Saturday, August 23, 2008

Don't drive Red or you will Die !!!

“Priest,it’s the lunar eclipse today evening.what should I do to dodge its impacts,” one male voice uttered on a leading news channel.The vista of the news channel was a priest sitting along with a spruce and snappy lady,the correspondent of the biggest farce I had ever seen.

“This lunar eclipse doesn’t bode auspicious for the human species,it brings with it sufferings for human beings,people who have their mars and Uranus at the nadir will be the worst effected. They will lose jobs,won’t get a baby boy and will have their marriages at stake”promulgated the priest who was donning more than a dozen beadings on his neck along with 3-4 different colors on his forehead.

Had that male voice not uttered him Priest,I would have assumed it as some live circus show or 'the great indian laughter show' on television with this person as the buffoon.But he was not a clown but a smart professional who is fooling naïve and unsophisticated people of my country.

“Priest,what should I do to evade this ominous tragic event,”mouthed the male voice again.
“Take 3 bowls of oil,see your face in each bowl at an interval of 1 hour and at the completion of 3 hours,put that oil on your handpump,”the priest instructed,as if he was the biggest heart specialist of the nation and have had many successful heart transplantation feathers in his cap.

With almost 20 live calls, a dozen commercial breaks and the priest getting a couple of lac rupees for these crap and vulgar suggestions,the show ended. But it left me pierced and penetrated.
Penetrated because on the weekend, I found that the Lunar eclipse show of that leading news channel topped the TRP list of all the shows of all news channels for that week.

I was still a wounded person,and one day walking on the roads of Bangalore(I like ice-cream,so was going to the famous cool-joint of jayanagar),I found a funky billboard on the side of the road.
“If you are jobless,don’t have a baby,want to go abroad or have any other problem,we have a guaranteed solution.The solution which hasn’t failed for years.contact us at 98xxxxxxxx,”the board read.

Now the wounded snake,lion and Ravi Agni are very dangerous.You shouldn’t try to try them,but this board tried.

“Zodiac consultants,”a sweet female voice said.
“I am facing so many grave problems,can I meet the priest,”I said.I just wanted to meet that priest and hurl out my entire frustration at him.On getting appointment of same evening,I reached that priest.

“Hmm,what day and time were you born,”asked the priest.He was a funky priest,dressed in costly suit,I guess he had his farcical business hugely prosperous.
“11th September,4:30 am,”I told any time.

After silence of a few minutes,he started:

“your moon and sun are at their nadir,”the priest expressed his concern.

“Moon is the only natural satellite of earth,the place where the man has already walked in july 1969.And sun is the fusion of hydrogen to helium,the centre of solar system around which all planets including earth rotate.How can they be at nadir or zenith,they are what they are.The same for all,”I thought but didn’t utter any word.

“your mars is very dangerous,”the priest said making his face very grim.
“Don’t drive Red or you will die,”the priest concluded.

“What you just said,Don’t drive Red or you will die,”I was an enraged bull.Taking his costly kurta from his neck in my fist,I shouted.Unawares of this reaction,he stood still
“Tell me,what’s the connection between red and death,”I shrieked my lungs out.
“I said tell me,”I shouted.The receptionist from outside came in hearing this voice,but dared not interfere
“What in the hell has time to do with job,babies or foreign trips.What has lunar eclipse to do with mars,Uranus you bastards,”I said gazing at the receptionist.Anticipating that she could be given a slap-kiss on her cheek any time,she ran out of scene.
I pushed him back on his posh chair and came out.I am sure he won’t amend his ways

Coming back to my house,after cooling down I sat to write this blog. I am thinking what makes these priests or consultants evolve these theories.And with my observation and analysis,what conclusion I reached is this:

Superstition and politics has a very close connection. The development of a nation is inversely proportional to the superstition. The more developed a nation,the more people are prosperous,the lesser the mars,Uranus thing. The poorer a nation,the less-confident it is.The less transformed and transmuted public and the more superstition.

The nation India which has 28 percent population living below poverty line, and 1/4th of nation’s population earning less than $0.40 per day(you read it right),how can superstition be eradicated?
The naïve and illiterate people think these planets as supernatural powers rather than as celestial bodies,the celestial bodies which are nothing but gas giants or smaller rocky terrestrials.

How can stones like ruby,sapphire help one crack IAS,GMAT or CAT et al? How will putting 3 bowls on a handpump help one take a job or get a baby boy? How would putting a couple of beans in the river help dodge the sinister? And how would a lunar eclipse where the sun comes in front of moon effect our lives?

