Saanams Mind

“Superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used basically  to refer to folk beliefs deemed irrational. This leads to some superstitions being called “old wives’ tales”. It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the irrational belief that future events can be influenced or foretold by specific unrelated prior events.`

Friday the 13th being an unlucky day, Spilling salt bringing bad luck, walking under a ladder proving to be unlucky, a cat crossing your way when on a journey making the journey an unfruitful one…all these old wives tales or basically susperstitions that have been carried forward for centuries. They have basically no roots, no proof, no explanations but are handed down generations after generations, just making their presence felt with the blind way people follow them.

In the subcontinent we do have some extremely bizzare superstitions one follows . Recently when the solar eclipse took place , one saw the news channels covering the wierd practice followed in a certain region in India where kids with physical and mental disabilities were buried upto their neck under mud of some holy shrine and  left there for hours together, with the belief that they would be cured. They were not given food  and water and it was heartening to see them crying and howling for water. I was watching the people crowding around the kids and not a single person seemed moved by all the kids plight. I wonder what kind of belief is it where people forget even basic humane qualities and follow them without a thought for children.

Another inhumane superstition a friend  was talking about, spoke of a place where people ask for a child … a mannat…where in one prays to have a baby and when the child is born, the child thrown from about 25 feet height on to a cloth held below . Just imagine the torture the poor child has to undergo just because of the lack of education in the parents. Dont they  sense the danger in the whole act? What if the cloth gives away? The very child they prayed so hard to get may lose its life.

While am a believer in faith, in God doing wonders when faith is strong, I do not believe in  blind faith. Little harmless superstitions like not cutting nails in the night could have had some reason like a fallen piece of nail that goes unnoticed in the evenings can hurt n get infected when stepped on it. Eating curd and jaggery before going to do something auspicious are not that noticable or bad if followed as they form a part of  traditions bequeathed but blind faith that cause harm to another life should be confronted and  stopped as they are inhumane and anything could go wrong with them .

“The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.” and probably when it misses …its too late. As they say “Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother”.

Share on Facebook