Superstitions in the world and especially India
The wise Guru and the divine Cat.
Once upon a time there lived a Guru (teacher) who taught astronomy and mathematics. He had a pet cat in his house. The cat liked him a lot. So when the Guru conducted his classes on his favorite topics, the cat was right there. The tiny cat was very disturbing at it walked in between him and his distracted students. This happened almost everyday. The Guru was more annoyed when he discovered that many of his students found the cat more interesting than what was being taught.
When the Guru started a fresh batch, he told the students, "we are about to begin an important task but before that we need to do something. Please get be a thin rope". The students did as told. Then he told one of the students to carefully tie the cat to the bamboo pole using this rope. Once that was done the Guru said, "now we can start the class". Every day this was done so the cat never created any problem in the class.
After some years the aged Guru passed way. His best disciple Anantharaman took over as the new Guru. He wanted to continue in the footsteps of his Guru. So he said, "before we start the class we need to do something very important. We must tie a cat to he bamboo pole". Since they did not spot any cat nearby they searched all over the place. With great difficulty they found the cat and then the students tied it to the bamboo pole. Thereafter the class commenced.
After a few years the cat died. Anantharam was upset that from next day onwards he may not be able to do what his Guru did. So he went around searching for another cat and thank God he found one. Thus he ensured that the ritual of tying the cat to the bamboo pole continued.
In the 6th generation the then Guru wrote an elaborate treatise on the spiritual significance of tying a cat to a bamboo post before beginning the class. He even said that the cat has many divine qualities that helped keep the ghosts and evil spirits of ignorance away from the students. By the 10th generation other teaching centres adopted the same idea.
Whenever you try to decipher or understand the basis of any superstition there is no better story than the Guru and the divine cat.
Superstitions are for forever.
Do you think superstition is unique to ancient times? If you think so we have bad news for you. In modern times, more people indulge in superstitions than in ancient times. That is obvious because the number of superstitions increase with time. While old superstitions hardly die new ones are created.
To prove the point, let me pick on one of the most popular games of our times in this part of the world. In India the most important game is Cricket. Let us check out how many of the cricketers are superstitious. For example,
Sachin Tendulkar the legendary batsman, always wears his left pad first.
- K Srikkanth used to look up at the Sun, always wear the left pad first and always walked to the right of his partner while going to bat.
- Sourav Ganguly use to carry the photo of his Guru in his pocket while batting.
- Mohammad Azharuddin used to wear a tabeez around his neck and turn his head twice in a circular motion before taking strike.
- Mohinder Amarnath used to wear a red handkerchief while fielding.
- Sanath Jayasuriya (a Sri Lankan player) searches for something in his pocket while batting.
You noticed I picked up these example from the cricket world. In games where plenty of luck is involved people tend to invent their superstition.
So you thought that only Indians are superstitious? Well. That is a superstition!
Bjorn Borg always reverted to the traditional green pinstripe shirt for Wimbledon, no matter what other designs he may have worn during the season. Unlike the other athletes on this list, this Swedish tennis legend had superstitions that related to only one specific event—Wimbledon. Borg would always prepare for the annual tournament by growing a beard and wearing the same Fila shirt. These Borg believed helped him net an amazing 5 straight Wimbledon titles from 1976 through 1980. You may wonder why in that case he did not win the 6th time. That is because McEnroe had a more powerful superstition to help him win Borg!
Michael Jordan had a hidden superstition. While leading the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships during his legendary career, the five-time MVP wore his University of North Carolina shorts under his uniform in every game. In order to cover his lucky pair, Jordan began wearing longer shorts, which inspired a trend in the NBA those days.
Now comes the worst of all.
Kevin Rhomberghad had the compulsion to touch someone if they touched him. This was perhaps the most notorious superstition amongst sports people. When more people came to know of his “touching superstition”, life became hell for Kevin Rhomberg. Players would touch Rhomberg and run off sending him into a panic situation. For he believed that if was not able to touch them that brought him bad luck. In fact, an umpire once had to halt a game between New York and Cleveland, because Yankees players did not stop touching Rhomberg despite several warnings.
Now I will try to guess the reason on superstitions of India. I may be wrong. You may be right. It is anyone’s game now. After all there is nothing serious about superstitions.
