Superstition: Boon or Bane

Superstition

When we talk about superstition there is no single definition for this, it generally means a belief in supernatural forces such as fate, the desire to influence the unpredictable factors and a need to resolve uncertainty. In this era of science and technology where many discoveries and inventions are taking place and science is making the impossible possible with the blink of an eye, there is no place for superstitions.

Many people may believe that faith is also a form of superstition, but as we see if we think deeply, there is a difference. Faith is a positive factor whereas superstition is a negative factor. Psychologists, who have investigated what role superstition play, have found that they derive from the assumption that a connection exists between co-occurring, and non- related events.

Mahatma Buddha was probably the first great man to expound and explain the value and significance of reason which eliminated superstition altogether. He emphasized that everything should be thoroughly studied, judges and tested before being believed. Later, many other great men like Guru Nanak and Kabir exhorted the people to shun superstitions.  

Superstitions are common phenomenon in human society, especially in Asian cultures. These beliefs can have negative impact on the social well- being of people in society because they are highly associated with financial risk-taking and gambling behavior. Superstitious do all sorts of puzzling things.

Superstitions can also give rise to the notion that object and places are cursed. Hollywood movie “The Conjuring is the best example of this such as Annabella the doll who featured in the movie is to be inhabited by the spirit of a dead girl.

Even superstitions have negative impact on the mental health as well. A girl from Delhi, Mahima Roukhar  had also seen how badly it affects the persons mind. Once there was a neighbor of mine who believes in a black magic kind of thing and due to this superstition he murdered his father brutually. He cut down his father into pieces and stick his organs on the walls of his room. He gave the explanation of his wrong doing is that by doing this he will become a most powerful man in this world.

One question always arouses in my mind when I talk about superstition is that few people thinks cat signifies the negativity whereas, another group take it as positive. How is it possible that one thing is good for few people and bad for another after all we all are human beings.

There are few superstitions which are very commonly believe but these are not superstitions even they had different aspects. Let’s have a quick look at the following examples:-

1.     Eat curd and sugar before heading out- Before stepping out for something new and important eating curd and something sweet is considered to be a good luck as the consumption of curd has a cooling effect on stomach and sugar which is added provides instant glucose which makes your work easier and successful. This combination is indispensable for Indians and its consumption was slowly linked to good luck.

2.     Don’t wash or cut hairs on certain days-Washing or cutting hairs on certain days like on Tuesdays or Thursdays are considered to be bad luck but there is no truth in this as it was one of the water management practices and moreover, during those days, barbers got a holiday on those days. So, just to give them a holiday people don’t cut hairs on these days.

3.     Mensuration women are considered impure and unclean:  In a country like India, it is very prevalent and this gave rise to many superstitious beliefs. At that time women were not allowed inside kitchen, temples, mosques, and other religious spots and were not allowed to do any household chores the reason behind this is that at that point of time women are comparatively weak due to the lot of blood loss. So they are given complete rest.

4.     Using lemons and green chilies to avoid buri nazar- The nimbu mirchi tadka is one the commonly visible superstition among the society who uses it often encouraged due to qualities of lemon and chilies as they both are rich in different vitamins and create certain acidic Adour which helps keep away insects.

5.     Ghost residing in peepal tree- This myth continues to prevail even today but the scientific reason behind this is that the tree use carbon dioxide during the day and releases oxygen in the night. So when you sleep under the tree, the excess amount of carbon dioxide level can make you feel heavy in the fist and suffocated which is associated with the feeling of being possessed by some spirits.

 The fascinating thing about superstitions is that we often believe in them despite knowing, on some level, that they can’t be true. Why do we do this?  Even Eric Hammerman an author also stated that “ when people feel the world is out of their control,  they look for external sources of control- superstitious are really a reaction to feeling out of control”.

Now you decide How superstitious are you? Do you believe in all this?

By: Syed Aayaan Asif