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“May I know what specific advantage there is in this ceremony?” Duttada was outwardly calm.
“The comet you have discovered will not cause any ill effects on the Earth.”
At this remark Duttada blew up. “Don’t you know that this is all superstition? It could be condoned in the olden times when man did not know what comets were. Not so in modern times. Comets are known for what they are, their movements are forecast precisely by mathematical calculations and it is clearly established by statistical studies that their visits have no correlations with disasters on the Earth ... All this is of course futile on my part to explain — you and the likes of you never read even the elementary books on Science.”
Despite Duttada's younger brother's best efforts, the reasonable mind of Duttada could not accept them. He didn't think it was beneficial to conduct the rituals. Though he appeared calm on the outside, he was furious for organising such a ceremony. But, when Duttada overheard his family members stating that the comet he had spotted would not hurt anybody on Earth provided they performed yajna, he became enraged. Duttada argued with his family members that performing such poojas in the hopes of averting the comet's harmful effects is nothing more than superstition.
He also explained to them that their forefathers might have conducted such yajnas in the past in the hopes of reducing the adverse impacts of comets since they had no idea what comets were as they lived in a world prior scientific progress.
Duttada further informed his family that it was not the case in contemporary times, and that comets are recognised for what they are, that their motions can be anticipated accurately using mathematical calculations, and that statistical studies have shown that their appearances have no link with the calamities on the Earth.
After mentioning the aforementioned points, he informed his family members that discussing all of them was pointless since individuals like Duttada's family members never read even elementary science textbooks.
Meaning of difficult words:
S.No | Words | Meaning |
1. | Blew up | To suddenly become angry and shout at someone |
2. | Correlation | Connection between two things |
3. | Futile | Useless |
Reference:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2008). The Comet - II — JAYANT NARLIKAR (pp. 81-87). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
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