Hindus - Just as Fucked Up as All The Others

[Minimalist]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/world/...=5043&_r=0

PUNE, India — For nearly three decades, an earnest man named Narendra Dabholkar traveled from village to village in India, waging a personal war against the spirit world.


That mission ended Tuesday, when two men ran up behind Dr. Dabholkar, 67, as he crossed a bridge, shot him at point-blank range, then jumped onto a motorbike and disappeared into the traffic coursing through this city.


he founder of one such group, Sanatan Sanstha, noting that he did not condone the killing, did not bother to feign sorrow over Dr. Dabholkar’s death.

“Instead of dying of old age, or by surgery, which causes a lot of suffering, the death Mr. Dabholkar got today was a blessing from God,” the leader, a former hypnotherapist now known as His Holiness Dr. Jayant Athavale, wrote in an editorial in the organization’s publication, Sanatan Prabhat.

Truly, the head gear does not matter when the brains beneath are nothing but mush.

[pineapplebunnybounce]

This is so sad.

If a holy man had electrified the public with his miracles, Dr. Dabholkar, a former physician, would duplicate the miracles and explain, step by step, how they were performed. If a sorcerer had amassed a fortune treating infertility, he would arrange a sting operation to unmask the man as a fraud. His goal was to drive a scientist’s skepticism into the heart of India, a country still teeming with gurus, babas, astrologers, godmen and other mystical entrepreneurs.

This man cared so much about for his society and worked so hard to get rid of all these conmen.

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Don't know if you guys've seen Penn and Teller's trip to India to have a look at indian magic. In that episode, the main indian magician they were talking to routinely tricks his audience into buying magic rings. And Penn and Teller actually did a show with him and helped him trick even more people into buying those rings. Then after doing that, they realized if they'd been in the states they would've openly condemned the indian magician for what he did and felt horrible for having helped him.

I think people are less comfortable in condemning foreign cultures/religions, even when they're wrong.

Here's the video if anyone's interested. The magic is really interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB0Lexfqm_o

[Minimalist]

In that episode, the main indian magician they were talking to routinely tricks his audience into buying magic rings.

It's always the same old con job.

What is the function that a clergyman performs in the world? Answer: he gets his living by assuring idiots that he can save them from an imaginary hell.
— H L Mencken

[Anomalocaris]

In defence of Hinduism, it must be pointed that hinduism does a service to mankind by continuing to exist from before the first itch in the loins of Moses' dad, to this very day, thus putting lie to the idiotic notion that Christianity's less than two thousand years somehow makes it less a farce than any other Iron Age cult.

[genkaus]

Truly, the head gear does not matter when the brains beneath are nothing but mush.

Headgear? Really? Way to stereotype.

However, thanks for bringing this up, since I was looking for a way to discuss his death as a segway to a larger issue.

For a considerable portion of his activist life, Dabholkar had been lobbying for the passage of an Anti-Black Magic Bill. His argument was simple - there are a lot of superstitious practices, faux-magical remedies, charms, talismans and rituals which cause very real physical and financial harm to the impoverished, ignorant masses taken in by these swindlers. Obviously, the state government didn't have the balls to touch this with a barge pole. The bill was seen as anti-religious, specifically, anti-Hindu and was stringently opposed by all right-wing parties.

Now, as a knee-jerk reaction to this murder, the State Cabinet has passed an ordinance legitimizing this bill and should it pass the assembly (it most likely won't, but that's another matter), it would become a law. Basically, one might look at this as doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.

But is this the right thing to do? How would the bill rationally differentiate between different forms of superstitions? What's the difference between buying a good-luck charm from a street Fakir and, say, paying for Papal blessings? Why would a ritual for cleansing 'evil aura' from your house be legitimate and sacrificing a goat for getting a promotion be illegal? The bill only goes after the most rampant and obvious superstitious practices prevalent - such as buying "Herbal medicines" or things like exorcism ceremonies, but the more general religious superstition is much more insidious and ultimately more harmful.

And where would the freedom of religion stand with this regard. While we know that a lot of religious practices and beliefs are physically and financially harmful, we nevertheless stand for it because that essential liberty is worth it. Should we classify one form of religious activity as "black-magic" and seek to ban it, how would it be any different in practice from witch-hunts?

So, what do y'all think about this?

[Minimalist]

Headgear? Really? Way to stereotype.

Surely you have noted that the holier the motherfucker thinks he is the stupider his hat is?

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Headgear? Really? Way to stereotype.

Surely you have noted that the holier the motherfucker thinks he is the stupider his hat is?

[genkaus]

Surely you have noted that the holier the motherfucker thinks he is the stupider his hat is?

I've also noted the absence of any Hindus from the list.

The point being, stupid hats are not a definitive sign of any and every religion.

[KichigaiNeko]

What's with men and the funny hats?

[Silver]

What's with men and the funny hats?

Ask A Theist.

[KichigaiNeko]

What's with men and the funny hats?

Ask A Theist.

Why? Will I get a silly answer?







Probably would so I think I'll pass Maelstrom

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Do you think it might be penis compensation?