Many years ago, during a training for an organisation, we were served lunch in their canteen. The person who accompanied us was courteous but did not partake in the meal. He sheepishly admitted that he would not eat as his mother had instructed him to abstain from food during the eclipse that was occurring that day.
He told us that during the eclipse, all water and cooked food would be thrown out as it would be contaminated. After the end of the eclipse, all would bathe and fresh water would be filled from the tap and used to cook fresh food. My colleague asked him, ‘Do you empty the overhead tank, the reservoirs and rivers as well? Surely they would be under great exposure to be contaminated.’
Even the educated succumb to the canard, because we think that it does no harm to follow a tradition with seems to do no harm. But our thinking is eclipsed in more ways than one. While fasting during an eclipse, or any other time, is not bad as long as our body can take it; surely throwing away edible food and water is not acceptable.
So often we base our actions on blind beliefs. Premises based on invalid references lead to the eclipse of reason. False notions and misplaced logic leads to wrong inferences. Most fallacies are propped up by the crutches of distorted scientific principles. After all, we so easily allow our reason to be eclipsed by blind belief.
Let’s keep unscientific blind belief at bay…
Reason should not be eclipsed on any day!
~ Pravin Sabnis
He told us that during the eclipse, all water and cooked food would be thrown out as it would be contaminated. After the end of the eclipse, all would bathe and fresh water would be filled from the tap and used to cook fresh food. My colleague asked him, ‘Do you empty the overhead tank, the reservoirs and rivers as well? Surely they would be under great exposure to be contaminated.’
Even the educated succumb to the canard, because we think that it does no harm to follow a tradition with seems to do no harm. But our thinking is eclipsed in more ways than one. While fasting during an eclipse, or any other time, is not bad as long as our body can take it; surely throwing away edible food and water is not acceptable.
So often we base our actions on blind beliefs. Premises based on invalid references lead to the eclipse of reason. False notions and misplaced logic leads to wrong inferences. Most fallacies are propped up by the crutches of distorted scientific principles. After all, we so easily allow our reason to be eclipsed by blind belief.
Let’s keep unscientific blind belief at bay…
Reason should not be eclipsed on any day!
~ Pravin Sabnis
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