But I won’t get many takers of my post. There would be people who will still consider these celestial bodies as supernatural,if this post hurts them,then yes this is my motive. And if they got hurted,then I confess my motive fructified. Fructified because this hurting would help them have a relook at their notion and convictions.To look at the other part of picture-the picture where we find our lives decided by ourselves,by our own decisions,by our own actions and the picture where planets say that they are fine where they are and that they don't keep any interest in involving themselves in human lives.

We won’t be able to eradicate superstition unless we eradicate poverty from our society.Poverty and joblessness diminish their confidence and willpower. And one can’t get his life transformed unless he regains that confidence,the belief in his own ability and the fire from within to attain it.

Interestingly, I have the Red car which I have been driving for last 2 years.So I stop my post here because I have to drive the same red car to the McDonald to eat my favorite McVeggie with extra-cheese :-)

22 comments:

Unknown said...

I think Superstitions and Religion both go hand in hand as every Religion is often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality. Because India is one of the most religious country [claimed by a lot of articles, especially from the west], it seems we have a lot of superstitions which are packed as "Religious Believes" before injecting into us since we are born.

Superstitions and Religious Believes are so tightly coupled that it becomes very easy for the priests to take advantage of these and make a fool out of the people. I would call this BUSINESS which obviously is NOT ETHICALLY RIGHT. But some people have the same opinion on Ambanis as well :-). My take really on this is that the person who goes to these priests for things which are as ludicrous as "Vashikaran" [Enticing a women ... never tried that] is the one who really is at fault. As long as Man would know an easy way of making money, he would make [some exceptions may give considerations to character/ethics etc] but there would be some who wouldnt.

Then comes the role of awareness and education on eradicating these things. Like you said "The more developed a nation,the more people are prosperous,the lesser the mars,Uranus thing. The poorer a nation,the less-confident it is."
But what would you do when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan gets married to a tree before tying a knot with Abhishek, better known as Amitabh's Son. These are the people who are educated and prosperous. What would teh country do when they owe all their prosperity to these religious practices and stones? What example will the country have?

But I would still say that the things are changing are there is more and more youth questioning these practices just like you did in your blog here.

Unknown said...

u have thrown light on another thing wich is crippling our society-superstitions and narrow-mindedness.good 1 indeed but a lot more xpected.wonder wat next from u.......

Unknown said...

I like your blog as it is based on a real Indian societal problem, Superstition that our society has been facing since many centuries. I think both public and priest are offenders who contribute towards this evil practice;however, general public should understand that priest earn his living through making a fool of them.
It will take time to change people's view point relating to this practice.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

i agree with your article..
I have seen people who didnt move out of their houses.. my friends also and all were watching this on TV...
hope that people will stop believing these superstitions.....

Anshul said...

Are you superstitious? There are some people who, whenever they spill salt at the table, are careful to throw some over their shoulder to keep off bad luck. For the same reason others do not walk under ladders (although this may have a practical application), do not start journeys on Friday the 13th, look for their future in tea leaves or on the palm of a hand. My aunt, whenever she ventured into the country, searched eagerly for a black and white cow lest some disaster should overtake her. As a child I can remember that it was considered bad luck to step on the lines between paving stones. Today, many rely on fortune telling or astrology star guides to plan, not only their day, but their whole future.

This latter group obviously take these predictions seriously, but the mildly superstitious - the throwing salt, Friday the 13th, black and white cow variety - perform these little idiotic acts not really believing that they have any foundation in truth. If itís all in fun then there is no harm done. And thatís the point. If they take it even half seriously and are careful never to do any of these ëunluckyí things, then I would have to wonder what kind of God they believe in.

I would have no faith in a God who, because I spilled some salt, would send upon me some dreadful trouble. Or would bring disaster upon me because I failed to spot a black and white cow in time or started a journey on Friday 13th. That kind of fear is not of my God. But we are told to fear God, fear Him but not to be afraid of Him. Is there a difference?

It is a sad commentary of life that so many people who are searching for true meaning are led, not to a loving heavenly Father, but instead to the occult, psychics and fortune tellers. Our weekly magazines and daily tabloids feed this void in their lives. As salt spillers, Friday travellers and line-steppers ad nauseam we have a responsibility to present the beautiful alternative.

Have a good week - God loves you and takes care of you.

KK said...

Superstitions are superstitions untill & unless it comes on your way. Hope God is listening me...

tinoz1980 said...

