…and this is a 
Premanand is a notable rationalist and publisher of Indian Skeptic magazine, and he is in a hospital dying of cancer as I write this. He is alert and fully aware of his condition, and he knows his death is imminent. He also knows that when he is dead, the contemptible ghouls of spiritualism and faith and desperate dogma will descend on his corpse to try and steal some of his dignity and integrity for their superstitions, and he has responded accordingly by composing a deathbed testimonial.
I, B. Premanand s/o late Sri Basava Prabhu, 80 years of age resident Chettipalayam Road, Podanur, sound of mind though suffering from physical complications caused by metastases in many organs caused by carcinoma of the stomach herein solemnly wish to place on record the following:
- I have been closely associated with the rationalist movement from 1975 onwards and have been a rationalist of full conviction since then and continue to be so.
- It is common for the purveyors of superstitions and such anti rational forces to start spreading rumors about rationalists turning to god and other supernatural forces at the end of their lives and becoming devotees of gods and god men of various types.
- It is also claimed that at times of crises that we staunch rationalists through the major part of our lives, turn to spiritualism and religion.
- I wish to clarify that as on today the twentieth of September,2009 I remain a staunch rationalist and wish to place on record the following:
- a. I continue to be a rationalist of full conviction.
- b. I do not believe in any supernatural power. All the powers that we encounter are in the realm of nature and nothing exists beyond that.
- c. I do not believe in the existence of the soul or rebirth.
- d. I have not turned to any religion, god or any sort of spiritual pursuits.
- e. When I pass away I shall be leaving only my body which is to be donated to a medical college and no spirit or soul to cause problems for the living.
I want to convey to all that the struggle against the exploitation by god men and so called supernatural forces is a long and hard one but the ultimate victory will be ours.
My very survival has been a challenge to astrologers and their so called “science” of astrology, as they had all predicted that I would die soon after birth and refused to cast a horoscope for me.
I wish to convey to my colleagues of the rationalist movement to continue the work that I have been doing with renewed vigor and that will be the best of tributes for me.Abhirami Hospital
Podanur (B. Premanand)
Witnessed by: Dr. Maya Prabhu and Suneera
I wish I'd known the man. He's leaving us one small story from what must have been a life of reason, and is dying as a free man, free in thought.
Life Science
Comments
Posted by: beccastareyes
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September 28, 2009 8:53 AM
It's sad that a skeptic needs to leave a document that 'No, really, I'm keeping my beliefs even when I'm dying'. And the cynic in me suggests that this won't stop the determined to claim that after this was signed, he changed his mind.
Posted by: Lord Zero
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September 28, 2009 9:02 AM
Dawkins has stated his intention to do the same. In fact he cited this as one of his worst fears.
And maybe will go to the extent of filming it, so no
one is able to tarnish his character in a deathbed conversion.
Premanand.
Such a corageous man. Wish we had know before about him.
Posted by: Victor
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September 28, 2009 9:03 AM
The theist's habit of misconstruing the last moments of skeptic's lives only shows that they are not interested in the search for any truth, no matter how minor, and will stop at nothing to promote their superstition. Lying is second nature to them, and that is yet another reason to not take anything they say seriously.
Posted by: Goldenmane
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September 28, 2009 9:05 AM
Well done, that man.
No Lady bloody Hope case here.
Posted by: a_ray_in_dilbert_space
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September 28, 2009 9:11 AM
Don't you think it says something when the best the faithful can come up with to justify their own beliefs are lies about what skeptics believe.
Posted by: JeffThinks
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September 28, 2009 9:16 AM
Brilliant.
Posted by: SEF
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September 28, 2009 9:27 AM
It's a shame all those bogus astrologers aren't forced to have his actual long life vs their faulty predictions of an early death as part of their public resumés.
Posted by: Petrichor
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September 28, 2009 9:38 AM
Fighting for truth until the end. Bravo!
Posted by: cervantes
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September 28, 2009 9:40 AM
Uh oh. Another gap has appeared in the fossil record - actually two gaps.
Posted by: Abdul Alhazred
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September 28, 2009 9:45 AM
What about if it were the other way round? What if someone noted for holiness expressed a last minute repudiation?
