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Monks' Dilemma
Monks' Dilemma
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a week, the maximum period of our stay here. Now let us join the other group and enquire about their decision."
The other group also concluded with similar decision and was about to rise and announce but Kanchanji took the credit of declaring first. All agreed that both marriages should be solemnised simultaneously. They sat till late in night to plan, work out details and all modalities. Each one proposed, took and accepted the assigned tasks and responsibilities and got busy in arrangements. The date for marriage was fixed on the following Friday. They were all enlightened and did not believe in consulting astrologers for auspicious date and time. Vidyadharji quoted Chanakya, the greatest architect of famous Maurya Empire, "If work is done with proper planning and sincerity, the very time of its execution is best and all fears and apprehensions about the impact of planetary conjunction are irrelevant as planets or stars cannot do any wrong or good. The marriages performed according to the advice of astrologers at the most propitious time are not all successful and likewise those solemnised without their intervention are not all failures. Astrologers are also quakes who misguide gullible people in their own interest of earning money. They succeed because of the ignorance and weakness of masses that by performing certain rituals and spending money they would be able to ward off evil effect of the planets. They claim and boast precise forecasts but they never did so about earth quakes, storms, famines, epidemics, terror attacks though they arrogate to themselves the capability to predict future of not only individuals but also of countries and nations. There are numerous examples of ignominious defeat of brave warriors only because of astrologers who misguided and advised not to fight till propitious conjunction of planets and stars.
Deepti endorsed all that Vidyadharji said, "In spite of glaring facts you have mentioned astrology and its wily practitioners are holding their sway and spreading their wings widely. Related to it another superstition so called Vastu shastra is getting more and more popular in recent years. It is now an established scientific fact that with earth rotating on its axis everything. any room or location on every longitude keeps on changing its direction, hence the prescriptions of Vastu shastra that a particular room or thing should face or be put in particular direction are absurd and ridiculous. Rationalists took a bold step and filed public interest litigation (PIL) in Bombay High Court, requesting ban on astrology, palmistry, Vastu shastra and pseudo holy men claiming to cure even terminal diseases. Article 51 (h), Part IVA of the Constitution of India enjoins on every citizen to develop scientific temper yet unfortunately the Union Government in its affidavit supported these superstitious practices eulogising them as 4000 years old time tested science though these are not at all science by any scientific criteria. This is because most of those who matter in such government decisions are themselves superstitious to the core and throng to such practitioners."
Deepak, "It is fortunate that none of us here subscribe to any sort of superstition. I think we have worked every detail regarding marriage arrangements. We should now go to sleep as we will have to be on our assigned jobs from early morning."
Marriage was arranged in a spacious hall with a built in stage. Vibha was supervising the arrangements. There was no floral decoration or any sort of extravaganza. Everything
