SCIENTIFIC TEMPER

 Original Speech – Dr. Narendra Dabholkar - 2012

English Translation – Dr. Vivek Monteiro - 2018

In 1970 I obtained my MBBS degree. Till 1982 I ran a hospital and two clinics. In 1982 I closed both my clinics and hospital and since then I am working as a full time activist of the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan movement. At the time I quit my full time and successful career as a doctor, and became a full time activist of the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan movement, people asked me a question, which they still continue to ask - Doctor, for doing the work of fighting blind faith and superstitions, was it really necessary to shut down and quit your successful profession? The answer is - Yes, it was, and is, necessary. Why is it necessary? Take note- if a candle is lit in a dark hall, it brightens the room, if, instead, a petromax is lit, the hall brightens further, a tube-light spreads even more light, and if day dawns, the sun rises, and the rays of sunlight come in from all directions, that dispels the darkness. In the same measure that light enters, so also, does darkness retreat. ‘In human society, with the advance of the enlightenment provided by education and science, the darkness of blind faith and ignorance is in the same measure eliminated. It is not necessary to do anything more’– perhaps this kind of belief might be present in the minds of the questioners. If it really happened like this, I would be the happiest person. But what is the reality? I will give just two examples. The first railway train in India ran from Mumbai to Thane in 1853. Till that time, it had never occurred to people in our country that it is possible to transport hundreds of persons from here to there, in a single vehicle, without the use of horse, bull, elephant or animal power. At that time, rhymes like (“Sahebacha pora layi akli ra… Bin bailachi gaadi kashi hakli ra ?”) – “The Saheb’s son is really smart, dear. See how he drove the bullockless cart, dear”, were recited in schools. At that time travel from Thane to Mumbai by bullock cart would take 24 hours. By comparison, the railway was a very important and useful convenience. To start with, there was no ticket for the journey. Instead, initially, the Sahebs would pay the passengers one rupee to make the journey. This is because people were just not willing to sit in the train. They thought of the train as some kind of witchcraft. “The whites will take us to Mumbai in the train. There, they are constructing buildings. They will kill us and bury us in the foundations of these buildings. People, beware, don’t enter the train”- such declarations were issued at the time. So that people would be willing to sit in the train, they were paid one rupee. At that time one rupee was certainly a large sum of money. And when people slowly started to board the train, the reward was reduced to 8 annas. Then it became four annas. Next, travel was made free and after that they started charging for the ticket to travel in the train. But since the train was still considered a kind of black magic, before the train embarked from Thane to Mumbai, or from Mumbai for Thane, wives would come and apply haldi-kumkum to the engine, and tie lemons and chillies, or an upside down doll. When I narrate this I see a smile on some of your faces. But tell me truly, even today when we first bring a two-wheeler, or a four wheeler, to our homes, don’t we also do the same thing ? This means that we are ready to take the benefits of science, but not its vision. We acquire the products of science, but not the scientific attitude. Some time back we took a survey of twenty thousand rickshaws in Pune. Every new moon a lemon and black doll is hung on 18000 rickshaws. Now everyone knows that lemon is a very good source of nutritious vitamin C. We face many deficiencies of nutrition in our country. Yet, every month we waste the nutritive elements of 18000 limes ! Do we ever ask ourselves - what are the 150 year old things that we have retained ? We do not wear the clothes of 150 years back. We do not eat the foods of 150 years back. We do not receive the education of 150 years back, we do not use the vehicles of 150 years back. But then, why do we retain the lemon -chillies and black dolls of 150 years back ? We keep these because we may have learned to use science, but we just have not learned the scientific attitude. But it is indeed necessary to take these matters more seriously than we realize. I give you one example from our movement. Recently Satya Saibaba passed away. Satya Saibaba used to pronounce- “My miracle is my visiting card”. The almighty has given me the power of miracles, so that you will be convinced that I was sent by Him for your upliftment. So if you went to visit Satya Saibaba, he would wave his hand in the air, produce and place holy ash on your palm ; wave his hand in the air, produce and place a gold or silver ring- and there are stories