CHARVAKA

Godmen claim that when they are in samadhi all their bodily functions also stop like the pulse, heart-beat etc. The yogi asks the doctor to check his pulse. Then he goes into ‘samadhi’ and the doctor is surprised to find there is no pulse. Experiment – 42 Effect: Stopping the pulse.  Props: Two lemons or…

B Premanand Patanjali Yoga Sutras explain the method of awakening the sexual energy – Kundalini Shakti – from Muladhara Chakra through Sushumna Nadi and the six chakras: Swadhisthana Chakra, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajna to the ultimate Sahasrara Chakra, where the union between soul and super soul (atma and paramatma or Shiva and Shakti) takes place…

Ram Puniyani In Kalyan a Muslim youth Bilal Shaikh was slapped with a non-bailable cognizable offense (May 2012) under section 333, after he jumped the traffic signal. He was assaulted brutally by the police for having arguments with them, suffered a fracture in right arm and was in jail for eight days. The policemen who…

Ram Puniyani Nitish Kumar in an obvious reference to opposition to Modi’s possible projection as the Prime-ministerial candidate of NDA, in the next parliamentary elections said that NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate should be one with secular credentials. His aide went on to say that Vajpayee had the intention of sacking in the wake of Gujarat…

After we uploaded Premanand’s writing on the ‘miracle’ at Kamarali Durvesh Dargha, Shivapuri, Pune, we came across a very interesting article on the same ‘miracle’. It was published in Skeptical Inquirer in its Spring/Summer 1978 issue (Volume II, No.2). Since this article is not easy to come by, we post it here for the benefit…

Abraham Kovoor Every lay-member of the Roman Catholic Church, who is encouraged by the Church to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes, should read the book “Eleven Lourdes Miracles” by Dr. DJ. West, M.B. CH. B., D.P.M. (Duckworth). Dr. West critically examines the eleven cases that have been proclaimed miraculous by Canonical Commissions dating between 1937…

B Premanand Islam is one of the few religions which state that no human being can perform miracles . But for a religion to survive, miracles are a must. If we visit some of the mosques and darghas we will find that many miracles are believed to occur there. Though the Prophet Muhammad destroyed almost…

Ram Puniyani After Supreme Court Bench had expressed unhappiness about the ways in which the Muslim sub Quota was created last December, the Government has been trying to submit the necessary data. Supreme Court wanted Centre to explain the basis of the move to reserve this 4.5% for the Muslims. With due support from relevant…

Ram Puniyani In Kalyan a Muslim youth Bilal Shaikh was slaped with a non boilable cognizable offense (May 2012) under section 333, after he jumped the traffic signal. He was assaulted brutally by the police for having arguments with them, suffered a fracture in right arm and was in jail for eight days. The policemen…

B Premanand Jesus Christ is said to have multiplied 5 loaves of bread to 5000 and 7 into 7000. In Mahabharatha, Droupadi, wife of the five brothers, Pandavas, is said to have multiplied two grains of cooked rice to feed hundreds. Satya Sai Baba is also said to have multiplied food to feed his devotees.…

Manoj Thazath One killed in stampede for fish medicine (Hyderabad, June 9, 2012) Amid utter chaos and confusion that marked the distribution of the famous ‘fish prasadam’ in the city, one person was killed in a stampede while some others suffered injuries in Kattedan, here on Friday. Thousands of people suffering from asthma jostled with…

Ram Puniyani Painting: Raja Ravivarma Women’s struggle to break the shackles of patriarchy and come of their own is a part of democratization/secularization process of society. In India while this equality has been granted right with the implementation of Constitution in free India, the social realities are far from those of equality. With the rise…

Abraham Kovoor Recently we happened to read in an Indian journal an article by Sri K.P. Kesava Menon written on his 83rd birthday. Sri Menon was a former High Commissioner of India in Ceylon, a writer, a patriot and one of India’s foremost journalists. Even in his old age, whatever he writes is read avidly…

Ram Puniyani Time and over again while interacting with the youth from Kashmir what comes forth straight and striking is the pain and anguish of the youth, their frustration, their realization about the brutality of the system in which they live in Kashmir. Youth from Kashmir coming to different parts of India for various meetings…

Ram Puniyani Parliament was rocked (May 2012) with the discussion on the alleged insult of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar in the cartoon in NCERT text book for standard XI.  The MHRD Minister immediately declared the withdrawal of the book and asked for review of all books for which a committee has been appointed. This is…

B Premanand No religion would be accepted by people unless the gods of these religions are shown to have supernatural powers. Their faith in god is not because they love god, but because they have been made to believe that god is ail-powerful. Though it is argued that faith in god turns people from materialism…

Radha Gopalan No.  There are several naturally occurring toxins in plant and animal foodstuffs.  Toxins are poisonous substances of natural origin and can be harmful to human beings.  But food poisoning, in our mind, is usually associated with microbes or environmental contaminants.  A foodstuff is not always safe just because it is natural. Concern about…

J V Narlikar [This essay, written by the eminent Cosmologist Jayant V Narlikar, first appeared in the April 1985 issue of Science Age, a magazine now defunct, brought out by Nehru Centre, Bombay. Though the essay is almost three decades old, it continues to be as relevant as most of the criticisms on pseudoscience are. While…

[It is a widely held belief among the ruling, upper caste circles that the question of caste is no more an issue in India. We have chanced upon a documentary that unmasks this myth articulated by the very same people who practise casteism in a myriad of ways . This documentary is directed by Stalin,…

Ram Puniyani In the middle of April 2012 Osmania University (OU) witnessed an unusual violence on the issue of eating beef. A section of dalit students’ were demanding that University Hostels should have beef on the menu. They also organized a beef festival in which a large number of students ate beef biryani. The festivity…

R.A. Jahagirdar  We publish this essay by Justice RA Jahagirdahr (1927-2011) on the Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar  in the context of the 8th National Conference of Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) held in Nagapur on 11-12 February 2012. The official souvenir brought out during the conference had a photograph of Vinayak Savarkar with the astonishing…