The supernatural, superstition, stupidity and science

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

“Anil Jasinghe veda mahatha, who studied in Ukraine, which was then a part of Soviet Russia, has come out against the syrup of Dhammika veda mahatha. Not aware that Dhammika veda mahatha is against any syrup of Anil Jasinghe veda mahatha. Anyway, Anil Jasinghe veda mahatha has not even introduced a syrup. Western doctors are prescribing western syrups”

This is the translation of the opening paragraph of an article written in Sinhala, which was forwarded to me by an acquaintance of mine. It surprised me no end but the worst was yet to come, as later in the piece the writer states, “Western medicine knows zilch about Covid-19” (Batahira vedakama Covid-19 gena danna iti gediyak nehe.)

An insult like this aimed at Dr Anil Jasinghe, a much-respected medical administrator who gave effective medical leadership during the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic, clearly illustrates how low this writer can stoop. Ayurvedic practitioners want to be called doctors, and referring to Dr Jasinghe as veda mahattaya is an absurd attempt to derogate a respected medical specialist. Further, he equates Dr Jasinghe to the syrup maker who is not even a qualified Ayurvedic physician and is supposed to be the kapuwa of a kovil!

Many may wonder why am I so concerned about an inconsequential statement? After all, this is the era of crazy social media when insulting others is the norm! This piece was written by one of our Ambassadors!

There are times when I wish Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web had patented it instead of gifting it to the world. I say this because we would have been spared the trouble of being bombarded with unwanted messages via the Internet if he had done so. If senders had to pay at least a tiny amount for each message, imagine how few messages we would be receiving! If that had been the case, I am pretty sure, the need to write this piece would not have arisen.

The supernatural refer to the phenomena beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. What is considered supernatural today may well be scientifically explained in the future as science never stops exploration. For instance, ancients believed that lightning and thunder were due to activities of gods but now we know it is due to discharge of electrical impulses across charged clouds. Infectious diseases attributed to gods (deiyyange lede), now we know are caused by viruses.

Religions often tend to be formalised bastions of the supernatural and have stood in the way of scientific progress. Although Aristarchus of Samos is said to have proposed heliocentrism, that the Earth and planets go around the sun, way back in third century BCE, the medieval world believed in geocentricism: that we are the centre of the universe and everything revolved around us. In the 16th century the Polish astronomer and Catholic priest Nicolai Copernicus presented the mathematical model confirming heliocentrism. He is said to have risen from a stroke-induced coma just to see the last part of his printed book shortly before dying. Galileo Galilei was punished by the Catholic Church for proving Copernicus correct with his studies using the telescope and was under house-arrest till death.

Isaac Newton discovered gravity, which explains how the celestial bodies move and are held together. It was left to one of our stupid politicians to equate this feat to the production of the Kali Peni! Subsequent observations of other astronomers including William Herschel showed that the sun is not centre of the universe, after all!

Most of us believe the supernatural as many things are still left to be explained by science. However, not many educated persons are superstitious. Some believe in supernatural influences.

Of course, the worst is being stupid or having/showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense. Most people have their moments of stupidity, but persistence in making illogical statements is unpardonable. Science-based medicine not only identified the causative virus but continues to monitor how it mutates. Due to advanced techniques, effective vaccines have been developed in double quick time that seems to be the only hope.

The scientific method requires the identification of a problem, doing research into the problem, gathering data and generating a hypothesis which is tested by experimentation and observation. Once conclusions are made, they are shared and communicated. Using this method scientists’ study and learn things

Although Aristotle (384-322BCE) has been credited with inventing the scientific method, it was Gautama Buddha who laid the foundation for the scientific method nearly two centuries before him. In addition to the disadvantage of being born in the East, ‘elevating’ the Buddha to the role of a religious leader has diminished His role in modern science, unfortunately.

The Four Noble Truths analysing dissatisfaction (Dukka) can be the analytical frame for any problem: identify the problem, find the cause, find the solution and apply the solution. In many Suttas, including Vimamsa Sutta Buddha showed the path of free inquiry but the best known is Kalama Sutta which is considered by many to be the “Charter for free inquiry”. It laid the foundation for scientific thinking but, unfortunately, many who claim to be Buddhists still yearn for divine intervention and depend on the supernatural, which the Buddha advised against!