of his waving his hand and gifting gold lockets and diamond necklaces to those visiting him. What is worth noting is that, if some ordinary person like you and I went to see him, they got holy ash. If it was an MLA or a member of parliament, he got a gold or silver ring. A President, or Prime Minister, or rich industrialist went to meet him, and their children got a gold chain. So even the Baba gave to each according to his worth. What we were worth is holy ash, but holy ash is, after all, ash. When it came from the hands of the Baba, so it became ‘Vibhooti’, or ‘Angaara’. So be it ! So, this Satya Saibaba was to come to Chakur in Latur district, where a huge temple was being built for him, while he was still alive. At that time, we were conducting a campaign against superstition and fraud in Latur. I was visiting schools and colleges to say what I am saying here today, to deliver similar public lectures. The day when Satya Saibaba came to Chakur was also the first day of the Maharashtra Assembly. To tell the truth, on that day it was very necessary for the Chief Minister Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, to be present in the Assembly, but instead, he came to Chakur to take a darshan of Satya Saibaba. There was a huge congregation of people. Our team was going to hold a demonstration. So, 48 hours earlier, in Latur, Beed and Nanded, the police detained all our activists. The programme commenced and Satya Saibaba began his speech. Five minutes after commencing his speech, he suddenly paused. He waved his left hand in the air, and produced a golden chain, which he presented to the Chief Minister’s younger brother Diliprao Deshmukh. (Till today, he wears it around his neck). Again he resumed his speech for another twenty minutes, and again he suddenly paused. He waved his right hand in the air, and produced another gold chain, which he presented to the Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.( Even today, it adorns his neck). And as he was concluding his speech Baba waved his hand and produced ashes, which he distributed amongst the women and men gathered there. What we had been saying, this was witnessed first hand, (‘Yaachi dehi, yaachi dola ’) by all the people gathered there. I have written about this story which I have just narrated to you in my book “The battle against blind faith and superstition” (Ladhe Andhashraddheche). But the real joke is ahead. I once received a letter from Shri Patel- the Culture Secretary of the State of Maharashtra. What did it say ? – “ We are pleased to inform you that your book “Ladhe Andhashraddheche” has been selected by the Government of Maharashtra for the award of the ‘Krantisinh Nana Patil” prize for outstanding literature. You are requested to come to Aurangabad on 25th November for the receipt of the award at the hands of the Chief Minister Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh. My reply to the Chief Minister is published in my book “Aise Kaise Zhale Bhondu”. In that letter, along with many other things, I have written this important line – “ I do not wish to receive the award from the hands of a Chief Minister who does not conduct himself according to our Indian Constitution.” Now I am not so arrogant an activist to tell someone who wants to praise me - “Get lost, I will not be praised by you”. Why did I write this letter ? The reason is that in the Constitution that was given to me on the 25th of January 1950, there were enunciated only my rights as a citizen. I have the freedom of movement. I can go anywhere in the country. I have freedom of expression, I can say what I wish. I have the right to own property. I can buy property. But just as, in a home, when a child has grown up and we tell him, you have your rights, but now you will also have to take responsibilities, in the same way, in 1976 the Constitution was expanded and citizens’ duties were added. One of these fundamental duties is – “ It is a duty of every Indian citizen to promote scientific temper.” This means it is the responsibility of every Indian citizen to adopt, think, propagate and nurture a scientific outlook. Mind you, it is not asked of citizens, whether or not they should adopt, promote, nurture a scientific outlook. It is their duty. Not just that, in 1987, the nation adopted a New Education Policy. In this education policy, one of the important core objectives is defined as ‘development of a scientific attitude”. Value education is taught in Maharashtra. ‘Nurturing scientific outlook’ is also included as an objective in school-level value education. We live in a scientific age. From the time we wake till the time we sleep at night there is not a single thing that we can do without the help of science. We wake up, take a toothbrush, apply toothpaste, and turn on the tap at the washbasin. Take note- none of these things were available in Maharashtra a hundred years back. There were no toothbrushes, no tooth paste and no washbasins. At that time you would