India is one of those few countries in the world which believed in myriad superstitions since many centuries. In today’s modern era, the urban areas of India are slowly abandoning around Sixty percent of Superstitions, while the Rural areas are the topmost followers of all possible superstitions.

The accused Black cat

I will throw light on the Superstitions that are followed in most parts of India including the cosmopolitan city of Mumbai. The superstition which is prevalent throughout India is that if a black cat comes in your way, then a bad event may take place in your life or you will experience a major misfortune. Are the black cats conspiring against human beings? Do these black cats know our individual names or are we enemies of all existing black cats in this world?

Why don’t we ask ourselves these logic-based questions and why do we strongly believe that a black cat who crosses our path, will invite some obstacle or tragedy?

Is there some connection between our nails and our Fate?

Another age-old superstition is that if we cut our fingers and toenails after Sunset on weekdays or if we cut our nails on Saturdays, this simple action will bring us misfortune or will ruin our health in a big way. Cutting fingernails or toenails or both at the same time only contributes towards a good personal Hygiene and if we think logically, those who have a good personal hygiene would enjoy great health and rarely fall sick. If a lactating mother does not cut her fingernails, then her fingernails can injure her newborn baby and ruin the poor baby’s hygiene since a newborn baby’s immune system is not developed. In today’s busy modern times, wherein both men and women are working professionals who work for a minimum of Nine hours per day, they will absolutely not have time to cut their fingernails and toenails in the morning since they are in a hurry to reach their office or workplace in the morning. Working professionals are constantly scrutinized by their seniors and respective boss, not only for their performance at their workplace but also for their appearance and the basic hygiene which they practise. Uncut nails are a testimony to poor Hygiene.

Is it possible to make Fortune out of Shit?

Another funny superstition which has me rolling in the Aisles, is the belief that if the excreta or shit of the crow falls on our head or shoulder, we invite Good Luck. Crows eat anything ranging from leftover food which is thrown outside the house, sewage, dead mice, insects like lizards…and so on… Are there any nutrients in these eatables? The leftover food may contain some nutrients, but as time passes, the leftover food gets contaminated.

Is there some magic or medicine or money in the shit or excreta of the crow? Does Alladin’s Genie hide himself in the excreta or shit of the crow such that when we have physical contact with the shit or excreta, Genie would spring up and fulfill our wish? Do crows know us individually? Do they have the ability to add Good Luck in their excreta or shit for us? These are Logic-based questions which people believing in this ridiculous superstition, should ask themselves.

Is Menstruation a crime or a sin?

There are many age-old superstitions which annoy me. A Superstition which is believed by rural India as well as the educated Urban India, which feels like a kick in the teeth, is the belief that Menstruating women should not enter inside the temple, since they make the temple impure just because they are menstruating. Menstruation is a natural process of a woman’s body and there is no dirt or impurity associated with Menstruation. Menstruation is the shedding of the woman’s uterus lining and this shedding takes place when the woman is not pregnant. Menstrual blood is comprised of Red blood cells and the tissue which is inside the woman’s or girl’s uterus. Menstruation is not a vulgar act. Since many years, women and adolescent girls have worn sanitary pads or menstrual cups which absorb the Menstrual blood completely and prevent it from falling on the floor and from staining the woman’s dress. In an era of Sanitary pads and menstrual cups, women and girls should never be prohibited from entering any temple or any religious place of worship. If a woman or a girl cannot afford a sanitary napkin or menstrual cup, then instead of ridiculing her or laughing at her situation, people should step forward to provide her with such hygienic tools and should help her exercise her right to visit temples or holy places of religious worship.

Nothing can be more disappointing when you realize that the Priests and the prominent religious authorities of a temple or any other religious place of worship, label menstruating women as ‘impure women’ for just one simple reason that these women are menstruating. We, as a Society, should question these so-called knowledgeable priests about this unfair treatment towards women and girls. Is Menstruation a crime or a sin? No, not at all…..It is a natural process which takes place in a woman’s body, then why are religious authorities preventing menstruating women and menstruating girls from entering the religious place?

