Indian Scientists Believe In God

June 16, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, June 15: Science opens up the frontiers of knowledge and inquiry but a majority of Indian scientists believe that it leads them more to the path of Almighty God.
One in four scientists in India believe in the existence of a "supernatural" power or Almighty God and follow the religious ethics, codes and traditions to derive academic, professional, materialistic and spiritual satisfaction. A considerable number of them also believe in the theory of Karma, predestination, life after death while others believe even in the existence of ghosts and evil spirits.
A joint survey by the city-based Centre for Inquiry and the US-based Institute for the Study of Secularism, Society and Culture of trinity College, revealed nteresting aspects on the beliefs and religious practices of Indian scientists. As many as 1,100 scientists from 130 research institutions and universities participated in the survey, the first of its kind exercise on the psychological and sociological beliefs and practices of Indian scientists or people connected with research.
According to N Innaiah of the Centre for Inquiry, 29 per cent of scientists surveyed believed in the philosophy of Karma while 26 per cent agreed that there will be life after death. A small number (seven per cent) believe in the existence of evil spirits that haunt people.
The study was released earlier this week in New York. The survey took about six months. According to the findings of the survey, eight per cent of scientists in the country have ethical reservations about genetic engineering and research on stem cells.
The survey report also made a mention of ISRO scientists offering prayers to Lord Balaji in Tirumala to seek his blessings for the successful launch of space projects and programmes.
Barry Kosmin of Institute for the Study of Secularism in society and Culture expressed surprise that scientists in India do not differentiate much between
doing research on cows and pigs. A whopping 50 per cent of the scientists believe in the efficacy of prayers, as against just 10 per cent of scientists in the USA.
A little more than 60 per cent of scientists covered under the study made it clear that they would refuse to design biological weapons thanks to their religious beliefs.

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God And Science

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The question "whether God exists?" is as old as the human civilisation
itself.
Intellectual people have always been divided over the answer. Scientists and
researchers as well as theologians have debated for centuries over the existence or otherwise of a supernatural power, called God the Almighty, but without a conclusive answer.
The results of a recent survey that a majority of Indian scientists believe in God is not surprising, given the deep-rooted religious traditions and culture in which they live. For Indian scientists, who are exploring newer horizons of science and conquering unexplored frontiers technology, belief in God is part of their life.
The survey had also proved the common misconception that science and scientists are alien to God and religion. Several leading scientists, discoverers and researchers have argued that a deep study of science only strengthens their firm belief in God and takes closes to Him.
Albert Einstein, though not a firm believer in "personal God" observed that science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. While Sir Isaac Newton in his Principia stated "the most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion on an intelligent and powerful Being."
Not long ago Dr A Cressy Morrison, former president of the New York Academy of Sciences, came out with his "seven reasons why a scientist believes in God," concluding that "the fact that man can conceive the idea of God is in itself a unique proof". He says the conception of God rises from a divine faculty of man, unshared with the rest of our world - the faculty we call imagination. By its power, man and man alone can find the evidence of things unseen.
Indian scientists, however, unlike their counterparts in the West, openly display their faith when it comes to launch of some major scientific or research programme. It's no wonder then that our ISRO scientists have offered prayers at the Tirumala shrine to seek the blessings of the presiding deity for the success of India's space mission.
And then there's the argument that scientists are after all human beings and human beings are influenced by the environment around them. Indian ethos and traditions have never separated religion from science and man from God. And this is reflected in the belief of Indian scientists and researchers.

Myths & Beliefs: Is "trio-seven" inauspicious for marriages?

July 7, 2007

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, July 6: "Trio seven" or 07-07-07 is not an auspicious number as far as entering into wedlock is concerned.
Senior city Vastu-numerologist Rachaa Suresh argues that 07-07-07 may sound numerically interesting but numerologically it is devastating. "It is not the right occasion for marriages. But unfortunately many do not know this and have opted for wedding muhurat. The number is as fascinating as its devastating effect on the married life of people who enter into wedlock on this day," points out Suresh.
He told this correspondent that astrology and numerology do not agree on certain events which come once in a life, like marriage. While astrology has thithi and nakshatra, numerology believes more in numbers than in heavenly bodies.
"Astrology, the study of planets and stars, may not find anything wrong with 07-07-07. But numerology, which is based on the numbers game, does find a severe defect with the date. The date is fine as far as regular events like travel, inauguration of showrooms and general celebrations are concerned. And certainly not with marriage, which according to Indian customs is solemnised only once," he says.
Suresh also says that another "auspicious" date - August 26, 2007 - when a mass marriage muhurat is fixed by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is also numerologically not good. Incidentally, the marriage of Nara Lokesh, son of former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has been fixed for 26-08-2007.
The argument Suresh puts forward in support of his claim is that numerologically 8, 5, and 4 numbers are inauspicious for wedding muhurats. The numbers that totals up 8 are 8, 17 and 26 while 5, 14 and 23 totals up 5. Numbers 4, 13, 22 and 31 totals up 4. So days like 8, 17, 26, 5, 14, 23, 4, 13, 22 and 31 are inauspicious.
"In the case of 07-07-2007, the number adds up to 23 which in simple terms means 5 (2 plus 3). And 5 is inauspicious. In the case of 26-08-2007, the number 26 is inauspicious. Either the individual date, month or year or their sum total should not add up to 8, 5 or 4," Suresh argues.
He said he had been keeping track of marriages performed on such dates and most of them are on the rocks. The couple may live together but not enjoy the married life. He refers to the "marital trouble" of a Telugu film actor who was married on 17. He is in legal trouble now. He also cites the example of a relative of Cooperation Minister M Fareeduddin who is now in a marriage row. The relative was also married on 17.
Another numerologist Mudigonda Gopikrishna points out that the number 7 signifies philosophy and sainthood while marriage stands for love, procreation and progress. "Both these traits do not agree. In case of mass marriages, the planetary positions do not agree with individual birth charts. About 70,000 marriages are planned on 07-07-2007. But the stars of only a few people match with the date. Even astrologically the date has no significance," he said.