Superstition No.1 : Lady Ghost Jingling anklets and jasmine flowers
Why are ghosts always ladies wearing jingling anklets and fragrant flowers
In South India (India) especially Tamil Nadu many people believe that the sound of anklets and smell of flowers is a sign that lady spirits are walking around. You may have seen this in some of the Tamil movies at least. Have you ever wondered of all things why are the Indian (especially south Indian) ghosts invariably female spirit walking around with jingling anklets and spreading the fragrance of jasmine flowers. Well here is the answer.
The first most important reason is that most men are obsessed with women. The enchanting ladies they say are haunting. Even after they pass away the haunting continues. The haunting may also be due to a different reason. The most common is when a man kills a woman his guilt will create the lady ghost. We call this hallucination. Macbeth in Shakespeare sees the ghost of Banquo because he has ordered the murder of Banquo. Most of the females are physically weaker than men and sometimes they are murdered for various reasons. So men always tend to hallucinate that the ghost of the lady has come back to kill them. This is natures way of punishing the murderer.
For thousands of years women from India loved to wear anklets that made an enchanting sound with every move they made. This stays in the mind of the man especially her lover or husband. After the lady had passed away they seem to hear the sound of anklets and also catch the fragrance of Jasmine flowers from soul memory.
Why do women wear these jingling anklets. The men must have found out a way to GPS track their women. Get them to wear the anklets with the small bells. So they will know when they are coming and going. Men are suspicious creatures as well.
In case women had to go out in the night to meet another man the sound of anklets were heard by others. When people started talking about the sound they heard, those who wanted to keep it a a secret used to save themselves by saying that it was surely the work of ghosts. In case women wanted to go out due to nature’s call because those days the bedrooms had no attached restrooms the story of the ghosts kept the men away so that the ladies were safe. Women who wanted to scare the men around so that they may do in total secrecy what they wanted found the ghost story highly supportive. The frightened men did not even get up from their bed to see who was walking. In fact many pulled up the bedsheet over their head. Fear is the key.
Sometimes women spread this story of lady ghosts that made the sound of anklets so that if men asked them “did you go out”? and the answer was “No. It must have been a lady ghost”. Sometimes the man who was visited by the woman at night, also said the same thing, “No lady came here. It must have been a lady ghost”.
Otherwise of all things why should ghosts be only a lady with jingling anklets and fragrant flowers?
Superstition No.2
Do not sit on the threshold of the house. It brings you bad luck.
The threshold is the junction of the inside and the outside of a home those days. Today it is the gate on the compound wall of your home. Those days the junction of everything was considered as bad luck. In fact it is.
Logically speaking all junctions are bad. For example, those with eye problem have trouble adjusting their vision at dawn and dusk which is why there are more road accidents during these times. When a political party end their rule and a new one takes over there is so much tension and uncertainty. On the border of 2 nations there is always fear and violence. People argue in games whether the ball or shuttle fell inside or outside the line.
Lord Narasimha (the 4th Avtar of Lord Mahavishnu) is believed to have killed the demon Narakasura on the threshold at twilight hour. The demon had a boon that made him invincible out side of a house or inside of a house. He had several similar boons like he was invincible in daytime and night time. So the Lord killed him during the twilight time which neither night nor day.
When you sit on the threshold you stop others from moving in and out and they may stamp you etc. An angry person may kick you because you are standing in the way.
Moreover if you sit on the threshold the inmates cannot lock the house and the house is exposed to thieves. To lock the house they had to tell the obstructing person to move out of the threshold. Also you may keep your hand near the hinges and the fingers may get crushed between the doors if the wind blows and closes the door.
So why not avoid sitting on the threshold? For people who did not listen to good advice a superstition is necessary.
Superstition No.3
An eclipse happen when a snake called Rahu swallows up the Sun or the Moon.
Did you know that the ancient Astrologers and Astronomers of India had perfect knowledge of the eclipses long time before the western scientists began to understand our solar system and eclipses . The sages (you may call them scientists if you want to) knew all about the 2 shadows in the sky (actually the North Node and the South Node), called Rahu and Ketu and they knew where they lurk in the space between the Moon and the Earth and the Earth and the Sun without actually using Trigonometry or Calculus..
The eclipses are directly involved with Rahu and Ketu. They are 180 degrees opposite to each other in the sky. When Sun and the Moon come on to the same axis that Rahu and Ketu occupy in the horoscope you have an eclipse.
The ancient masters knew that the eclipses were harmful to the eye sight and in general to the human body and digestion. They did not want the people to come out. So they decided to frighten the common man by telling them the story of a snake. Snakes are always scary. Once the people believed in the story it was less likely that they would want to see the dreadful snake swallowing the Sun or the Moon in the sky. They thought the snake must be big and really powerful to swallow the Sun or the Moon. Even a small snake can hurt a Man. Think of snake that is capable of swallowing the Sun!
