Nature vs Nurture

  By, SAURABH JHA MD My wife chooses sides in the nature-versus-nurture war expeditiously. When our children are polite, she credits her nurture. When they’re rowdy, she blames my genes. But the nature-nurture war won’t be resolved anytime soon. The gene played a significant role in the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. Karna, abandoned by his mother, Kunti, and raised by a charioteer, was taught warfare by Parashurama, a gifted teacher with a fiery temperament, who despised warriors and only taught Brahmins. One day, Parashurama was asleep with his head on Karna’s lap. Karna was bitten by a scorpion but did not move, because he did not want to disturb his guru’s nap. Parashurama, who believed that Karna was a Brahmin, seeing Karna’s blood on the ground realized that he had withstood pain which only a warrior could abide. Parashurama cursed Karna that he would forget his knowledge of warfare when he most needed it. Karna later fought for the Kauravas in the Battle of Kurukshetra. Parashurama’s malediction helped Arjuna beat Karna, which sealed the victory for the Pandavas. Neither Karna nor Parashurama knew about the double helix. The gene is an abstraction which has stood the test of time. The battle between nature and nurture was never resolved in Hindu mythology. Lord Krishna said that it was “karma”, not birth, which made one a warrior. Yet, Hindus believe in destiny. The Hindu caste system is an example of genomic segregati...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs