8 ms·

"The holy man then said he needed to conduct a ritual that could only be done at night, outdoors, and after he had slept with a woman, drunk alcohol and rubbed

by froo 17y ago

"The holy man then said he needed to conduct a ritual that could only be done at night, outdoors, and after he had slept with a woman, drunk alcohol and rubbed himself in ash." If your credibility is going to be finished, might aswell go out with a bang.

drusenko 17y ago
pun... intended?
- froo 17y ago
  Actually no, but I'll take whatever I can get.
shrikant 17y ago
If you look at the series of videos on YouTube, then you'll see this (the outdoor, night-time bit, at least) actually happens. The rationalist chap gets cheesed off at being groped and pawed at, and finally agrees to a night-time outdoor ritual. which the channel airs as well. Predictable results, except this time the 'guru' signs off saying the effects of his actions manifest themselves 'gradually'. [Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/rationalists http://www.youtube.com/user/rationalists - check out the videos that say Tantra Challenge - they're all in Hindi though..] Just as an FYI, I used to be a moderately religious Hindu, and I recognise most of his 'mantras' as really benign, simple stuff that are: a) Used by children to appease the gods and goddesses of education/knowledge/wisdom b) Recited during wedding ceremonies
- SandB0x 17y ago
  'Gradually' as in over the course of 20-40 years?
  - jrockway 17y ago
    And the effectiveness increases as the victim increases in age.
- rbanffy 17y ago
  It's not benign to teach children to believe in superstition. You know gods and goddesses do not exist.
  - shrikant 17y ago
    Benign as in it wasn't some overly mystical, witchcrafty black magic voodoo - any Hindu worth his prayer beads would recognise his 'chants' off the bat. Not benign in the "what could possibly go wrong" sense :)
    - rbanffy 17y ago
      Either way. It's not benign in the sense it makes children, who will, hopefully, become adults one day, believe in magical things. Prayer solves no problem and believing some mystical entity is to blame for bad things that happen removes responsibility from the people to correct and or prevent it. No. It's simply bad. If, someday, we find out gods and goddesses really exist, it will be (I hope) a nice surprise. In the meantime, it only makes sense to educate kids that humans are in charge.
      - unexpected 17y ago
        It also makes sense to educate kids to respect other peoples' religious views.
        dantheman 17y ago
        I used to hold that view, but why single out religious views? Why not teach people to respect everyone else's views no matter how vile? Respect the racist's views, it makes them feel better -- who cares it if may cause them do evil. Respect the scam artist's views, he feels that what he does is right. etc.. Just because most people claim to believe in magic and fairy dust doesn't mean it's true, and if they are offended because you: 1. Don't believe in the same fairy dust they do 2. Point out errors and inconsistencies in their views 3. Behave in a way inconsistent with their views, that poses them no harm Then maybe they aren't as firm in their beliefs as they thought.

by froo 17y ago

drusenko 17y ago

pun... intended?

froo 17y ago
Actually no, but I'll take whatever I can get.

shrikant 17y ago

If you look at the series of videos on YouTube, then you'll see this (the outdoor, night-time bit, at least) actually happens. The rationalist chap gets cheesed off at being groped and pawed at, and finally agrees to a night-time outdoor ritual. which the channel airs as well. Predictable results, except this time the 'guru' signs off saying the effects of his actions manifest themselves 'gradually'. [Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/rationalists http://www.youtube.com/user/rationalists - check out the videos that say Tantra Challenge - they're all in Hindi though..] Just as an FYI, I used to be a moderately religious Hindu, and I recognise most of his 'mantras' as really benign, simple stuff that are: a) Used by children to appease the gods and goddesses of education/knowledge/wisdom b) Recited during wedding ceremonies

SandB0x 17y ago
'Gradually' as in over the course of 20-40 years?
- jrockway 17y ago
  And the effectiveness increases as the victim increases in age.
rbanffy 17y ago
It's not benign to teach children to believe in superstition. You know gods and goddesses do not exist.
- shrikant 17y ago
  Benign as in it wasn't some overly mystical, witchcrafty black magic voodoo - any Hindu worth his prayer beads would recognise his 'chants' off the bat. Not benign in the "what could possibly go wrong" sense :)
  - rbanffy 17y ago
    Either way. It's not benign in the sense it makes children, who will, hopefully, become adults one day, believe in magical things. Prayer solves no problem and believing some mystical entity is to blame for bad things that happen removes responsibility from the people to correct and or prevent it. No. It's simply bad. If, someday, we find out gods and goddesses really exist, it will be (I hope) a nice surprise. In the meantime, it only makes sense to educate kids that humans are in charge.
    - unexpected 17y ago
      It also makes sense to educate kids to respect other peoples' religious views.
      - dantheman 17y ago
        I used to hold that view, but why single out religious views? Why not teach people to respect everyone else's views no matter how vile? Respect the racist's views, it makes them feel better -- who cares it if may cause them do evil. Respect the scam artist's views, he feels that what he does is right. etc.. Just because most people claim to believe in magic and fairy dust doesn't mean it's true, and if they are offended because you: 1. Don't believe in the same fairy dust they do 2. Point out errors and inconsistencies in their views 3. Behave in a way inconsistent with their views, that poses them no harm Then maybe they aren't as firm in their beliefs as they thought.