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Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association
Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association (DKRA) is a well known rationalist group based in Mangalore, Karnataka, which promotes skepticism. It was formed in 1976 at the initiative of a few individuals led by Narendra Nayak. DKRA, now a member of Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, was initially formed to host the talk by Abraham Kovoor, the eminent rationalist from Sri Lanka who was then touring India as part of his Miracle Exposure Campaign. Activities The DKRA attempts to oppose superstition and pseudoscience in India. Often in association with other rationalist organisations in India and abroad, the DKRA has led media and educational campaigns debunking the purportedly supernatural feats of godmen. The group critiques paranormal and pseudoscientific claims including psychic surgery, inexhaustible oil lamps, materialization of holy ash, and pyrokinesis Pyrokinesis is the purported psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind. As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Kerala border, 297 km south of Goa. Mangalore is the state's only city to have all four modes of transport—air, road, rail and sea. The population of the urban agglomeration was 619,664 national census of India. It is known for being one of the locations of the Indian strategic petroleum reserves. The city developed as a port in the Arabian Sea during ancient times, and has since become a major port of India that handles 75 percent of India's coffee and cashew exports. It is also the country's seventh largest container port. Mangalore has been ruled by several major powers, including the Kadambas, Alupas, Vijayanagar Empire, Keladi Nayaks, and the Portuguese. The city was a source of contention between the British a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godman (Hindu Ascetic)
Godman is a colloquial unisex term used in India for a type of charismatic guru that is often raised to a demigod-like figure by their cult following. They usually have a high-profile presence, and are capable of attracting attention and support from large sections of the society.Mehta, Uday (1993), Modern Godmen in India: A Sociological Appraisal, Mumbai: Popular Prakashan, . Godmen also sometimes claim to possess paranormal powers, such as the ability to heal, the ability to see or influence future events, and the ability to read minds. Overview Godmen are revered as special human beings and often worshipped by their followers. Some godmen come from established schools of spirituality, but often they don't belong to any religious order. In recent years, many godmen have gained followers outside of India, which has increased their fame and wealth. Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011) was a notable godman with a very large following. He was known for alleged miracles like materia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organisations Based In Mangalore
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from the Greek word ''organon'', which means tool or instrument, musical instrument, and organ. Types There are a variety of legal types of organizations, including corporations, governments, non-governmental organizations, political organizations, international organizations, armed forces, charities, not-for-profit corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, and educational institutions, etc. A hybrid organization is a body that operates in both the public sector and the private sector simultaneously, fulfilling public duties and developing commercial market activities. A voluntary association is an organization consisting of volunteers. Such organizations may be able to operate without legal formalities, depending on jurisdiction, incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Rationalist Association
The Indian Rationalist Association is a voluntary organisation in India whose 100,000 members Bedi, Rahul." ''The Irish Times.'' 2009-07-13. Retrieved 15 August 2009 promote scientific skepticism and critique supernatural claims. It publishes books and magazines, organises seminars and lectures and its representatives regularly appear in television and print media exposing superstitions. The present president of Indian Rationalist Association Sanal Edamaruku was elected in 2005. He was the General Secretary of the association from 1984 till 2005. The earlier name of Indian Rationalist Association was "Rationalist Association of India", and the founding president was R. P. Paranjpe. The organisation published a journal "Reason". The organisation and journal ceased to exist after a few years. Later in 1949, the organisation was re-organised in Madras (present Chennai)in 1949 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India, after '' The Times of India''. , ''The Hindu'' is published from 21 locations across 11 states of India. ''The Hindu'' has been a family-owned newspaper since 1905, when it was purchased by S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar from the original founders. It is now jointly owned by Iyengar's descendants, referred to as the "Kasturi family", who serve as the directors of the holding company. The current chairperson of the group is Malini Parthasarathy, a great-granddaughter of Iyengar. Except for a period of about two years, when S. Varadarajan held the editorship of the newspaper, the editorial positions of the paper were always held by members of the family or held under their direction. Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis is the purported psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind. As with other parapsychological phenomena, there is no conclusive evidence in support of the actual existence of pyrokinesis. Many alleged cases are hoaxes, the result of trickery. Etymology The word ''pyrokinesis'' (Greek language: pyr=fire, kinesis=movement) was popularized by horror novelist Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ... in his 1980 novel ''Firestarter (novel), Firestarter'' to describe the ability to create and control fire with the mind, though its use predates the novel. The word is intended to be parallel to ''Psychokinesis, telekinesis'', with S. T. Joshi describing it as a "singularly unfortunate coinage" and noting that the correct an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychic Surgery
An alleged psychic surgeon at work Psychic surgery is a pseudoscientific medical fraud in which practitioners create the illusion of performing surgery with their bare hands and use sleight of hand, fake blood, and animal parts to convince the patient that diseased lesions have been removed and that the incision has spontaneously healed. The US Federal Trade Commission describes psychic surgery as a "total hoax". Psychic surgery may cause needless death by keeping the ill away from life-saving medical care. Medical professionals and skeptics classify it as sleight of hand and any positive results as a placebo effect. Psychic surgery first appeared in the Spiritualist communities of the Philippines and Brazil in the middle of the 20th century; it has taken different paths in those two countries. Hines, Terence. (1988). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: A Critical Examination of the Evidence''. Prometheus Books. p. 245. Procedure Although psychic surgery varies by reg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to extrasensory perception (for example, telepathy), spiritualism and the pseudosciences of ghost hunting, cryptozoology, and ufology. Proposals regarding the paranormal are different from scientific hypotheses or speculations extrapolated from scientific evidence because scientific ideas are grounded in empirical observations and experimental data gained through the scientific method. In contrast, those who argue for the existence of the paranormal explicitly do not base their arguments on empirical evidence but rather on anecdote, testimony, and suspicion. The standard scientific models give the explanation that what appears to be paranormal phenomena is usually a misinterpretation, mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages and did not exist in the ancient world. The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts, but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal. The term is attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception. The philosophy of naturalism contends that nothing exists beyond the natural world, and as such approaches supernatural claims with skepticism. Etymology and history of the concept Occurr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnataka'' in 1973. The state corresponds to the Carnatic region. Its capital and largest city is Bengaluru. Karnataka is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. It is the only southern state to have land borders with all of the other four southern Indian sister states. The state covers an area of , or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the sixth-largest Indian state by area. With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth-largest state by population, comprising 31 districts. Kannada, one of the classical languages of India, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to Peer review, evaluation by other experts; absence of systematic practices when developing Hypothesis, hypotheses; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited. The demarcation problem, demarcation between science and pseudoscience has scientific, philosophical, and political implications. Philosophers debate the nature of science and the general criteria for drawing the line between scientific theory, scientific theories and pseudoscientific beliefs, but there is general agreement on examples such as ancient astronauts, climate change denial, dowsing, evolution denial, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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