Amol Akhade: The Intersection of Spirituality and Molecular Biology

Amol Akhade, Senior Consultant at Fortis Hospitals Mumbai, shared a post on Substack:

“Lord Ganesha, Janus, and JAK2: Guardians of Thresholds and New Beginnings. Connect between Spirituality and Molecular Biology

Every culture knows that beginnings are fragile. Every threshold — the moment of crossing from old to new — carries uncertainty. And so, across time and geography, we have imagined guardians who protect us at these sacred moments.

In Hinduism, that guardian is Lord Ganesha.

Before a puja, before a marriage, before a journey, his name is invoked first. He is the Vighnaharta — the remover of obstacles. That is why his idol sits at the doorway of temples, watching over the passage from the outer world to the sanctum within. His elephant head is not accidental: it represents wisdom and foresight. His large ears remind us to listen deeply, his small eyes to stay focused, his pot-belly to absorb the ups and downs of life with balance. To forget Lord Ganesha is to risk faltering at the very start, stumbling over obstacles unseen.

The Romans had their own threshold god: Janus.

He is always shown with two faces — one turned to the past, the other to the future. He guarded doorways, gates, arches, treaties, and the very turning of the year. Even today, January — the first month — carries his name. Romans knew that a venture could not begin without acknowledging him. For if Janus was ignored, transitions became chaotic, unstable, and incomplete.

Now consider modern biology.

Here too, we find a guardian of thresholds: JAK2, a member of the Janus kinase family. It was named after Janus precisely because it has two domains — one catalytic and active, the other regulatory and restraining. Together, like two faces, they ensure balance. JAK2 stands at the boundary of the cell, receiving messages from the outside world and transmitting them faithfully into the nucleus through the JAK–STAT pathway. When JAK2 works properly, cellular transitions are smooth: immunity, hematopoiesis, growth. But when JAK2 is mutated — as in the famous V617F mutation — the guardian fails. The kinase fires uncontrollably, signals flow unchecked, and blood cells proliferate without end.

The result: myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Seen together, the pattern is clear.

Lord Ganesha, Janus, and JAK2 all embody the same archetype — guardians of thresholds. Each represents duality: Ganesha as man and elephant, Janus as past and future, JAK2 as active and regulatory domains. Each regulates beginnings. And each warns us of the consequences of neglect.

Forget Ganesha, and life’s ventures stumble. Ignore Janus, and transitions lose harmony. Mutate JAK2, and cells descend into malignancy.

The lesson is timeless, whether told in temples, carved into Roman arches, or revealed in molecular pathways: thresholds demand guardianship. Beginnings are sacred. Without wisdom, regulation, and balance, disorder follows.

On this Ganesh Chaturthi, as we honor Lord Ganesha, perhaps we also honor the deeper truth that mythology and biology converge upon — that at every threshold, from the cosmic to the cellular, we need guardians to guide us safely forward.”

More posts featuring Amol Akhade on OncoDaily.