Today people get the news of the harmful effects of eclipses through TV and Media. Those days a story was necessary. Fear was the only key those days.
Moreover the astronomical facts were difficult to be understood by the commoners. That is why even though the wise men of India knew the truth they did not inform (or found it difficult to inform) the common man.
The hare and tortoise can never speak. Yet we have the story of the hare and tortoise conducting a race but we know the moral is worth more than whether a hare and tortoise can do such things. A lie told for a good purpose is better than a truth told for a bad purpose.
Superstition No.4
3 people together should not go out on a journey to a distant land.
Today many people living in India especially Tamilnadu always believe that if 3 people go on a long trip they are bound to get into road accidents or something as grave as that. Have you ever thought where from came the 3 in this superstition?
The 3 people actually refers to a grandfather, father and son. The idea was these 3 people should not together go on a long distance journey. If all the 3 go out on a long distance journey and if they die on the way that will naturally bring maximum sorrow to the family. That particular lineage is likley to be destroyed or the loss will be unbearable. If the son did not go out with the other 2, then at least he is there to continue the lineage or he may have taken care of the remaining family members. If the father did not go on the trip he still retains the chance of begetting another son. The prime objective of marriage is continuation of the lineage. The 3 people may also be a Father, Mother and Son and if they meet with an accident and die while on a long distance journey the children left behind will be in great trouble or the entire family is destroyed.
Moreover 3 people are usually known to quarrel. Relationship happens only between 2 people because they need each other. The 3rd person may cause an argument. One of the 3 people can dare to kill the 3rd person for gain and the remaining 2 may share the profits of the crime. The 3rd person is usually dispensable in most relationship. Group-ism, mutiny, coup and all such uprisings happen with 3 or more people and rarely with 2 people.
In a triangle relationship of love and hate, the 3rd person (if they are all traveling) may be the problem or the victim. In such relationship the chances for criminal activity is higher. They say 3 is a crowd but 2 is company. Relationship psychologists and sociologists often refer to this dynamic using the concept of "triadic instability.
Today in India, when 3 people begin on a journey those who believe in this superstition without knowing why put a stone inside the car and say that the 4th person is the stone . This way there is no need to be afraid of the 3 people problem. Such an act is the real superstition because it defeats the logic behind the creation of this superstition.
Superstition No.5
Sneezing is inauspicious.
A sneeze is like a machine gun that fires millions of bacterias in the air from the nostrils. This was known by the ancient masters of India.
So they said that sneezing is inauspicious. If a person believed that statement then he or she will silence the sneeze by using a cloth. That way the infection will not spread from one person to another. Nobody wants others to tell them that they are doing something inauspicious.
If the bacterias spread then more people will fall sick and that is truly inauspicious. So why not believe it is inauspicious and cover it up? Not the superstition but the nose.
Superstition No.6
When someone is eating, a person should not go out of the house.
How did this superstition evolve. Has it got some meaning?
One reason may because the person leaving the house may actually be stealing something because others are busy having their food. The person is taking his chance to leave the house as others are eating. Just to ensure nothing of that sort is happening the person leaving is asked to wait by quoting the superstition. Despite this request if the person goes out of the house may be something is really wrong.
2nd reason may be that the person(s) eating need to talk to the person who is leaving.
3rd reason is that the person leaving may perhaps be angry with the rest of the people. We may easily infer that the person leaving has not been invited to share the lunch.
Another reason may be simply “what’s the hurry?” and they express it as “do you know a person should not leave the house when the inmates are having their food”?
5th reason may be that the person leaving may have put some poison in the food that is being consumed. That may be perhaps why he is not having the food along with the inmates.
Superstition No.7
Evil Eye. (In Hindi Buri Nazar)
The evil eye is a traditional belief that an envious or malicious look from someone can cause harm, illness, or misfortune to the person it is directed at. In India and elsewhere people believe that something unlucky has happened to them only because of Evil Eye (Nazar). Once the evil eye has befallen on the person the person becomes sick, or falls down, meets with an accident, glass breaks in the house etc. Those who believe in Evil Eye is certain that almost anything that happens to a rich man or a successful person or a handsome actor is usually a result of evil eye according to the person who got hurt by evil eye.
How does Evil Eye work?
To be completed ......
By
Guruji Dr E K Dhilip Kumar
Email : ekdhilipkumar@gmail.com
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