Would we ever hear about it?
Posted by: theGobi
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September 28, 2009 9:53 AM
What a remarkable man -- I am saddened by his suffering but couldn't help smiling at this (possibly) last slap at the 'god men'.
He has kept his dignity intact and, at the same time, shown the levels of deceit that his detractors could sink to.
Posted by: Drosera
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September 28, 2009 10:34 AM
A good friend of mine died of cancer a few years ago. A staunch atheist, he would always become angry at the merest hint that religion could be anything but fraud and deception. I know for a fact that he never changed his mind.
Posted by: chuckgoecke
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September 28, 2009 10:36 AM
What a great idea, to "protect" his "soul" from the vultures that would swoop down and derive nourishment for their bankrupt philosophy. I also like that he's donating his body to science. My plans exactly. After they harvest all usable organs and other stuff, that is.
Posted by: Wazza
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September 28, 2009 10:39 AM
Oh, guys, did you hear, Pope John Paul II declared that Catholicism was ridiculous on his deathbed...
May Mr Premanand pass with as much dignity as is evident in this document.
Posted by: Knockgoats
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September 28, 2009 10:45 AM
Oh, guys, did you hear, Pope John Paul II declared that Catholicism was ridiculous on his deathbed... - Wazza
...and that was after John Paul I was murdered because he was about to announce that the whole "Christianity" shebang was just a joke which got out of hand, back in the 2nd century!
Posted by: mcbender
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September 28, 2009 10:51 AM
That was wonderful to read. It's sad that Premanand should need to make that kind of statement, but I think it's very good that he had the presence of mind to do so.
Posted by: Susan
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September 28, 2009 10:57 AM
I especially liked this part:
What a great way to phrase this thought. It's so smug to assert that even once you're no longer physically here you'll still continue to nag the people who are.Posted by: Pierce R. Butler
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September 28, 2009 11:11 AM
Don't worry, Basava Premanand's change of heart and repentance will occur posthumously. He will find multiple psychics to channel the good news (that Gawds luv us) to us from the afterlife - the scripts are already being written!
Posted by: tmaxPA
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September 28, 2009 11:13 AM
I had a thought, decided not to post it, and then read Susan's comment, which brought the thought back.
"When I pass away I shall be leaving [...] no spirit or soul to cause problems for the living."
The ghost of Basava Premanand will torment and bedevil the religionists until their dying breath. Thanks in part to testimonial in which he wrote this. Sometimes irony and destiny mean the same thing.
The spirit we leave behind is all that we are, it is the essence of our existence, the purpose to our lives; a single line of poetry we might have uttered has more power than all the DNA of all the descendants we might ever have. The reality of a person's passing is far more important than the reality of their existence, in many ways.
As a hard-core materialist, I still can't shake this awareness of our "metaphysical" nature. It isn't easy being both a romantic and an atheist. But I'm trying.
Posted by: bungoton
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September 28, 2009 11:38 AM
tmaxPA, I think any of us who have converted to a materialistic view have struggled with leaving the metaphysical behind.
I used to find myself occasionally having 'magical' thoughts on how an event may have taken place. My brother's amazing cure from osteomyelitis which my mother attributed to to prayer for instance. It was years later I realized the severtiy of the disease had been misdiagnosed and there was no miraculous healing.
After 45 years of being an atheist I am no longer tempted by the siren song of the supernatural. It isn't easy when you are surrounded by others who are steeped in superstition and religious dogma. Don't let it get to you.
Posted by: Michelle R
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September 28, 2009 11:52 AM
It's the first time I ever hear about that guy...Wish I had. All I can do is tip my hat to him.
I really hope I'll have his lucidity on my deathbed (Far away deathbed hopefully? Yea.). If I remember, I'll steal his idea. Not that I'm famous, but you gotta be precise to some nutcases in your family you know.
Posted by: Glen Davidson
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September 28, 2009 1:34 PM
He only said those things because he didn't know the pleasures of stupidity. Damn "cheerless atheists" don't have the happiness of morons:
Just how many things are wrong with that paragraph, I don't know. The writer knows that we're "cheerless"? Creationists are actually happy? How many of us left religion (often fundy religion) because it made us anything but happy? I know that religion brought me no happiness, although I would not say that leaving all of the hopes religion pretends to hold out was pleasant.
