And Now, And Here-第30章

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its　convenient　to　have　superstitions。

and　then　there　are　people　who　are　out　to　crack　superstitions　……　that　too　is　very　convenient。

the　man　who　cracks　them　appears　to　be　rational；　without　actually　being　rational。

its　not　easy　to　be　rational；　to　see　things　rationally　is　to　strain　every　nerve。

this　man　looks　into　things　so　closely　it　bees　difficult　for　him　to　make　any　categorical　statement。

and　so　his　statements　are　always　conditional。

he　will　say；　〃under　such　conditions　it　is　valid　not　to　bathe　in　tibet；　while　under　other　conditions　it　is　utterly　superstitious　not　to　bathe　in　india。

〃　the　man　who　thinks　rationally　will　speak　this　kind　of　language。

on　the　other　hand；　a　social　reformer　shows　no　concern　for　what　he　is　saying：　he　is　concerned　with　destroying　things；　he　wants　to　destroy　certain　things。

i　say：　go　ahead　and　destroy　……　there　are　many　things　which　have　to　be　destroyed　……　but　the　first　thing　that　has　to　be　destroyed；　however；　is　thoughtlessness。

the　tendency　to　act　without　first　giving　something　rational　thought　is　the　primary　thing　that　needs　to　be　destroyed。

so　what　it　means　is：　if　you　destroy　something　without　first　giving　it　proper　thought；　then　such　destruction　has　no　value。

the　tendency　to　think　rationally　has　to　be　created；　and　the　tendency　to　believe　thoughtlessly　has　to　be　destroyed。

this　will　lead　us　to　see　different　contexts；　deeper　meanings。

then　we　will　make　an　intensive　search；　we　will　think　and　reason。

then　we　will　consider　all　the　possibilities。

psychoanalysis　is　very　popular　in　the　west；　and　the　interesting　thing　is　that　psychoanalysis　is　doing　exactly　the　same　kind　of　work　as　the　good　old　witch　doctor　did　in　the　villages。

nowadays；　in　france；　there　is　an　active　sect　created　by　cuvier。

cuvier　works　on　the　same　principles　as　the　witch　doctor　did；　except　that　cuvier　is　a　scientist　and　he　uses　scientific　terminology　……　other　than　that　everything　is　the　same；　there　is　no　difference。

you　will　be　amazed　to　know　that　when　a　sadhu；　a　mendicant；　an　ordinary　man　of　the　village；　with　no　knowledge　of　medicine；　gives　a　pinch　of　ash　to　a　sick　man　in　the　name　of　god；　we　call　it　superstition。

and　yet；　it　works　as　effectively；　and　people　are　cured　in　the　same　proportion　as　with　allopathic　treatment。

it　is　very　interesting　……　the　same　ratio。

many　experiments　are　being　carried　out　in　this　area。

a　unique　experiment　was　conducted　in　a　london　hospital。

a　hundred　patients　with　the　same　illness　were　divided　into　two　groups。

fifty　were　given　the　regular　injection；　while　the　other　fifty　were　injected　with　water。

and　the　amazing　thing　is　that　the　ratio　of　cured　patients　in　both　cases　was　the　same。

so　the　question　was　raised：　whats　going　on？　

in　view　of　this　experiment；　it　became　necessary　to　examine　the　issue　more　closely。

and　what　became　clear　was　that　the　idea；　the　feeling　that　medicine　is　being　given；　works　more　than　the　medicine　itself。

also；　even　the　medicine；　the　dispensing　of　the　medicine　itself；　does　not　work　so　much　as　does　the　idea　of　how　expensive　the　medicine　is　and　how　well　known　the　doctor　is。

a　lesser　known　doctor　fails　in　his　treatment　not　because　he　does　not　know　his　profession；　but　only　because　he　is　not　very　well　known。

a　well　recognized　doctor　impresses　a　patient　at　once。

with　his　impressive　attire；　the　overbearing　set　up；　his　fees；　his　big　car；　the　long　wait　for　an　appointment；　the　crowd；　the　standing　in　line　……　you　are　already　so　impressed　that　whether　he　knows　what　he　is　giving　you　or　not　has　very　little　effect。

the　truth　is　that　to　be　a　good　doctor　you　dont　need　a　first　class　knowledge　of　medicine；　what　you　need　is　an　excellent　knowledge　of　advertising。

the　question　is　how　well　you　can　publicize　yourself。

publicity　pays　more；　not　the　medicine。

recently；　a　medical　survey　revealed　that　in　france　there　are　about　eighty　thousand　physicians　and　about　one　hundred　and　sixty　thousand　quacks。

when　the　patient　gets　tired　of　the　practicing　physicians；　he　is　cured　by　those　who　have　no　knowledge　of　medicine。

but　they　know　the　trick　of　how　to　treat　a　patient。

thats　why　you　see　so　many　kinds　of　pathies　prevalent。

can　you　imagine　……　all　these　different　kinds　of　pathies　abounding　in　this　age　of　science？　even　naturopathy　works　……　a　bandaging　of　mud　on　the　stomach　works；　an　enema　with　water　works；　the　witch　doctors　charms　work。

even　homeopathy；　which　consists　of　nothing　but　tiny　sugar　pills；　works。

these　all　work；　and　so　does　allopathy。

so　the　question　arises：　how　does　a　patient　get　well？　if　a　village　quack　prescribes　a　little　dust　and　cures　his　patients；　then　we　will　have　to　think　carefully；　we　will　have　to　be　concerned　about　whether　to　break　such　superstitions　or　not。

