September, 2021 : Of Rationality..

Of late, we hear much about societal responsibilities of scientists. We try to fulfill some of it through our outreach efforts. Unfortunately, as far as the general populace (excluding young students who may opt for science careers) is concerned, we mostly give them information that are irrelevant or of little use in their everyday life. My personal take is, it would be far more useful to plant the seeds of Rationality. But it is a difficult task.

A while ago, I was trying to convince someone that her entire life, spent in unbearable hardship to provide for a better life to her fatherless son, is a prayer in itself; that she does not need to make an expensive and arduous journey to a distant shrine for God to hear her pleas. Oftentimes, we forget that rationality does not require one to be an atheist; an we fail miserably to reach out to those we must have meaningful communications with. 

 

My first lessons in rationality came from my 'agnostic' father who, like most of his generation, was a lukewarm believer at best and a tepid atheist at the worst! But my childhood has mostly been shaped by the members of a monastic order. As an irrigation engineer my father used to be frequently transferred and we used to find ourselves in places where there would be a river or a major canal, a bridge or a dam or a complex sluice-system and hardly anything else! So my parents sent me to Kolkata to study at `Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls School', while staying at the hostel there. 

 

Comfortingly, my father's sentiments were reinforced with empathy by the sanyasinis of the RKS order. A sanyasini, by definition, wears her religion on her sleeves. Yet, I came to realise that the saffron is simply the symbol of their way of life, of their sacrifice of the worldly comforts, in the service of humankind. For them, faith is entirely personal. Their lives are actually defined by their oath of service, tempered by a steel core of Rationality. 

 

In the hostel, we were nurtured by Pravrajika Jyotiprana, an individual with an unfailing sense of fairness and integrity. For her, taking care of a motley bunch of girls aged eight to fifteen, was her service, her religion. That's why she was never perturbed (perhaps a little amused) by the proclamation of a cheeky twelve-year old to be an atheist. I think it's an attestation of their innate rationality that my atheism never came in the way of my childhood mentors' immeasurable love for all of their girls to this day. Back then, they allowed me the space to look at the Universe with my own eyes. 

 

My hesitant interest in science was primarily nurtured by our biology teacher (a university gold medalist in biology) and assistant headmistress (now, Asst. Secretary, Ramakrishna Sarada Mission) Pravrajika Gnanadaprana and our mathematics teacher Pravrajika Devaprana (Secretary, RKSM Sister Nivedita Girls' School). And then we had the unbelievable fortune of not one but two extraordinary physics teachers in Shreemati Parvati Bhattacharya and Pravrajika Aseshprana (PhD, Physics, Jadavpur University, and currently in charge of Rasik Bhita, Educational & Cultural Wing of Sri Sarada Math). The most remarkable aspect of these women are that they retained the science, the rationality that is the first requirement of doing science, in them despite renouncing the householders' life to join a religious institution. 

 

We also had the great privilege of the absolute scholar Pravrajika Maitriprana, walking us through the highways as well as the bylanes of literature (Bangla and Sanskrit) which still stand me in good stead whenever I need to express myself, be it in a scientific paper or in an informal blog. And the prime force behind this purely intellectual and rational atmosphere used to be Pravrajika Shraddhaprana (President, RKS Mission, 1999-2009 and professor of English, Annie Besant College, Varanasi before joining the Mission); whose keen intelligence and sharp wit kept the vibrancy of the atmosphere alive. 

 

These remarkable women, while discarding the so-called 'femininity' (and, of course, the feminine wiles), embraced, rather transcended to the plane of universal motherhood and empathy. In that, they taught us to be rational, to be unfailing adherents of the logical. What speaks for a person? Her/his work. Difficulties are overcome by dedication and hard work and focus (like Arjuna perhaps, if possible). [A surprising consequence of their teaching has also been my completely gender-neutral outlook. But that is a story for another day.] 

 

I sure did not understand the import of all that were told to us. But now, after acquiring a head full of white hairs, I sense that it has been a tremendous privilege to be brought up in that atmosphere. Because, what the world needs most at this point of time is the ability to synthesise clear-eyed rationality with a deep sense of empathy. Despite all the technical advances, despite our march towards the stars in a very literal sense, if our behaviour does not get tempered by rationality and compassion for all things living - humanity would remain a distant dream. I am fortunate that I was told about that in my childhood. I am fortunate that I can always call upon the examples of my teachers to get me through difficult decisions.