Superstition - A Social Curse?

Superstition, by definition, is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used as a derogatory term for the illogical beliefs of others. It is 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 behaviors or occurrences.

Most of the superstitions have no record as to who started it. The joke goes that centuries ago home makers found the concept of coining superstitions interesting and so made a ton of them. Though the majority of superstitions are harmless, some of them have drastic effects on the socio-cultural well being of human beings. In a country like ours, where illiteracy still thrives, following superstitions is at times not a matter of choice.

Prejudice against lepers, dalits and widows, considering a female baby being born as a burden to the family are some of the Indian superstitions that tend to do more harm than help. They end up hurting those at the receiving end of the superstitions. Let us be thankful that the horrid practice of sati has been abolished. However, there are secret groups that are sincerely trying to keep the practice alive.

Although nowadays it has become easy for lepers to get proper medical treatment, they do have a hard time overcoming the stigma as according to Indian superstitions the person is a cursed one by the Gods. In some villages, the dalits have no other choice but take up the job of being a scavenger. They are denied access to certain temples. They are forced to consume eatables from separate vessels. Its shocking that this still exists. But it’s a pity on our culture that it is true.

Even today family members hesitate to include a widow in auspicious celebrations, especially a marriage. A girl child, sadly, has much more superstitions to endure than a boy child. There are the murmurings on the day that she is born, and if she does not fall victim to a case of female foeticide, she has to go through the painstaking dowry system before her wedding. After her wedding for one year, her in-laws judge her auspiciousness by the amount of fortunes and misfortunes that happen during the first year of her marriage. And if a death occurs during the crucial one year period, the female has fallen into a pit of mocking that will continue for her life.

Let us, educated urbanites of a big and buzzing city like Mumbai, not feel smug about not falling prey to the aforementioned superstitions, for it is we who are ardent encouragers of vastu- shastra and feng shui. Many self – proclaimed experts in these fields are quite successful at squeezing out our money and time in the pretext of making our house a nest of good fortune.

Surely, hardwork and intelligence are more efficient at churning the wheels of riches. We are also affected by the horoscopes printed in the newspapers and God forbid if something not too fancy is written about our zodiac sign because then we end up sulking about it all day long.

Bollywood has a big hand in influencing the masses to gravitate towards the tangles of superstitions. They set an example to follow many irrational “logies” including numerology, astrology and tarot cards. Aren’t we all very well aware of Ekta Kapoor’s ‘K’ serials and the turquoise bracelet sported by actor Salman Khan?

Also, a particularly negative role has been played by a genre of films in Indian cinema. These films portray ``miracles'' taking place not in a mythological setting, but in contemporary life. Elephants representing Ganesha or cobras representing Shakti, the images of which are frequently exchanged in the course of the film, intervene constantly to rescue children, succour women in distress, cure people of illnesses or punish evil-doers.

Following superstitions not just hampers the scientific growth of our country but also defies the law put forth by our secular state, for, Article 51-A(h) of the Indian Constitution states that “it shall be the duty of every citizen of India... to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform”. Some superstitions are so severe, they threaten to shred the very cords of unity of our nation.

The interpretation of secularism as mere religious tolerance has led to the acceptance, in some quarters, of irrational religious practices, as acts that are beyond criticism and condemnation. Further, the justification of the right to pluralism in religious belief, becomes in the hands of some, the denial of the right to non-belief.

It is obvious, of course, that rationalism or scientific temper cannot be promoted only by exhorting the people to follow these principles. People need to be provided the tools whereby they can distinguish by themselves between obscurantism and science, between superstition and religion. They have to be made aware that it is okay to not believe in something. The only means to deliver this to them is through education. And for the already educated lot- scientific education must be stressed upon.

Let us take inspiration from our national leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Bhagat Singh who strongly detested any form of superstition. Let us be encouraged by the likes of Raja Ram Mohun Roy who spearheaded the Indian renaissance movement. He brought about the abolition of sati, fought for legalisation of widow-remarriage and set an example by marrying a widow himself.

It is high time to stop and re-think the crazy flow in which we are so easily pulled in. It is the time to grow and not to grow stale by following a pattern of thought which is centuries old. It is time not to break the curse of superstition, but to stop believing in the entire concept of “curse” itself.