have to use a twig from a tree and water from a well. And many of you may have a degree in science. And after telling you all this at this university in Maharashtra, I will ask a simple question and wait for ten seconds. Anyone may answer the question. The question is - number one : the importance of scientific temper is stated in our constitution. Number two- ‘developing scientific mindset’ is mentioned as a core objective in our national education policy. Number three- ‘scientific outlook’ has been included in value education. Number four- ‘scientific temper is the foundation of the scientific age in which you live. And number five, the philosophic foundation of the science education that you have received is the scientific temper. So, can anyone tell me, in one word, what is this, so important,‘scientific temper’? Like, in school, we are asked to write synonyms of words. If asked ‘aqua’, we write ‘water’. If asked ‘sun’, we write ‘sol’. If the word is ‘luna’, we write the synonym ‘moon’. So, listening to my speech, think for a moment and write a synonym for ‘scientific temper’. My experience is that in 99 percent of the universities in Maharashtra, 99 percent of the time, there is no answer to my question, and if there is an answer, it is incorrect. In short, ‘scientific temper’ means, to ‘investigate causes and effects’, it means ‘rational causality’. Number one - behind every phenomenon, there are causes. Number two – my intelligence can comprehend these causes. Number three- though we do not today know the causes of every phenomenon in the world, but whenever and however they will be understood, I also can understand how they will be understood because of rational causality, and Number four- this is the most reliable way known to mankind of gaining authentic knowledge. Until humankind acquired scientific temper, humans were only another weak species in nature. ‘ Behind whatever happens in my life, there is God, there is destiny, there is fate, there is accumulated indulgence, there is karmic consequence, the sins of past lives, the time of my birth- as long as humankind was unaware of rational causation, these were various kinds of beliefs held by humans. Then we humans discovered rational causality, and went from being dominated to becoming independent, from being subject, to becoming free. And mind you, this was an extremely important and extremely exciting event in the history of humankind. Have we ever thought specifically about the consequences of the fact that humans are among the weakest of the animals that came into being on this earth. Humans cannot fly in the air like even a small sparrow. Humans cannot live 24 hours in water like fish. In a race between a human and a deer, the deer will run three times as fast. This is because the muscles in the legs of a deer are three times as strong as human muscles. Nature has endowed the elephant and the rhino with unmatched strength. Nobody crosses their path. The lion and tiger have sharp teeth and sharp claws. That is why they can catch, tear and chew up raw meat. Humans cannot do this. Humans shiver in the cold, but nature has endowed the bear with a warm hairy coat. That is why it can live happily in even the arctic regions. We cannot see in the dark and need the help of a battery torch, while kittens can navigate in the dark. Even baby monkeys can leap from one branch to another- this is not possible for us humans. If, at home you enthusiastically lift a cute three month old baby, an elderly women in the house will sternly tell you, you may lift the child, but keep your hand under his neck as a support. A three month old human child cannot lift his head, but a bull can butt at the age of three months. Many of us may have seen a newborn calf. A newborn calf learns to stand upright on its legs in just 12 hours, while a newborn human cannot do this after 12 hours, not after twelve days, not after twelve weeks, and when he does this after twelve months we clap our hands and exclaim- “ Look, baby is standing !”. So, we have to think about this- how did this weak animal called a ‘human’ become the lord of all nature ? People say – “he became lord of all things because he started to use his intelligence and ability to think.” Then I ask them- “All animals have intelligence. Elephants have intelligence, that is why they work in circuses. Dogs have intelligence, that’s why they are useful in the police department, the dolphin fish has the intelligence of a student in the fourth standard, they detect underwater explosives and help boats to navigate.. So how are only humans intelligent ? Keep this in mind, humans came on this earth only in the past five lakh years. The scientific name for humans is ‘ Man the homo sapien’. Actually, the full nomenclature is ‘Man the homo sapien sapien’. Homo means animal, sapien means ‘wise’. So, how did such a weak animal become wise ? Humans developed in the last five lakh years. The ancestors of humans, apes like the gorilla, chimpanzee and orangutan developed in the last 1.5 crore years. The type of animal which gives birth to live babies, and which feed them milk with mammary organs, like the elephant, lion, and tiger evolved three crore and eighty lakh years ago. Approximately 4 crore years back evolved the elephant, which weighs 4000 kilos, and five lakh years ago humans evolved who weigh 60 kilos. So by comparison, whose brain should be larger ? When I ask this question, people start to ponder. Because they know that the human brain weighs between 1350 grammes and 1500 grammes., with a body weight is 60 kilos. This means that the human brain weighs 2 to 2 1/2 percent of the human body weight. But the brain of the elephant weighs just 4 kilos, i.e. just one tenth of a percent, of its weight. Now the question before us is how did the human brain develop so large in comparison to the elephant’s ? If I replied thus- ‘Man was God’s favourite animal. He sat under a tree and prayed, daily : ‘O God, give me wisdom, give me wisdom, and God was pleased and gave man wisdom and thus the human brain slowly increased in size.’ – then, all of you would laugh. But you believe in Shree Ganpati. You believe that Gajanan is the god of intelligence. You know that his head is that of an elephant. So, this god of intelligence, then bestowed intelligence on humans and not on elephants- what is the secret behind this? Why did the brain of only humans grow and not that of any other animal? Note that like any other animal, the human is also an animal, and like other animals also has paws. In the course of evolution, the thumb separated from the other four digits. The digits separated into fingers. Man began to interpose his thumb against the other fingers. He converted these ten fingers into a tool, and with this tool started to act on nature around him. Along with, and through this activity, his brain began to develop and grow. This activity continued for thousands of years. Then man picked up a stone from the ground. He gave the stone a cutting edge. He fastened this sharpened stone onto a branch broken from a tree, and created a primitive axe. Later this tool slowly improved. The ability to act on nature enhanced and because of this his brain developed further. Many more thousands of years elapsed. Man discovered metals. He made metal tools. With these metal tools he further improved his ability to act. His brain grew further. Take note, it was through labour that man began to act on nature, and that developed his brain. Since all animals think, we cannot define a ‘human’ as ‘a thinking animal’. Humans are defined by the statement : ‘Man is a tool making animal’. So, in the first place, man is a tool making and weapon making animal, and secondly, though, along with other animals, our ancestors also walked on four legs, later the two legged human evolved. The remaining two forelegs then, evolved into hands and with these hands, he began to act on nature. And when he stood erect, at that time his vocal chords also moved up vertically. The vocal chords of no other animal can match the versatility that the human vocal chords are capable of, and that is why humans discovered language. And through dialogue with nature with human hands, along with dialogue between humans through language, the human brain increased in size. This increase was not due to any rituals or chants of worship, it was not due to any poojas or yagnas. That’s why when you fall victim to superstition, what happens ? When you fall victim to superstition, it is no loss to Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, or to the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti. Whose loss is it? Take note – If I come to your house and after looking around I say “Wow, what a fine house ? How were you able to construct such a large house so soon ? You reply- “Oh, I did not construct the house. It was built by my father. I am only maintaining it. If your mother’s friend, eyeing the jewelry she is wearing, exclaims- ‘ Tell me dear, so much gold jewelry! How could you afford to buy so much at such an young age ?”. Your mother replies- ‘No, no ! I did not buy them. They were gifted to me by my mother-in-law.’ Or she says “ They were given to me by my mother as women’s inheritance ‘streedhan’. I have to maintain it and pass it on to the next generation. If you conserve and preserve the wealth handed to you from the previous generation as an ‘inheritance’, then, remember that your human brain is itself the inheritance of 50,000 generations. The 5 lakh year old human fossil skulls found in caves show a cranial capacity of 750 grams. Today, your brain is of size 1500 grams. When you forget this and fall victim to superstitions and blind faith, it is as if you lose your claim to being a ‘sapient human’- this is the first thing. But note this- the scientific nomenclature of the humans is ‘Homo sapiens sapien’. This means not just ‘ smart ‘ and, indeed, not ‘too smart’, but growing always ‘more and