SUPERSTITION

Hello all,

According to many readings and scientific studies, our illusions are due to some disorder in mental chemical levels. We overthink a lot and make up our minds according to what we think often. These kinds of beliefs are very common in our daily routine. These are called superstitions and vary from area to area. Many times, they have no similarity between them, but the purpose is the same: "superstition".

Another reason for these superstitions is that many clever and manipulative people spread their self-created myths among simple and illiterate people and influence them to believe them.  The worst I ever read was in stories where men or women were being burnt due to the belief that the victims were involved in witchcraft. It was a common way to take revenge on somebody.  In the sub-continent, there are many superstitions believed to be true; actually, those are not, because we do not have any concrete argument for their validity.

Here I want to mention a few of them in the hope of getting rid of them forever.

Black cat: If a black cat crosses your path, you should come back and let the job go undone, as it will be harmful to go further. If you do not do so, the consequences will be worse.

Sneezing: Firstly, most people do not want to start their work if anybody sneezes; many take a long pause due to it. It is believed that it will not be beneficial.

Secondly, it is believed that whenever a dear to you thinks about you, you will start to sneeze or hiccup.

Cutting Nails: In the evening, cutting nails is thought to be a curse, and old people forbid doing so.

Mirror cracking: Especially in India, it is strongly believed that if a mirror cracks, it is a sign of worse happening.

Spilled milk is also an occurrence of bad luck.

Crows are not very famous in the entire world, but whenever they caw at someone’s wall, it is believed that some unexpected guests will visit your home.

Crying cats: In the house is also believed to be an alarm before some bad forthcoming.

Tongue bit by teeth; this is when somebody abuses or says anything wrong against you in your absence.

Eye flicking; if it is the left eye, then good for men and wrong for women, and vice versa.

Shaking legs; though it is against manners to shake legs, it is believed to be a stroke of bad luck and a reduction in income.

Thursday or Tuesday; both days are not believed to be good to start a project between different believers. They think that work will be undone or prolonged if started on these days. The rain that starts on Thursdays is also presumed to last for a week.

This is just a glimpse; there are so many more. It is not sub-continent, but one can observe it all over the world. Number 13 is always considered not good for everyone. I have seen in a movie where a pregnant woman with a band on her eyes was led to two chairs; on one there were scissors. If she sits on the empty chair, then it will be a boy, and if she selects the chair with scissors, then it will be a girl she is expecting.

Recently, I saw a T.V show in which they exposed a villager who fetched an ordinary turtle with some spots on its shell. He told others that these were holy names written on it. People started to believe and gathered to see such a unique thing. The perpetrator started to call the turtle “Baba Ji” and tried to convince others to put money in a bowl for “Baba Ji” and it would fulfill their wishes. Simple and illiterate villagers were tricked into drinking the dirty pond water in which the turtle lived. They were told that it would cure their diseases. The crew and members of an investigating media team observed this all for many days and finally brought it on T.V. After being exposed, all the believers had turned into his opponents, and they all started to abuse the culprit and became a part of the coverage team. 

According to me, the result is that we should be able to spend our spare time in a joyous way, and we do not need any logic or scientific research for it. We made our illusory world with our own imagination and try to manipulate others to come and join us. In developed countries, there are still a few with the same problems, but many have stopped believing it, seeing it as a waste of time. But the problem still prevails in developing countries, where education to some certain level is not common, and illiterates are easy to influence and betray. They are ready for surprises and looking forward to more miracles to be told. One can raise the question of how routine superstitions are harmful; the answer is “nip the evil in the bud”. We need to start this work in our daily life and leave such nonsense. We have to raise our voice against such beliefs, as they are hurdles in developing one’s mind in a positive, good way and are also harmful to a country’s growth as well.

Best regards.