Popular Superstitions Essay

POPULAR INDIAN SUPERSTITIONS

 Superstitions are beliefs which are irrational and unscientific . Man has so many beliefs which are nothing but superstitions . These are relics of the ancient times when people were uncivilized and ignorance prevailed among men . They felt awe in the presence of mysterious and mighty forces of Nature and they worshipped all those things which were greater and stronger than themselves . Whenever they found anything happening in Nature , they tried to give some explanation for it . This explanation was NOT on reasoning and naturally this led to blind faith and superstitions , People had many blind beliefs out of fear or ignorance . Here we see that superstitions are as old as man himself , it is said that ignorance and superstition go hand in hand . Illiterate and educated people are not free from superstitions . All over Europe number 13 is believed ignorant people are certainly more superstitious than the educated ones . 

 But even based to be an unlucky number . In ancient times and even in the Middle Ages old superstitions had a strong hold on the primitive superstitions was , in fact , one big deception . Whatever may be the origin of minds of the people . They dared not go against false beliefs . Much of the superstitions , ignorance and reverence of traditions are mainly responsible for keeping tensions give rise to imaginary worries . There are many superstitions of the month of our Vikram era If the first day is lucky , the e lucky . If the first day is full , the whole month will be dull them alive  People do not spend money on that day for fear that they will have to spend money throughout the month . With the progress of science , superstitions have grown less but they still linger .

 There are some superstitions connected with the cat and the dog . A cat is believed to be the signal of danger and unpleasant happenings . If a cat crosses our way , it is unlucky and if you meet a black dog , it is a sign of luck and success . Similarly , throbbing of the right t eye of a man is lucky but throbbing of the left eye is unlucky . In the case of women , it is the other way round . Itching of the left palm indicates expenditure . Sneezing once means failure , but sneezing twice is harmless . When you sneeze it means some near and dear one is remembering you . Belief in superstitions has given rise to many silly and ridiculous practices . Women put some black mark on the face of a child to protect him from the evil eyes . For the sake of happiness and prosperity many people are seen throwing bits of thread at the new moon . The s sight of a monkey , a cat or a Brahman early in the morning is considered unlucky . One is not expected to leave the house when someone sneezes . The sight of a sweeper or a corpse is a sure indication of success . Superstitions vary in their significance in different parts of India . The sight of a barb or a cobbler is regarded as auspicious in U.P. but not in Punjab . On the other hand , the encounter with a sweeper is good in in the Punjab , but very bad in U.P. The sight of a Brahman does not bring ill luck in the South as it does in the North . There are some superstitions which are common all over the world . The cries of certain birds like owls and ravens are considered ill omens all all over the world . It is universally believed that when comets are seen , some misfortune is sure to happen . On Tuesday people do not go for a haircut . 

People avoid medicine . A seriously ill patient is not taken to the doctor on Thursday . Students think it lucky if some drops of ink fall on their clothes . Women do not wash their hair on Thursday and Saturday . Sunday is is thought to be good for wearing gold . People wear different types of stones for the sake of good luck and fortune . On Thursday admission in educational institutions is very heavy . In case of droughts and famines , huge sums are spent on feeding Brahmins All these foolish practices are resorted to , though there is no explanation for them . Fear of misfortune or expectation of good fortune makes us believe the superstitions . Superstitions do us a us a great harm . They hinder our power of judgement and cripple our power of spirit . They destroy self - confidence and en in daily fear of bad omens . He waits for a owner of reasoning .

 They are a great obstacle in the development and growth of our encourage fatalism . Superstitions burden and superstitious man lives weaken the mind . A lucky sign before he starts doing something . Many men waste their time and energy in making calculations of lucky and unlucky days . Thus superstitions stand in the way of progress . They have done more harm than good . Of course , superstitions have gone deep into our blood , but we must try to get rid of them . We should have a rational and scientific attitude towards life .