more smart’. And when did this ‘scientific outlook’, which has made humans more and more smart, enter our nation? When did it appear on this planet ? To tell you the truth, in a primary form, the principle of ‘rational causality’ has been in existence since the time of Buddha and Charvak. But in this modern age and in its modern sense, ‘scientific outlook’ enters Europe about 400 to 500 years back. We know this as the ‘Copernican Revolution’. Copernicus was the first to show, with calculations, that even though it appears that the Sun revolves around the earth, it is really the earth which revolves around the sun. This is what Aryabhat had said, in India, a 1000 years before Copernicus, but we could not sustain this insight, we could not take it forward, we could not give that honour to Aryabhat. Approximately 1000 years after Aryabhat, Copernicus made this statement. He was ignored in Europe. But then, Galileo was born and in 1609, Galileo invented the telescope. It was an extremely revolutionary invention at the time. Distant ships on the sea appeared to have come nearer. Ambassadors began to report to their Kings, that ‘ this man has made an amazing invention that makes the ships of the enemy appear near when they are far away.’ Galileo was praised. But Galileo had the foolish idea of turning the telescope towards the skies, and started showing the people – “Look folks, I show you- the moon does not have a beautiful face, there are rivers and valleys on it. People, look ! The sun is not spotless- there are black spots on its face. People, come and see. I show you that just as the moon has phases, so does the planet Venus. People, come, see. I show you, that just as the earth has a satellite, Jupiter too has three satellites.” I am sure that of those of you who are listening to this lecture, very few will have seen the moons of Jupiter, or seen the phases of Venus, or the spots on the sun, or the hills and valleys on the moon. This is what Galileo showed people 400 years back, but this time, Galileo was not praised. The highest church authority in Christianity was the Pope. His name was Pope Urban the Eighth. He was a friend of Galileo’s. The Pope was himself a scientist. That Pope ordered Galileo to appear before an inquisition of the Catholic Church. His summons reached Galileo. At that time Galileo was ill, and he requested- ‘I will come when I am better’. But his scientist friend, the Pope, ordered him- “if you do not come, you will be brought here in chains and strapped on a horse- so serious is the crime that you have committed.” So Galileo reached the Vatican. A Christian religious congregation was convened. All the bishops and cardinals were seated. The pope took his seat. Galileo was produced and accused with two charges. The first charge was “You are a liar”. Why ? Because anyone can see that the sun revolves around the earth yet you assert that the earth revolves around the sun. So, you are a liar.’ The second, and more serious charge was that “You are a blasphemer.” Blasphemer, means you deny true religious faith. Religious truth is what is written in the bible, and it is written in the bible that the kind Father has created the sun for producing daylight, and the moon for giving cool light in the night, and for this purpose these two lamps are suspended in the sky. And this is what was taught in Europe till the beginning of the 17th century. Take note of this, even though there was a considerable spread of science in Europe at the time, nevertheless the words of Aristotle were accepted as authority. It was said, at the time that “Aristotle was the master of all who knows.” Aristotle had given two reasons. One of these was the principle of “efficient cause’, namely searching for the causes and reasons. But the second, was the principle of ‘final cause’. And this final cause was the wish of Heavenly God. That is why Galileo was told- what you are saying is against the Bible, and therefore you must apologize. After narrating this episode in my speeches, I often pause, and ask: What is your information? Did Galileo apologize or not? And usually, people reply in all goodwill, Galileo did not apologize. History is testament that Galileo knelt down and unconditionally apologized. He slapped himself on his own face and said “ I have erred. I will not say such contrary things in future. What you say- that is the truth. It is the sun which revolves around the earth.” Today we teach students from class one that even if it appears that the sun revolves around the earth, in fact it is the earth which revolves around the sun. Then why did Galileo, who proved just the opposite, apologize? This is because just twenty five years earlier, a scientist named Bruno who had made the same assertion, and refused to retract it, was tied to a stake and burned alive to death. So, Galileo escaped with a life sentence. In his last seven years he became blind and he was punished with solitary confinement. Let us think, why did this happen? This happened because Galileo spoke against the religious authorities, that is true. But if we go even deeper and think, we will understand, Galileo was enunciating a new reason and rationality for understanding the universe. Till then, there was only a single reason for the universe- ‘It is the will of the lord of the heavens’. And Galileo was now saying- ‘Whatever be the will of the lord of the heavens; it may appear that the sun revolves around the earth, but in fact the earth revolves around the sun, and the moon also revolves thus. This has nothing to do with the will of the lord of the heaven.’ Thinking about real causes, his discovery gave a new direction for discovering the real reasons for what happens in the world around us. What progress could not take place in the preceding 4,99,600 years of human existence, has been made possible in the last 400 years by our discovery of the ‘scientific approach’. Now does all this have any relevance for our country, or not ? I believe – all this has a very strong relevance for our country. This is because in our country, in our religious theology, we have the ‘principle of the karma of past deeds’. This principle means- ‘Whatever I suffer in this life, is the result of the sins committed in my previous life, and whatever good I do in this life, I will get the benefits in my next life.’ Because of this I become completely dependent. The other banks of the world say- Today cash, tomorrow credit, the principle of karma says, ‘earn credits today, cash tomorrow.’ And as if controlled by a snake charmer’s pipe, we accept and admire this principle. And which is the most popular stanza of the ‘Geetramayana’ sung by Sudhir Phadke? “The sadness in your destiny. Is nobody’s fault. The world is enslaved. Son of man. Is neither mother Kaikeyi’s fault. Nor Grandfather’s. Abdication of a kingdom, Wanderings- all because of Karma. It is the play of my past accumulated doings. The world is enslaved. Son of man. This means, there is nothing that I can do about it. Whatever I have to suffer, it is the play of my fate and destiny and my destiny is decided by the sins of my previous life. Therefore, since I have no way of knowing the deeds of my previous life, there is no way of knowing what I might do in this life and what I will do in my next life. To tell the truth, the principle of karmic consequences is in direct contradiction to the principles of rational causality. And today also, this is how it is : If a boy studies, gets good marks, and when he goes for an interview, he lands a job in his first attempt- people say, ‘ Mark it, that boy’s stars are good ! Learning, learning, immediate earning !’ and if the boy studies hard, gets good marks, the parents were ready to pay something for a job, the boy goes here and there with letters of recommendations from MLAs and MPs, and even so, he does not land a job for three or four years, then people say- that boy’s stars are not good, we have tried everything, but if his destiny itself is bad, what can we do ? And again, suppose- a girl studies hard, passes with good marks, gets shown in good places, and gets chosen in the first attempt, her marriage gets decided with little expense, the relatives will say, “the girl’s stars were good, mark it, she didn’t cause her parents any difficulty.” And, if, on the other hand, the parents despite wearing out the soles of their chappals for three to four years, still have not been able to fix a match, then they will say – she just didn’t have it in her stars- we have tried everything, but after all, what to do if marriage was not written in the lines on her forehead.’ At college lectures, I often ask jokingly- suppose there are ten of you in a jeep. You go on a trip. There is a serious accident. Nine are seriously injured. You are the only one who isn’t. That’s your…”. And the students in one voice say ‘destiny’. And then I say, -“The jeep suffers a serious accident. Nine escape injury. You are the only one seriously injured. That’s your…” And again the students answer- ‘destiny’. Then I tell them, jokingly- “I hope this doesn’t happen, but supposing, in the coming college exams, you get very low marks, and when you go home, your father yells at you - “I slog so hard for your education, the professors take so much pains to teach you, and how is it that you get such low marks ?”