Well..If great leaders/winners/conquerors were/are superstitious. We have all the right to be. Dont we??
I have often met people who claim that they aren't superstitious, I buy that fact. BUT, i am yet to meet a person who didn't fall prey to superstition even once in life. Some may mask it under garb of bad omen, luck or timing..but we all are superstitious in some way or the other.
Wikipedia defines superstition as "a credulous belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge". I agree there is no reason for being superstitious when someone calls out your name when you are leaving or when a black cat crosses our way when we are set out for some significant task.
I don't bracket myself into general superstitious lot but at times, I can be very very superstitious. My biggest superstition is with clothes. Color red to begin with is a big no-no for me. Somehow, red always spells trouble for me. Then if a new footwear or outfit means a bad day at office, it never sees the light of day for months rather years to be more precise.
Recently, all newspapers were inundated with myriad superstitions related to cricketers and supporters alike. And in case, a superstition comes true, it carries a stigma with it forever. Also, there are many who get an opportunity to rhyme " I told you so". And superstitions are not exactly new age brainwave, there have been instances of superstition galore from time immemorial.
I can list (Not in order of frequency) some of the most common superstitions:
1. Number 13 - Considered very unlucky..To the extent that many people from Victorian times don't have a house number 13. In my city, Chandigarh (one of the most and only planned city in country), there is no sector 13.
2. Black Cats bring bad luck - Cats have nine lives and cats spell evil/doom.
3. Touch Wood - Touching a wood, enhances chances of luck. Wood has always been considered sacred, pious and a route to reach God.
4. Call out from Back - Never to venture out, if you are heading for an important task and someone calls out from back. Same is the superstition associated with Sneezing
5. Twitching Left eye or Shaking Legs - Both are harbingers of bad omen and luck for business.
Well, if i start listing general as well my own personal superstitions, i will never be able to finish this blog. I guess, all of us in this crazy world are "LIVIN LA VIDA LOCA"; no matter what age, century we fall in, we will always have some sort of belief or superstition.
We will always have superstitions and there is no harm in having one. Some are good like touch wood, lucky mascots etc but some are evil like witchcraft, female oppression etc. If a superstition does wonders, why should we shy away from it? If a superstition saves our day, why should we abhor it? Whereas, if a superstition contrasts with our lifestyle, with our progress, with our environment and our society at large, there is no point of carrying on with such regressive notions.
However, what I want all of us to ponder at the end of my blog is: Is superstition now a way of life with me and hampering my growth (personal/professional/societal? or Is it just a belief that guides/protects me?
