“Superstition is the religion of the weak minds”
- Edmund Burke
In the ancient days, without science to depend upon, people had to find explanation for various acts of nature they could not explain. That is when the supernatural came into being. People wanted to know why natural phenomonen occurred, too much rain, too little rain, too hot, too cold. Some people purporting to be wise men blamed certain events for it. The people of the tribe were neglecting the gods who controlled nature, which angered them. So people would get together to play on their drums, offer up sacrifices and believe that it would better their situation. It was simply the beginning of man’s effort to find out what triggered off certain events.
As the world progressed, people with inquiring minds gave better answers to these questions. But in corner of people’s minds the old theories persisted and they continued with the old superstitions rather than risk courting bad luck If someone sneezes when you are about to set off, it is not a huge loss if you sit down for 5 minutes to rest your mother’s anxiety. Also if your work doesn’t get done, it is easy to blame the poor cat that crossed your path. It could even be some inauspicous person (anyone you don’t like) who stepped into your way, calling out your name just when you were about to leave.
Evil eye is another of the great superstitions with plenty to offer. As soon as a child is born, a black thread is tied to a baby’s arm to ward off the evil spirits. We all know that the child is vulnerable enough to the bacteria floating around in the air and needs extra help in surviving the adoring (jealous?) looks other women give him. In fact some people are so touchy about the babies being praised, that it is hard to say anything positive about the child at all. The safest comment seems to be – ‘looks like his papa or mummy’. You are not supposed to say anything about the baby’s colour, growth, smile and health. That covers almost everything. The kala tika (black mark) to ward off the bad luck could start from the cradle and persist to your pregnancy (if you are a woman). Some people will delibrately say nothing about the health of a pregnant lady to avoid accusations of the evil eye.
Thursday and Tuesday are auspicious days and you will find people avoiding eggs or non-vegetarian foods. You are supposed to wear yellow or red colours to augment your power. Which brings me to the auspicious days to wear new clothes. That should be done on Mondays or Wednesdays. Although it is easy to spot the logic behind Tuesday vegetarianism (the day is supposed to be dedicated to Lord Hanuman- who was a vegetarian), I can’t think of any reason that justifies wearing new clothes on certain days.
But these are ordinary people who would rather not take chances. One suspects that these little superstitions perhaps even adds spice to their lives. But what of the mighty kings? Even Julius Ceaser had a soothsayer in his court who regularly passed on advice about auspicious times. His death was ascribed to his refusal to listen to his wife and his soothsayer about avoiding activity on the “Ides of March”. Even now the Politicians, industrialists and even the movie stars all listen to some astrologer who advises them on the right time to do things. Whether it has the desired effect or not is debatable. But one supposes that dependancy on superstition is a kind of an addiction. People just can’t do without it.
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