The Sabarimala temple in Kerala has stooped to Regression, by prohibiting women in the age group of Twelve to Fifty years, from entering the temple. The religious authorities of this temple have cited a meaningless and illogical reason for this prohibition. Since it is impossible to find out which woman or girl is going through the Menstrual cycle, all women in the above-mentioned age group are debarred from entering the premises of this temple.

Since sanitary pads are made of Cotton, the menstrual blood gets absorbed completely by the Cotton in the Sanitary pads or even Menstrual cups. This prevents blood stains on the floor or on any other part of the surroundings. I hope that these religious authorities make such logic-based conclusions, before banning anyone from such sacred places of worship.

Does the messenger of Death arrive from the North?

There are few superstitions which do not annoy me, but rather amuse me. Let me elaborate on one such superstition. If we sleep or just horizontally lie down in a position such that our head is towards the North direction, then we would become mentally ill or even mad or we would soon experience death.

Many a time, I sleep with my head in the North direction, but I have not become Mentally ill due to this reason and the fact that I am writing this article, shows evidence of me being alive! One does not become mentally ill because of the direction in which their head is, while they are fast asleep. There are varied reasons for a person to become mentally ill or mad. This superstition creates excessive, unnecessary, and baseless fear in a child’s psyche and he or she refuses to sleep, owing to this fear.

The torture that vegetables go through due to Superstitions

Popular vegetables too are not spared from the shackles of Superstition. In villages and surprisingly in cities as well, you will find a bunch of Green chillies along with a big lemon staring at you and questioning your intentions, by hanging near the entrance of a new house or a new shop or on the front part of a new vehicle. In the past, Indians believed that when someone starts a new venture or business, the number of well-wishers becomes much less than the number of persons who are envious or jealous of the person who starts the new venture. It has been strongly believed that the enemies will set their evil eyes on the new venture and would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the venture or any new financial deal fails.

I agree with the fact that there is no dearth of people who would love to see a person fail in his venture, or fall into a pit of despair. Such people have evil minds which can make them perform evil deeds. However, I strongly believe that even if these evil-minded sadists wish something bad for us and set their evil eyes on us, their evil wishes would not necessarily become true.

Their malevolence can shower hardships or obstacles in our path toward Success or progress. However, their Malevolence does not have the power to snatch away the Success, the Happiness that would come our way. Lemons and Green chilies would not absorb the evil intentions and evil wishes of these sadists, for whom we are unbeatable. Lemons and Green chilies would not put a cloak on their evil eyes.

If some bad event is bound to happen as per our destiny, it would happen irrespective of whether someone has set evil eyes on us or not. If Destiny brings us Misfortune, evil intentions or evil eyes do not have a role in this. Lemons and Green chilies cannot engulf a person’s Misfortune.

Is there a Horror show after Sunset?

There is another superstition which should be eradicated from the minds of orthodox Indians. Mopping the floor of the house and cleaning the cupboards after Sunset is considered inauspicious by many Indians. This superstition is based on the illogical belief that Goddess Lakshmi – the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity, would fear that the broom would accidentally push her out of the house. Many Indians fear that they would drive away Wealth and Prosperity by cleaning the house after Sunset.

We have not seen Goddess Lakshmi in her actual mythological form. Why would Goddess Lakshmi run away from a house which is being cleaned? Had Goddess Lakshmi come in human form to announce that she would not enter a house which is cleaned after Sunset? Had Goddess Lakshmi kept a competition for people to find out who all finished cleaning their respective houses before Sunset? This superstitious belief of our ancestors, makes Goddess Lakshmi look wicked and unkind. Goddess Lakshmi never made such an absurd rule that the house has to be cleaned before the Sun sets. Why are we human beings scaring people by such rules?

