Enough of reincarnation, says the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama surprised his audience with a sensational statement last week. "I am of the view that this system of reincarnation should be abolished as it has been creating a lot of controversy", declared the holy man. His progressive proposal, however, seemed to be exclusively aimed at the reincarnation system used in Sikkim's Rungtek monastery to identify the Karmapa. There are currently four claimants for the position of Karmapa.

The reincarnation system is traditional belief, not a ritual advised by Buddhism, the Dalai Lama went on explaining. If the people of Tibet decide to abolish it, they can simply do it.

In his open hearted reflections, the Tibetan religious leader "forgot" obviously one small thing: that his own title had been conferred down the ages via a set of rituals based on the belief in reincarnation only. Denouncing reincarnation in general, though it would be in the interest of scientific thinking, would nullify his personal coronation as the Dalai Lama!

India: High Court orders crack down on miracle healers

Bad times may be coming for the tantriks (black magicians) and miracle healers of New Delhi. They could be forced to stop their lucrative business or to go underground.

An order of the Delhi High Court from 30 April 2003 has laid the state government of Delhi under the obligation to watch out for men and women, who claim to have miraculous healing powers, and put a stop to their promises and practices. Base for the order is the nearly fifty-years-old law. Prompted by a Public Interest Litigation filed by Salek Chand Jain, the High Court has blown the dust off the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Act, 1954, which states that promising anybody magic solutions for his problems or magic cures of his diseases is a punishable act. No matter, if committed in newspaper advertisements, on sign boards, wall paintings or just by spreading the word, the fraudulent claimant can be fined and imprisoned for six months or, in case of repetition, one year. The High Court has asked the government to act on the base of addresses and phone numbers given in advertisements and crack down on spiritual frauds. There are at least 200 self-styled miracle healers operating in Delhi and luring their victims with advertisements and wall paintings.

The Indian Rationalist Association (IRA) welcomed the High Court order. However, the move against miracle healers must not be limited to the capital of India, said secretary general Sanal Edamaruku, as it is mainly the poor and uneducated population of rural India, who is falling prey to their absurd and disastrous claims. Relying on their miraculous healing powers, helpless victims are dying of diseases, which could be easily cured by scientific means. There are gruesome cases of tantriks influencing superstitious villagers to allow or perform brutal child sacrifices in order to avert personal dangers or gain benefits.

After years of hibernation, the Drugs and Magic Remedies Objectionable Advertisements Act had been brought to public notice in August 1997, when the Indian Rationalist Association launched a powerful campaign against the "Mantra Healing Center", which had been officially opened as part of a government-run medical college at Delhi. The fight was victorious. The Delhi authorities were ultimately forced to close the center down.

Iran: Prof. Aghajari's persecution continues

Prof. Hashem Aghajari has rejected the outrageous ruling of the Supreme Court that he should go through a psychological examination, reports the Group RA, the new Iranian rationalist organization formed in January 2003. He was only ready to stand an open trial and defend against the charges of blasphemy, the Professor declared, denouncing the ruling by the 27th branch of the Supreme Court as insult. He would never attend the examination at the Forensic Medicine Office, said Aghajari.

After he challenged in a lecture in June 2002 the right of Iran's Shia clergy to rule the country, Prof. Aghajari had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. The death sentence caused an outcry inside and outside Iran. To silence continuing mass protest, "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered in November a judicial review of the case. The review court squashed the death sentence in February 2003. But Aghajari was not released. The court did not even respond to an appeal for temporary bail, said Aghajari's wife Zahra Behnoudi.. The invalid war veteran, who lost one leg in the Iran-Iraq war, is also still left without satisfying medical treatment. Detailed reports about the case against Prof. Aghajari as well as about the Group RA are published in Bulletin # 106 http://www.rationalistinternational.net/archive/en/rationalist_2003/106.htm