. And you answer to your father- “Its like this, Dad- it was in your destiny to slog for my education. It was in my professor’s destiny to take pains to teach me, and it was in my destiny to get low marks. It’s all a matter of each one’s destiny”. On the contrary, it must be kept in mind that- whatever happens in my life- is not the consequence of a god, it is not because of the divine, it is not the consequence of foreordained destiny, it is not the consequence of (praarabdh) fate, it is not because of (sanchit) accumulated merit, it is not because of praktan, it is not the consequence of karmic consequence, it is not the consequence of the merits or sins of previous lives, it is not the consequence of my time of birth. Whatever happens in my life, behind every action, there are real reasons. I can find those real reasons, and because I can know those real reasons, I can also change them. That is why, when you abandon ‘scientific temper’, at that same time you give the control of your life into someone else’s hands. When you accept ‘scientific temper’, you take the control of your life back into your own hands. And this is what Mahatma Phule has told us one hundred and fifty years ago. One hundred and fifty years ago Mahatma Phule asked- “The Peshwas, who sought the auspicious moment to commence every battle, lost their empire against the English, who never seeking auspicious moments, won battle after battle- how did this happen? And Mahatma Phule also asked “The marriages of our mothers and daughters are decided by matching horoscopes with 36 points, and yet they become premature widows. The white women do not look at any such horoscope and yet they lead satisfied family lives- how does this happen?” Note this- one hundred and fifty years back Mahatma Phule was identifying the real reasons for wars and widowhood. When two armies face each other in battle, the outcome is decided by the weapons they possess, by their respective fighting morale, by their numerical strengths. It is not decided by the positions in the skies of the planets and the stars, by the positions of the sun, moon and winds. If it were like that, then priests would be enrolled in each army to advise after consulting the panchang, when to commence battle. In Mahatma Phule’s time, six or seven year old girls, and ten year old boys were married in this manner. Savitribai was married at the age of ten, by which time she was being called an overage spinster (ghodnavri). Even today child mortality in Maharashtra is high. At that time, it was extremely high. At such a time Mahatma Phule says- increase the age of marriage and reduce child mortality. If this is done, then even if you do not match a 36 point horoscope, our mothers and sisters will not become premature widows. This happened 150 years ago,- but believe me- today the situation in Maharashtra is really horrible. Every week I receive a phone call from somewhere in Maharashtra- sometimes from a boy, sometimes a girl, sometimes, the parents – and it is always the same story. My mobile phone rings, and if it is a boy, he asks “ Is this Dabholkar’s phone ?” I say, “yes”. He asks,” Is it you, yourself speaking?”, I say “yes”. He asks, “Do you have some time, I want to discuss at length”. I say “yes, speak. I have the time. This is my business”. Then he says “I am an IT engineer, I have seen a girl and I like her. She is a doctor. She too has liked me. We both would like to marry. My family visited her house. They saw her family background, food habits, family relations. They found all these acceptable. Thereafter, the girl’s family visited us. They too saw our family background, food habits, family relations. They too found it acceptable.” After all this has been said, I tell him, “how is this related to me? Go ahead and marry.” He says’ “ Doctor, here is the problem. After all these marriage criteria were decided, one guest unnecessarily took both our horoscopes and showed them to an astrologer. Now that astrologer has said. ‘This marriage must not take place. These two horoscopes are incompatible. They are so incompatible, that there is ‘Mrityukhadashtak Yog’ in them. Because of this, within six months of the marriage, the father of either the boy or the girl will certainly die.” Now, if I am giving a lecture in a college, I ask the students- “If this is told you, what will you do? Will you marry or not?” I also tell them – “Have faith in me, go ahead and marry. Nothing will happen to your mother or father, I am prepared to write this on a bond paper. The simple reason is that it has been undisputably established that there is no ground whatsoever for predicting the course of my life on the basis of a horoscope. That is why- by not making a decision about ‘whether or not to marry a girl that I like’ on the basis of a horoscope- this means taking control of our life in our own hands. That is why scientific attitude gives you a new understanding. Have you heard this famous ‘shair’? “Khud hee ko kar buland itna, Ki har takdeer se pahle, Khuda bande ko khud pooche Bataa teri razaa kya hai?” “Build yourself so strong, that even that all-knowing God, before writing every word of your destiny, Himself will be compelled to ask you, Tell me, what is your wish?” In short, scientific attitude is a way of viewing life, of achieving success, and of becoming a better person. If we adopt this world view, we can bring about fundamental change in our life, in our collective lives, in the life of society and even in the life of our country. That we all resolve to bring about this kind of change- this is my earnest request to you.