In today’s fast-paced life, every person is busy or occupied with urgent tasks and it is not necessary that a person will have time to clean the house in broad daylight before the Sun sets. He /She would have to prioritize his tasks or duties and cleaning the house cannot be the topmost priority for him /her on every single day.

Can planets talk and do they experience emotions?

A weird superstitious belief which people are not ready to shed off is that wearing or just purchasing black coloured footwear on Saturdays, will annoy Shani dev- (Lord Saturn) and he would fill our life with misery and adversity. Saturday derives it’s name from Saturn and it is known as the day of the planet Saturn.

Saturn (Shani) is a planet which cannot talk, think, hear, and feel. If Saturn is a planet- a non-living thing, how can it give us misery and obstacles? Did the planet Saturn instruct human beings not to buy black coloured footwear or shoes on Saturdays? Did some living being from Saturn land on our planet Earth, to tell us that Saturn has warned us not to buy Black shoes on Saturday? Did Saturn tell us that it hates Black colour and so we should not buy Black coloured footwear on Saturdays?

There is no logic in this weird superstitious belief. Nowadays, many working professionals, students.... and so on…have fixed holidays on the weekend which comprises of Saturdays and Sundays. In some areas, shops are closed on Sundays. In such a situation, a person who has been busy on weekdays would obviously purchase necessities like footwear on Saturdays. Those who are Orthodox and follow this superstition, are actually complicating their own life and boosting their stress level.

Why would Trees cause harm to us?

There is one superstition which is followed in many villages of India. Every village boasts of its lush and exotic Greenery owing to the abundant vegetation, foliage, trees, farms, dense forests…and so on… The Peepal tree is one among such many trees, which stands with pride, but is perceived as that tree which provides shelter to ghosts and spirits of dead people. In Ancient times, it was believed that ghosts, evil spirits would sit on the branches of the Peepal tree and would kill any living being resting under the tree.

Such illogical superstitions do not allow human beings to live peacefully. It was proved scientifically that there are no ghosts or evil spirits or even good spirits in this Universe. When a person dies and exits the world, he/she never returns. If human beings say that they can see evil spirits and ghosts, it just implies that these human beings suffer from Hallucinations and they desperately need to undergo the Psychiatrist’s treatment.

This superstitious belief has made many individuals mentally ill and completely mad. Villagers invite bogus people called ‘Tantriks’ to exorcise a person who is believed to have some evil spirit hidden within him. This bout of harmful blind faith in villages should soon vanish, by educating villagers, and eradicating myths and misconceptions related to the dead and deceased.

According to me, Trees are equivalent to God. Trees play a pivotal role in the existence of Life on our planet Earth. Trees gift us fruits, vegetables, and flowers in abundance, without expecting anything in return. Trees provide shade to us and attract rainfall. Human beings and Animals depend on plants and trees for their food and survival.

How can Trees harm us? How can the Peepal tree harm us or help ghosts in killing us? Trees have never harmed any living being and the Peepal tree is no different.

The only Superstition arising from Logic

The only age-old superstition which I follow is taking a bath after attending a funeral or visiting a room where the dead body of the deceased is kept. When a person dies, his body starts decomposing and this process of decay increases the bacteria and viruses on the deceased person’s dead body. These bacteria and viruses rapidly spread in the air and can infect us easily. Hence, taking a bath after attending or even performing a funeral of the deceased, is important for our own health and survival. This ritual has a scientific reason and so it is not a superstition.

We live in a tech-savvy world which has made advanced developments in Science, technology, and Robotics. We are applying the principles of Artificial Intelligence in many aspects of our life. Science always states facts and it has the ability to give accurate reasons for various phenomenon. Superstitions cannot challenge the field of Science which has done extensive research and puts forth facts based on Logic and Analysis.

Hence, let us shed off all our superstitions or superstitious beliefs which complicate our lives, plant wrong ideas, and instill terrible fears which create havoc in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. Superstitions kill our Logical thinking, make us practice Blind faith, and destroy our Reasoning ability and our ability to judge situations or persons.

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