Superstitions have dual fold meanings ,one is that some of the beliefs serve a purpose which evolved because of some need or a purpose .For Example there is a belief that you should have bath once you visit the house of dead .Why did this come ?Once ,long time back most of the deaths occurred due to epidemic diseases .This was one of the reasons for such a belief .But I very much stand with you when it comes to saturn and Mars ruling our Fate :) .This happens because of the ignorance,stupidity and stubbornness of our people to hold to something which cannot be rationally explained .But let me tell you One thing Ravi,there is a science of Astrology which is very powerful ,but unfortunately we dont have the right people who knows it exactly .I completely deny the fact that,just because science cannot explain that doesn't mean that Astrology doesn't exist .There were great sages in our Indian History who did wonders ,yes ,still our science is not able to explain it .However the TV show which you mentioned and the fortune teller ,I think You were much more kind to him ,if it was me i would have banged him to death :) .GOD BLESS PAL :)

Unknown said...

There are certainly few things which seem to be superstitious, but have some practicality/scientific reason behind it, but I also agree there are some things which are irrelevant, its for the ppl to be aware of what is superstitious and what is not...

Unknown said...

Hmm..interesting

tarak said...

So true.. We won't be able to truly advance unless we let go of our superstitions

kk said...

Nice thoughts!

Unknown said...

I think, Superstition is the thing that our society can't overcome, it is very deeply rooted.I think its not effecting our society's poverty and joblessness as on the other side you can observe that the very much successful persons like Vijay MAllya Ambanis Tata and even in bollywood they go to priests frequently.
Rather than saying this we can say that Attitude is the main thing that is affecting our socity.

Ali said...

I am sorry but I have to disagree with you a bit. What you term superstition might actually be a belief system for somebody. It is only that you are using reason to deconstruct a whole value system. So what is wrong if somebody believes that the alignment of stars might bring negative consequences in life. Maybe it does bring negative consequences but we fail to see it because our of verification system (science) refuses to confirm something unless it is supported by empirical evidence....Secondly you should not have gotten so aggressive with that man :)...just my 2 cents

Jewelry Designer said...

People ought to give up blind faith and start thinking logically . Holding onto superstitions only make life more miserable

Unknown said...

first of all isn't each one of us superstitious.... it might be little things... like a lucky short or something... we hold onto our superstitions because it helps you be more confident about yourself or it gives you confidence to act... it gives you a feeling that you are in a safe zone in a weird way...
N u r right it is the bane of the society today
It will take a lot of work to get over such little things... but hey its never too late to start

Monica said...

very interesting...i feel like i have heard many different cultures having these same type of ideas

Unknown said...

superstition is a trait existing not only in india but all over the world.

when Nadal dribbles the tennis ball exactly seven times before serving out of sheer superstition, we smile. When he does that oh-so-horrible thing with his knee-length shorts before serving out of superstition, we dont squirm.
When Steve Waugh took his red handkerchief on the field without fail out of sheer superstition, we are perfectly happy with it.

So, it is a debate on the inherent nature of a human being to believe in signs, omens and superstitions rather than the excessive reliance of indians on it.

Alka said...

In a country where one has to fight it out for everything, including the basic necessities of life, these priests & predictors of 'future' flourish! Our society is adversely affected by the effect of illogical religious beliefs, social & psychological ideas & concepts. Everyday we encounter numerous situations like- cat crossing one's path, wearing of stones, doing 'upaya' for improving things, praying to God for fulfilment of a particular desire (marriage etc.), which are mostly (& sadly) ushered in by our elders. I believe everything had a logic but with time, we tend to add on newer ideas & also forget the logic behind it. Like it is said that fasting is good ( to please respective gods), but how many people know the logics behind it. The logics, as I understand, were that since ours was a poor country, people from other walks of life must try to help the underpreviledged by giving up one-time/day's food.
Look at the number of advertisements which offer sure-shot 'ilaaj' to have a baby boy. & to find solutions to extra-marital affair of your spouse, doing better in your work-field et al.
I agree with Munnabhai in Lage Raho Munnabhai, when in the end Circiut puts the 'Jyotishi' on gunpoint asking him to predict his own future! Simply Loved it!!

Unknown said...

Being Superstitious n believing or having faith in something is different.

To an extent there is a science behind Jotish vidya...but then it is foolish to follow it blindly n not believe in urself

wangshu said...

sometimes, it's hard to seperate superstitions and religion, to me, they are basiclly one thing. when the society developed to a certen level, people may need a some religion to peace their mind, nomatter they are rich or poor, educated or knowledgeless. this make sense to some points. and I think Superstitions and Religion will not die in any society, including those developed ones

H_Raja79 said...

Hi Ravi –

Quite interesting post here buddy. For me it was a different read. Since I am a Muslim my religious beliefs do not allow me to believe in the suppurations. I do understand your point and where you were coming from on this one and I totally agree with you that we can only achieve true success if we let go of all the superstitions hurdles coming our way

H_Raja79