Superstition might seem like something harmless, but it can have dire consequences. In India, hundreds of people perform barbaric and cruel rituals for various supernatural or tantric reasons. Such as child sacrifice, branding people, burning them or making them do horrible things for practicing “witchcraft”. Most of us know that it’s all bogus of course, but the other day while sitting outside on the steps of my house I realized how easy it is for the human mind to take to fantastical thinking.
It was nighttime and about to rain. The wind was sporadic and sudden. It would ruffle the huge tree in front of me and make it shake spookily. I let my judgement slip away and imagined it to be a creepy sentient being. As if it had its own personality. I remembered that many trees in India are held in superstitious awe – like the peepal tree for example. Even as I think about my childhood, I recall the vague sense of dread I used to feel as I encountered the peepal tree at night…
Then the wind itself. There was no predicting it. No judging its power. It had a will of its own. From there, it’s an easy stretch to think that maybe it was sentient. That there’s a guiding will behind its seemingly random patterns. Why does it choose to strike in one place and not another? The wind spirits or the wind god must be powerful too – he can tear up trees and houses, stir the oceans, and listen to everything that happens in the world. And indeed, Vaayu is the most powerful of the Indian deities (barring the big three of course).
Next, wind can be accompanied by rain and thunder which are so scary that the god controlling them must be the king of gods! In both the Hindu and Greek cultures, the thunderbolt wielder is king. Zeus and Indra. In Norse mythology, Thor is the most physically powerful dude around.
Then my rational self asserts itself after my mind’s brief and playful sojourn into fantasy. But superstition is the natural way that our minds work without formal training. And religion is just one step away from superstition.
Is it any wonder that so much of the world is plunged into ignorance and confused thinking? Right up to my college days I believed in some kind of universal force. The logical step to atheism didn’t come until later. We’re powerfully superstitious beings. That grinds up against the image of man as a logical creatures, making the world his playground. But we gotta face realities no?
YES ! It is easy to be superstitious and it is equally easy to criticize ‘Surreptitiousness’ of others. Let’s face the fact that most of us are superstitious, but only few accept it and most of us conveniently argue endlessly as if we created this world. So…however may we pretend to think scientifically… most of the world around us is unknown to us yet.
Does anyone know what is MIND? Has anyone been able to define MIND or prove its place in the human body? What is soul? What is Magic for that matter? Mostly, what we can’t explain based on solid irrefutable logic…is considered Magic even by so-called intelligent people with scientific temper.
I am forwarding an interesting link. View it and you will realize how inconsequential are us or for that matter…Planet earth.
: http://vimeo.com/amnh/knownuniverse
Regards – KRV
In reply to K R Vaishampayan
To me, the mind is just the workings of the brain. The way music is the movement of the strings of a violin. Without the brain, the mind has no meaning.
Well written. Do you not still believe in a universal force ? Just One Force of which everything is a part ?
In reply to tp
Nope…
Replying to K R Vaishampayan
” Mind ” is just a term given to that part of The One Force that vibrates seemingly invisibly because human sense organs cant perceive it in others – although it is very evident to oneself in the waking phase of life.It also manifests in dreams.It is not perceived in deep sleep. I’m sure that many animals like some dogs can perceive ” Mind “. My dog seems to know what i am about to do next !
Something to laugh upon :D
http://heyithinkthisway.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/let-their-beliefs-save-them/
I like to think of it this way. Superstitions give mankind something to believe in, something to have faith in. Its very easy to put your life in someone else’s hands. That way you feel that some of your burden is no longer on you. Whatever happens, happens for the best OR It was destined to be. I believe in a power too. I have my own volatile relationship with God. I have had times when I have given up and then times when I have come back full force. But through all my life, I have always felt that there is one power before which mankind has no stand. That is nature. (Up until recently, I was of the opinion that nature has complete power over mankind, but found out that USA and Russia have weather control mechanisms which they can use to create rains/drought etc and they have signed treaties that they would not use it. Whole different topic!) Sentimentally, who’s the controlling power behind nature, is it God or some supreme being etc is not something that I have thought of. But guess I hold the thinking there’s something that mankind is powerless against. Maybe there should be too! Else man is completely capable of creating havoc!
In reply to Deepa
Man is indeed completely capable of creating havoc! Once you figure out the rules of god, you can manipulate god.
hey yes, it easily get inside the mind, even after trying to forcefully remove it, it still exist.. i dont beieve in ravkalam or yamagandam.. but still i look at the time before traveling.. if anything goes wrong, will always think back about the time.. when i was in school there was this two myna two luck or bad luck if u see andakaka( crow with black neck), at times i feel acho after seeing one myna after so many years too..
i dont know why all this system came in, may be they had some scientific reasons , but eventually the essence of it is lost and we just practice it for sake of it, like putting kolam in front of house.
i am trying to figure out the scientific reason behind following few superstitions, reason them and then decide weather to follow or not..
In reply to ashreya
Yup – we all have unconscious responses to what we were taught in childhood.