(This article was first published in the Souvenir brought out commemorating the 7th National Conference of Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations held in Chennai on 26 & 27 December 2009)
What is Rationalism?
In Epistemology (the branch of philosophy studying the nature, sources and limits of knowledge) “Rationalism” is “the theory that reason rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge”. Those who accept rationalism in this epistemological sense assert that knowledge is gained a priori (prior to experience) and is often contrasted with Empiricism which is “the theory that all knowledge is based on experience derived from the senses”. Read the full story
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For the last few weeks Humanists, Rationalists and Human Rights activists have been waging a huge battle against the forces of fundamentalism in Andhra Pradesh. This is a battle that involves all sections of society, and in which the media, the police, the justice system, aggressive fundamentalists, the Dalai Lama as well as the Humanists and Rationalists.. It is a battle that is being watched with keen interest by millions of homes as it unfolds on live TV and through public discussions, newspaper articles and also in homes.
The campaign started publicly with a complaint made by Babu Gogineni in the name of IHEU along with a dozen collaboratoring intellectuals and organisations with the Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission. The campaign’s slogan Sambhavi Gudilona Badilona? has now become the byword for TV programs, for newspaper articles and also discussions as all citizens are challenged to take a stand whether Sambhavi, a child of 7, who it is claimed is a reincarnation of a Buddhist goddess should be in school or remain in the temple. This is also a story which has catapulted Humanists and Rationalists into the limelight as superstition, religious privilege and human rights clash publicly in Andhra Pradesh state which is home to 90 million Telugu speaking people - the second largest language group in India. Read the full story
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Introduction
It can be stated without doubt that the Ramayana, sage Valmiki’s magnum opus, is the single most influential epic to have ever risen from our nation. The epic was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Indian life and culture. The characters of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Hanuman and Ravana (the villain of the piece) are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India. Read the full story
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Note: This article first appeared in the CFN Newsletter for September - October 2009.
There’s nothing that skeptics enjoy more than a good debunking. Set up a big fat target and let the fun begin: How could anyone believe that nonsense? Or pose an apparently insuperable challenge: prove that you have paranormal powers and we’ll give you a million bucks. Thus far, no takers.
Among those leading the skeptical charge (my apology for omissions) are James Randi, founder of the Randi Educational Foundation; Michael Shermer, head of the Skeptics Society and author of Why People Believe Weird Things; Joe Nickel and others at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, publishers of Skeptical Inquirer; physicist and science-defender Lawrence Krauss; Massimo Pigliucci, host of Rationally Speaking; neurologist Steven Novella who heads the New England Skeptical Society and hosts Neurologica; and of course America’s favorite exploders of supernatural shibboleths and fashionable nonsense, Penn and Teller on their show Bullshit!. None of these guys are to be trifled with if you have the least propensity for wishful thinking. Their critical gaze has shredded every imaginable quackery, from Bigfoot to birthers, spoon-bending to séances, vaccine scare-mongering to visitations from the dead. If there’s no solid empirical evidence for it or if it’s logically suspect, they’re all over it, and then it’s all over for the wishful thinker. This of course fulfills an important function for the culture: keeping it intellectually honest, or at least less dishonest.
Given all this, it’s striking that the skeptical community pays relatively little attention to one of the weirdest beliefs going: that human beings have contra-causal free will.[1] Read the full story
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In my previous article I described Hinduism as Obsessive Compulsive Religion, and that its practices are rooted in the antiquated belief system of Brahmanism, the prevalent religion of India three thousand years ago. This explains why India has more gods, more mindless rituals, more bizarre superstitions and more fraudulent “holy men” than the rest of the world put together and why there is the pernicious caste system. The reality is that today more than ever before, highly educated people in India have fallen prey to the relics of Brahmanism such as superstitions, Yajnas, Poojas and Abhishekas dedicated to their personal gods. More than ever before, there is such frenzy in India to build huge ornate temples, some of which are covered with gold. More than ever before, today millions of Hindus are thronging to temples and donating their life-savings to them. And more than ever before religious frauds are thriving in India and abroad. Read the full story
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We want to strengthen our campaign for legalizing Euthanasia in India. Seriously. Before that, I request all readers to go through the entire essay “Euthanasia or death-wish” available here.
Those who agree with the idea are free to offer new points, ask questions based on the article mentioned above and design a short draft for starting signature campaign -in print and via internet. All are welcome to join and help. Read the full story
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This article is a response to Pankaj Kulkarni’s article, Why Should Rationalists Have all the Fun?, in which he discusses monetizing the rationalism movement. Pankaj suggests that the non-profit model of promoting rationalism is inferior to profit-based initiatives in achieving progress in this area. I disagree. However, I wish to make it clear at the outset that I am not denying the value in harnessing the profit motive. I recognize that this motive for profit has been one of the fundamental driving forces behind innovation in technology and culture. I have immense respect for Pankaj’s thinking in this regard. However, I don’t think that the instinct for short-term financial gain should/will drive the future of the rationalist movement. I also disagree that the non-profit movement is not as effective in general as the for-profit industry. I present my reasons in this article. Read the full story
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Some of the recent criticism of our mission here at Nirmukta has come from Hindu apologists admonishing the writers for treating Hinduism as a religion. The often encountered claim is that Hinduism is not a religion in the same sense as the other faiths, because of various reasons that the apologists deem are unique to Hinduism alone. This propaganda has been pursued so vigorously by the apologists that it has become a mantra to be used as a shield against criticism. Millions of educated Hindus are taught these talking points, often ideas derived from some insignificant truism miscast into a vast theory of cultural significance. Such “special pleading” is a mark of all religions, asking to be considered unique and special. To begin, let us first look at some of the general qualities of religions.
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I intend to respond to some of the criticisms leveled against the view I expressed in my article “Why I criticize Hinduism the Most” - the most prominent being the comments posted by Kafir in this website. I have also received a few responses, mostly favorable, from the readers of the ezine I bring out, Bangalore Skeptic. The favorable responses I happily ignore!
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This article first appeared in Mangalore Today, an English magazine published in Mangalore.
Welcome to the new saviours of Hinduism who have now graduated from being guardians of morality to vultures of culture. While what they are doing is questionable and one would like to ask whether a culture which has survived thousands of years of attack by a number of forces needs a rag tag band of ex Bhajarangis and those expelled from Bharatiya Janatha Party for its survival, the intentions of this gang are very clear. While culture has many definitions starting from all the combined experiences in a group of people to ways of living, their definitions over ride all these- it is what they say that is the right culture!
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