the　man　with　a　stethoscope　around　his　neck　and　a　big　car　is　also　able　to　cure　patients　through　his　scientific　means。

but　a　magic　is　working　there　too　……　the　magic　of　the　car；　of　the　stethoscope。

i　know　one　quack。

he　has　no　degree　from　any　university；　and　yet　he　has　cured　many　patients　i　sent　to　him；　patients　who　had　otherwise　been　pronounced　incurable　by　other　doctors。

the　man　is　smart；　he　has　a　remarkable　understanding　of　human　nature。

actually；　thats　how　one　happens　to　be　a　professional　physician！　so　if　you　go　to　his　clinic　for　treatment；　your　diagnosis　will　be　conducted　in　such　a　way　that　half　your　illness　will　go　away　while　you　are　still　being　diagnosed。

he　is　an　extremely　clever　doctor；　all　other　doctors　feel　quite　intimidated　by　him。

he　has　a　large；　impressive　and　serious…looking　consulting　room　with　a　big　table　on　which　he　makes　the　patient　lie　down。

above　the　patients　chest　hangs　a　thing　which　looks　like　a　stethoscope。

this　contraption　is　connected　to　two　transparent　tubes　containing　colored　water。

when　he　applies　the　stethoscope…like　contraption　to　the　patients　chest；　the　heartbeat　causes　the　water　in　the　tube　to　jump。

the　patient　looks　at　the　jumping　water　and　is　convinced　he　has　e　to　a　great　doctor　indeed；　he　has　never　seen　such　a　doctor　before。

the　thing　he　uses　is　a　sort　of　stethoscope；　except　that　he　doesnt　connect　it　to　his　ears；　he　watches　the　rising　and　falling　of　the　water　in　the　tubes；　and　this　assures　the　patient　that　he　is　no　ordinary　doctor。

do　you　know　why　an　allopathic　doctor　writes　prescriptions　in　such　illegible　handwriting？　the　reason　is　that　if　you　could　read　it；　you　would　find　it　is　such　an　ordinary　thing　that　you　could　even　go　and　buy　it　in　the　market　……　and　so　it　is　deliberately　written　with　such　skill　that　you　are　unable　to　read　it。

the　truth　is；　if　you　were　to　take　this　same　prescription　back　to　the　doctor；　he　himself　wouldnt　be　able　to　figure　out　what　hed　written。

another　interesting　thing　is　that　the　names　of　all　medicines　have　to　be　written　in　latin　and　greek。

the　reason　is　simple：　if　he　were　to　write　in　english；　hindi　or　gujarati；　you　would　never　pay　him　ten　or　fifteen　rupees　for　an　injection；　you　would　know　it　is　nothing　but　a　concoction　of　caraway　seeds。

these　are　all　magical　tricks。

it　is　the　same　as　the　villager　who　gives　his　patients　a　pinch　of　ash。

but　this　will　not　be　effective　either　if　he　looks　like　an　ordinary　man。

if　he　is　dressed；　however；　in　an　ochre　robe；　it　will　have　more　effect。

and　if　the　man　is　known　to　be　honest；　virtuous；　kind　and　truthful；　the　pinch　of　ash　will　be　far　more　effective。

if　it　is　known　that　he　does　not　charge　money；　that　he　does　not　even　touch　money；　the　ash　will　have　an　electrifying　effect。

so　it　is　not　the　ash　that　works；　it　is　the　other　factors　which　are　at　work。

it　needs　careful　consideration　whether　or　not　such　cures　be　allowed　to　continue；　because；　if　you　ban　this　type　of　cure；　others　equally　as　false　will　have　to　be　found　to　replace　them。

it　never　ends。

man　must　be　made　to　think　so　that　he　does　not　fall　sick　out　of　ignorance；　so　that　he　does　not　bring　pseudo　illnesses　upon　himself。

as　long　as　fake　illnesses　keep　happening；　fake　doctors　will　keep　on　appearing　as　well。

if　you　remove　the　old；　pseudo　methods；　new　ones　will　crop　up　……　and　if　you　then　remove　these；　new　ones　will　be　born。

there　are　so　many　types　of　treatment　in　the　world；　but　there　is　no　way　to　decide　which　one　is　right；　they　all　claim　to　be　successful　in　curing　illnesses。

and　their　claims　are　valid　……　they　do　cure　illnesses。

the　more　we　probe　into　the　human　psyche；　the　more　it　bees　clear　that　the　disease　exists　somewhere　in　the　human　mind。

as　long　as　the　disease　exists　in　the　human　mind；　the　pseudo　treatments　will　also　continue　to　exist。

hence；　i　am　not　so　much　concerned　with　doing　away　with　pseudo　methods；　i　am　more　concerned　with　putting　an　end　to　the　disease　in　the　human　mind。

if　the　disease　in　the　human　mind　disappears；　if　mans　consciousness　awakens；　if　he　bees　discriminating；　he　will　not　be　surrounded　by　annoying　troubles。

it　is　not　that　you　go　and　collect　ash　because　a　man　distributes　it　in　a　village　……　no；　it　is　because　you　are　eager　to　collect　the　ash；　thats　why　someone　has　to　distribute　it。

no　one　bees　your　leader　on　his　own　……　but　you　cannot　live　for　a　second　without　one；　thats　why　somebody　has　to　bee　the　leader。

if　you　remove　one　leader；　you　will　find　another　……　and　if　he　is　remove