Apparently the author hasn't been here, as we tried to get the simplest facts across to creationists who rarely understand the most basic concepts of evolution. Most of them are so thoroughly trapped in a "worldview" that resists all openness that it's best to give up on convinced creationists, save the most intelligent and young.
The Guardian is too smart to fall for creationist lies about science, but seemingly falls for all of the canards about evolution and atheists that IDiots tell.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Posted by: Glen Davidson
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September 28, 2009 1:44 PM
To clarify, I mean the canards about evolution's social and psychological impact. I mean, the author seems about to blame nazism and stalinism on "atheism" there, rather than the specific circumstances, including the religious threads feeding into both of those (reaction against and continuation of religious forms were important to stalinism, while nazism typically co-opted religious nonsense for its own strand of BS).
Oh the trials of knowledge. Why don't we all just adopt Islam's retrograde ideas (not calling all of them retrograde, but there sure isn't much progress in the Islamic world), and live the Muslim paradise?
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Posted by: strange gods before me
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September 28, 2009 1:51 PM
Good for him, for getting it out in writing. I agree with Michelle R, this is something that anyone can make a small difference by doing.
Not related, but it reminded me of this: "Please politicize my death."
Posted by: Matt Penfold
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September 28, 2009 1:56 PM
I suspect the Guardian is doing what most broadsheets do in the UK, and that is invite columnists to write articles they know their readership will at the very least disagree with. It many respects it is not a bad idea. It can do one good to be confronted with ideas one does not agree with but are good enough to make one struggle to find sound reasons for rejecting.
However I not think the Guardians insistence on publishing pro ID stuff qualifies as requiring much effort to debunk.
Posted by: shaunotd
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September 28, 2009 2:39 PM
@Abdul Alhazred #10
Didn't Mother Teresa admit to something of the kind?
Posted by: John Phillips, FCD
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September 28, 2009 3:10 PM
shaunotd: apparently she did. However the god botherers just put it down to a 'crisis of faith'. After all, they are experts by now in having a rationalisation for every situation. And, as Pierce mentioned above, with so many Indians being pro woo, like him I imagine some psychics already preparing their claims of contacting him from beyond the grave. For in their world, all tactics are fair game when it comes to fleecing the gullible.
As for Basava Premanand, facing his future non existence with integrity and courage, a man after my own heart.
Posted by: Aratina Cage
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September 28, 2009 3:19 PM
Skimming this post brought a thought to my mind after point #2 that theists don't have any respect for the powerful forces of nature that we already know to exist.
Do you really need an omniscient, omnipotent super-being when you have things like black holes, tidal waves, sentience, gamma rays, spatial vacuums, the heliosphere, polar auroras, 0°K, magnetism, tornadoes, plate tectonics, etc.
I'm not suggesting worship of nature, I'm just asking: why don't theists admit how paltry their image of the absolute greatest power really is? It is easy to throw out the most general description of power our brains can imagine and call it a god, but the bland gods of theists (no matter how many arms) are almost insulting to the richness of real powers in the universe.
Posted by: Jadehawk, OM
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September 28, 2009 3:28 PM
not voluntarily she didn't; her diaries were published though (against the will of the RCC), which revealed that she didn't actually feel much of anything divine and was just making herself be a theist.anyway, this is a great move, but it's pretty shitty that people have to defend their legacy like this from the smarmy lies of theists.
Posted by: Knockgoats
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September 28, 2009 3:33 PM
Thanks to Bavasa Premanand for his courageous example! Let's hope he gets the care he needs in his last days.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM
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September 28, 2009 4:20 PM
Thank you, Basava Premanand, for wanting to die with dignity and integrity. May your passing be as comfortable as possible.
Posted by: Curt Cameron
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September 28, 2009 5:08 PM
He dated that on Sept 20, and it's now the 28th. Unless he issues regular updates, the faith heads can still claim he had a deathbed conversion (and who would put it past them?).
