hindu reports (July 05, 2009, Vijayawada) that the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh headed by Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, a Christian, organized a three-day “Varuna Yagam” at the Exhibition Grounds in Hyderabad between July 2 to 4 to invoke the blessings of Lord Venkateswara for good rain. The Chief Minister “carried ‘pattu’ clothes on his head over the pathway in the huge pandal where the sacred fire was lit and presented them to the presiding deity - the idol of the Lord which was brought from his abode at Tirumala”.

Though the Article 51 A (h) of the Constitution of India enjoins the citizens of our country “to develop the scientific temper, spirit of enquiry, and reform”, it is unfortunate that the rulers in the majority of our states blatantly flout this fundamental duty by espousing all sorts of nonsense practiced in the name of religion and god at the tax-payers’ expense. We, the rationalists, have no time to rest; we should reinvigorate our efforts in reaching out to the masses to impart scientific temper. This is not a question of one’s belief. The lack of critical thinking in one area of human affairs such as religion, undoubtedly has an adverse impact on other areas too - political discourse, for instance.

The strange case of Ashwini and his Dhyan Foundation

Narendra Nayak — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:46:08 +0000

The Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations had announced a challenge to astrologers to predict the results of the 2009 elections. On the 15th of May, I received an unsolicited email from info@dhyanfoundation.com stating that:

“astrology is a perfect science but if tied wid maya (charges, power etc.) then it looses its power so people who sell dis art in no way go beyond probability…….Ther r forces which run creation and also u n me n also this so called rationalist” these forces in do form of an energy field r visible around an individual or his pic its possible to tell his emotional and physicall(sic) state. I invite this Mr.rationalist to give us at DHYAN FOUNDATION ten pics of his choice of seriously ill n healthy people as a mix n we will tell how many of them r seriously ill n how many r healthy.if he wants to give pic of lok sabha candidates then its possible to tell if we have date n time of d election results, wether he is winning or loosing all dis wid 90% accuracy.”

All this from a person (?) who says:

” u wrote an interesting article, normally I don respond mself but this being a serious issue n u being a serious journo I thought dat I should bring some things to your notice”.

Since the mail was received by me after the election results were announced, I replied that the powers to predict the election results could be put to test when the next elections would come around. However as for predicting the illnesses by photographs, that could be done by the challenger himself by going to any hospital, photographing patients and diagnosing their disease himself. I also added that I would be in Bangalore on the 31st of May and would bring photographs with me and present them in the presence of the public and media; Dhyan foundation could demonstrate their powers. The reply to this was that the Dhyan Foundation had already done such experiments and a list of impressive sounding names was also provided including that of Laloo Prasad Yadav. The correspondent who signed off as Yogi Ashwini also informed me that he was in Europe till June end. He also added “I do not publicize my name; any ordinary foundation member can give predictions and would be happy to do for any sceptic who has no faith in his culture”. He then went on to “guarantee their authenticity”.

This being the tone of the letter and since Ashwini claimed ownership of culture, I had to ask him as to what a person who claims to be a guardian of culture was doing in Europe, as the very culture which he claimed to represent would consider any one crossing the seas as an outcast. I also informed him that I would not be impressed by his names dropping, but that only a trial under controlled conditions would satisfy me.

The reply to this was,

“I was only trying to educate you on culture and truth of yoga which obviously you are not aware of. I see no reason for you being rude here…” He also went on to tell me that “you are talking to a yogi so would suggest ask your parents or an elder the protocol”

with the usual platitudes, which are too tedious to be quoted again. He also gave the telephone number of someone in Delhi who could be contacted for the test (sorry- “education”) and she would diagnose from 10 photographs what he had claimed. When this lady, Arti, was contacted she expressed her inability to come to Bangalore, but asked for 10 photos to be emailed to her saying that she would send someone from the Bangalore branch with the solutions.

Image Source: Dhyan Foundation

To this, my reply was that I was used to treating all people as equals and that when our Bangalore people contacted the lady at Delhi she wanted us to email the photos to her and then she would give the diagnosis. As we wanted the conditions for the test to be fool-proof, we did not want to hand over the photos in advance. My suggestion was that I would bring 20 envelopes with photos and an equal number with the medical reports. The sealed envelopes would be serially numbered. Those with the photos would be first opened and then the diagnosis noted. The envelopes with the solutions would be opened there after; the results would be then compared. This would be done in public in order to avoid any type of hanky-panky on either side. At this stage the emails to the Dhyan foundation started bouncing back! The first one that bounced was resent and the result was the same. A second one was then dispatched with a mention that the previous one had bounced and the result was the same.

In the meantime, the Dhyan foundation branch at Bangalore informed our Bangalore colleagues that they would come to the spot of the meeting of the Bangalore (Rationalist) association on the 31st of May. We inferred that it would be to “educate us” about the powers of Yoga. As the self proclaimed “Yogi” Ashwini had stated that even an ordinary member of the foundation could read photographs we were confident that we could witness the power of Yoga in action and the master of our ancient sciences could bowl over the skeptics with a single wave of his mace. Why the mace ? This needs to be explained. “Yogi” Ashwini is very fond of the mace and all his photo graphs on the web site of the Dhyan foundation feature him dressed like a character from a mythological serial with a mace either in his hand or over his shoulder.

But, what happened on the 31st May at Ashok Shishu Vihar, Shankarpuram, Bangalore was an anticlimax. About half a dozen young people dressed in casual attire (obviously not “Indian Culture”) appeared and started quarreling with some of our members. Their point of contention was that Ajita of nirmukta.com had written an article in which he had alleged that the Dhyan foundation was a money-making venture. They were neither interested nor prepared to conclusively demonstrate to the skeptics the greatness of their own culture by identifying diseased, living or dead from the photos! When the challenge was repeated and they were asked to demonstrate their powers, every single one of them shirked and put forward the excuse that they were only first-grade students. Perhaps they were not even ordinary members of the foundation as it was the claim of “Yogi” Ashwini that “any ordinary foundation member can give predictions and would be happy to for any sceptic who has no faith in his culture”. Very sad indeed for a self appointed guardian of culture who goes abroad to educate the mlechas about Indian culture, obviously flying by aeroplanes instead of levitating by his yogic powers, travels by cars instead of bullock carts ( Indian culture) uses internet etc. etc. , all things that are clearly not part of Indian culture. Obviously Ashwini and Co. have forgotten that it was the Indian culture which taught us not to accept any thing without question. It was in India that Gouthama Buddha first proclaimed not to accept anything without question wherever it may originate from!

Again, the first-graders who had come to our Bangalore meeting told us that they want to “educate” us about the work that they are doing and the charities that they run. Since we were interested only in being enlightened about the power of yoga and nothing else, they were informed so in no uncertain terms. They put some of our colleagues in touch with someone at Delhi who threatened to take legal action against us. Since there was no point in continuing with the interactions and we had to go on with our meeting we told them to go ahead with that. We have been keenly awaiting the consequences of this threat which have not materialized at the time of writing this.

Well, Mr. Ashwini we are eagerly awaiting your arrival from Europe to convince us skeptics about the power of Yoga. Since, emails from me to your Dhyan Foundation are bouncing back and queries addressed on your web site are not being answered, I have to reach you through public media only.