Friday, January 30, 2009

Health and Religion: How Low Do We Stoop

Recently, a news cought my attention. It was nothing serious type and probably not blown out of proportion by the political parties, but it had all the potential for it.

The BJP government in MP is making the Surya Namaskar, a set of yogic Asans, compulsory for students in schools. A Muslim clerik was shown denouncing the move as unislamic! Surpriind and shocking, was my reaction.

Simply because an asan is named namaskar, makes it unislamic? As far as I have seen, all the postures of namaz are yogic postures. In fact, most of the religious credo has some scientific logic behind them so that people are benefitted by them. They, in fact, have nothing to dio with religion. If a government order is for good health how can it be blamed? Have we reached a level where everything has to be denounced on one false ground or the other?

I was reminded of a letter written to the editor of the Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal. The writer, a jain, criticised the government for not disclosing that polio drops consist of human extract, and thereby desacrilaging their religion!

We should now start behaving maturely and stop talking nonsense. Has he time come when we will ask a Doctor whether he follows our believes or not, and then only permit him treatment?