The significance of 786

August 7, 2006
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Aug 6: Numbers have always fascinated man because they convey more than just numeric values.
Some numbers have religious or astronomical significance while others are of astrological, historical or mathematical importance. When one number combines all these factors, it becomes still more important. And that number is 786.
This August 7, the world will witness a unique combination of date that signifies this magical figure 786 - seventh day of the eighth month of the sixth year of the new millennium or 7-8-6 for short.
Apart from the religious importance a majority of the Muslims attach to this number, 786 has astrological, historical, mathematical and astronomical significance too. This unique combination of date is repeating itself after 100 years and it will recur only after a century.
The number 786 is a gematrical (numerical) value of the Islamic invocation, Bismillahi’r Rahmani’r Rahim, or In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, which every Muslim is commanded to recite before doing any work. Muslims in the Indian sub-continent revere 786 and print it on wedding and other invitation cards and put it down on paper before the start of writing anything. However, Muslims in other parts of the world do not attach any religious significance to the number and write Bismillah (In the name of Allah) in full.
According to Islamic scholar Hafiz Syed Shujath Hussain, in Arabic there are two methods of arranging letters, one of them being the Abjad (ordinal) method. Early Islamic scholars have assigned an arithmetic value to each of the Arabic letters from one to 1000.
The letters are arranged as Abjad, Hawwaz, Hutti, Kalaman, Safas, Qarshat, Sakhaz and Zazagh. This arrangement was based on the gematric system adopted in West Asian languages like Aramaic, Phoenician and Hebrew.“We get the magical 786 if we take the arithmetic values of all the 19 letters in Bismillahi’r Rahmani’r Rahim,” he points out.
Besides the Islamic importance, 786 has historical significance because the famous Abbasid Caliph, Harun Rashid, assumed throne on September 14 in the year 786 CE. It was during his regime and perhaps in the year 786 CE that the gematrical value of Bismillah (786) was calculated and arrived at by Islamic scholars and linguists of his court, says Muslim religious teacher Moulana Abdul Kareem.
Mathematically speaking, 786 is a sphenic number (a positive integer that is the product of three distinct prime factors). In other words, 50 can be partitioned into powers of two in 786 different ways, points out senior mathematics lecturer V Radhakrishna. Also 786 might be the largest “n” for which the value of the central binomial coefficient is not divisible by an odd prime squared.
This number is significant even in astronomy and astrophysics leave alone astrology and numerology. The New General Catalogue refers to NGC786 as a magnitude 13.5 spiral galaxy in the constellation Aries. An asteroid has also been named as 786 Bredichina.
The triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs very rarely and so far this astronomical event has been witnessed only thrice in the living memory as it occurs only every 800 years. It was first recorded in 7 BC (the Star of Bethlehem in the sky at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ ), then in 786 CE and the last time in the year 1583, according to a astro-mathematical calculation prepared by the University of Helsinki, USA.
Astrologers point out that the ubiquitous astrological predictions trace their origin to the year 786 BC. This year is considered of great importance to astrology as it was the year of official opening of the new temple dedicated to Babylonian god Nabu at Calah, an ancient city of Assyria. Nabu is represented by planet Mercury and is considered as the god of astrology among other things.
Mufti Ibrahim Desai is of the view that the numerical 786 cannot replace the written Bismillah. In a fatwa, he says, the tradition of writing 786 was not present during the days of the Prophet. It was introduced about 150 years after his passing away."Whosoever uses 786 with the intention to obtain Allah's Blessings, is a misguided person and any attempt to justify it, is ignorance”, he observes.
However, the Mufti Muhammad Khaleel Ahmad of the 130-year-old Jamia Nizamia is of the view that 786 is allowed and permissible to write with the intention of gaining Blessings.All-India Muslim Personal Law general secretary Abdul Rahim Qureshi told this paper that "786" is written only in India and Pakistan.
It does not have any Islamic significance except that it is a numerical code for Bismillah.
Interestingly, if the letters in “Lord Hari Krishna” are to be given gematrical value in Arabic, the total numerical value of Hari Krishna will sum also up to 786, says Hafiz Shujath Hussain.
Eminent astrologer TM Rao, however, does not see any astrological significance for August 7, 2006. "It is just like any other day, except that it has a significant combination of numbers 7,8 and 6," he adds.