Superstition and the modern mind
No I am not talking about the Hindus-invented-it-all brigade. That school of thought which says that Hindus invented everything from space ships to the numeral zero, from transplant of fetus’ to plastic surgery is on a self-aggrandizement trip. They’re not superstitious, they just indulge in wishful thinking.
I am talking about the eager brigade that wants to collect superstitions.
I don’t speak during rahu kalam, says one.
Really? says the other, I don’t travel south. If I have to go southward, I’ll first go west and then make a turn.
I don’t eat meat on certain days because they belong to the Lord says the third.
Another pipes up that she never cooks during her periods because it can infect the food.
The eagerness with which all these superstitions are shared make me smile. I put it down to quirks but then I learn from Facebook that one should not get hair cut during periods, the body is weak, hair limpy. (sic) And 80% of those who bathe during the first few days while menstruating will die later on during delivery.
I feel compelled to debunk some beliefs so I say, “How do you know what time is rahu kalam? and Why?”
“From the internet of course, and no one should not speak during rahu kalam because the shaitan enters the mouth, causes the person to say all sorts of things that make trouble.”
At the risk of sounding like a nerd I say “You’re falling into a trap. Fear is to be avoided, all these superstitions lead to fear. The name Satan is derived from an older word ‘Shaitan’, which is still used within Islam. It’s original meaning is ‘the serpent within’. When a person lives a life led by fear a part of the brain called the Amygdala hijacks the whole brain. This part of the brain is the reptilian portion and as such knows nothing other than survive at all costs. It is completely incapable of empathy or any other human emotion and is absolutely selfish. When a person is in the grip of Amygdala hijack they in effect become ruled by ‘the serpent within’ and for all intents and purposes become Satan. You know that we have a part reptilian and part mammalian brain, right?”
Wrong …
Eyes glaze over, there is a moment of silence. One of them says, “Which website gives you the rahu kalam?”
Notes are exchanged, along with superstitions. I am warned of all sorts of loss of health and wealth if I don’t follow certain rituals. I try to accept all such advise with equanimity,(they mean well) but the mind still wonders.
For the first time in centuries information is free. It is not the property of a privileged few. We just need to google everything. We live in the age of internet, science and medicine are making progress every day. We live in the age of new discoveries, most of which are beneficial to mankind.
By rights everyone should be rational and should debunk superstitions, right?
Wrong …
We use the internet to learn more superstitious rituals. We collect them and share them on whatsapp and FB.
We fear …
We fear knowledge
We burn libraries, blow up the Bamiyan Budhas, do everything to suppress knowledge.
We fear…
We fear food,
The slimming industry is a multi dollar one. It has put out so many confusing half truths about food.
We fear vaccines …
Our babies die. Our brain shuts down when a doctor tells us we have a health problem. We kneel in front of that human and accept blindly what he/she tells us. We make a deity out of the doctor. We could google our condition but no, we are willing to be scammed. This happens so often.
We fear the world
The religious industry benefits from it.
We fear growing old
The beauty industry laughs all the way to the bank.
May be we should still wear skins, carry clubs to brain our prey, live in caves. And be deeply suspicious of fire. We should see Gods in thunder and lightning, in sea storms. Our reptilian brain does hold sway, the serpent within can understand fear and loathing, not tolerance and understanding.
Here is a gem that was sent to me on FB
Yes we fear half of the human populations and we will suppress it.
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