Posted by: Miles670
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September 28, 2009 7:12 PM
A strong, brave man that. I hate the fact that we must lose mind's such as those. But i guess that's life. I hope his family and friends know how lucky they are to have known him, and him them i guess.
Posted by: Madrigalia
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September 28, 2009 8:01 PM
An Atheist's Eulogy
I came across this poem and thought it particularly appropriate for this topic.
Posted by: https://services.mozilla.com/openid/malcolm
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September 29, 2009 2:32 AM
Like many others here I had never heard of Basava Premanand until now - but I find his example truly inspiring.
I had leukaemia and a bone marrow transplant two years ago. While I'm in pretty good shape at the moment, I live with the knowledge that 70% of people in my situation are dead within 5 years of their transplant. It's a ski-slope sort of graph - and I'm off the steep part but still...
I have copied Premanand's declaration to use as a crib sheet for my own that I will pre-print and save with my Will. I have already specified that I want no religious observations of any kind at my memorial or cremation service.
I have no expectation that anyone will claim a deathbed conversion for me, but there are enough religious believers in my family that its reasonable to expect there to be pressure for a church ceremony of some sort (and a blessing, and maybe a prayer. Or two. etc).
The idea of re-iterating my irreligiousness (it IS SO a word!) closer to my dying day appeals to me, and I hope it will serve to emphasize to my daughter and the rest of my family that how important conscious examination of my beliefs is to me.
Posted by: https://services.mozilla.com/openid/malcolm
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September 29, 2009 2:39 AM
This comment registration thing still seems to need work!
I have an open ID but was repeatedly unable to sign in using it. Eventually I was able to use Weave (https://services.mozilla.com/) to get in, but obviously has problems with my name...
Let's hope a god strikes down the spammers soon and we can go back to the simple life....
Malcolm
Posted by: flonkbob
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September 29, 2009 11:22 AM
I think it's great that he is able to know that it's his time to go, and prepare for it in such a way as to stymie the superstitious.
As someone who knows (well, strongly suspects) that the seeds of his death are in the chronic illness that he already has, I'm thinking that when things get worse I'll do the same. I have too many family members on the religious side of the fence to leave things to chance.
There are atheists in foxholes. And deathbeds.
Posted by: Gurinder Singh Azad
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September 30, 2009 3:09 AM
This courageous atheist, humanist has stamped his immense impression on me. I first met him (and Mr. Narender Nayak, his most promising pupil who is now serving since long back with his entire efforts in the same direction tirelessly) in Vijayawada in a world atheist conference in 2004 and became friend. I was merely 27 years at that time and wanted to listen to him with all ears. He took me outside the conference for a smoke and shared so many things. His entire work for promoting science and exposing superstitions in the lights of science is a landmark but full of struggles. He lost his young son who became victim of religious fanatics. Premanand too was beaten severely. But he is a brave missionary who only think of entire society regardless of any religious or any other taboos.
Then I met him in New Delhi again. He clasped my hand firmly and said, "lets go outside". He was suffering from illness at that time. But even at this age his ember conscious is moving him here and there. We went outside and started talking. I said not to smoke at least till you become healthy. He didn't answer and asked about how my work was going on in Punjab. He gave me his book to read.
Whenever I recollect my memories about Premanand, he keeps on moving in my mind. He is never a standstill. Even in memories he moves without losing time. He is desperate to change this world to humanity uprooting religious and superstitious practices.
He is lying on bed today but he is conscious. He knows this caravan will not stop even after him.
And we humanist of this earth take pledge to serve humanity forever and will fight against superstitions and every that odd divide people on the bases of caste, religion, colour and number of hell things.
Here, with all my emotions I say him, 'Get well soon, Prema !!"
Posted by: D. L. Yonge-Mallo
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October 9, 2009 12:41 PM
Basava Premanand died less than a week ago, and the followers of Sathya Sai Baba already have a web page up claiming that the declaration was not authored by Premanand, and that he was not sound of mind when he signed it: http://www.saisathyasai.com/baba/Ex-Baba.com/Premanand/death-basava-premanand-dies.html
-- davinci
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp
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October 9, 2009 12:45 PM
Predictable. A shame, but predictable.