Why are we so gullible, and superstious?

[prasad1]

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Video | Devotees At Banke Bihari Temple Drink AC Water Believing It To Be 'Charan Amrit'

At Mathura's revered Banke Bihari Mandir, a strange scene unfolded as devotees eagerly queued to collect and drink water dripping from an elephant sculpture, believing it to be 'Charan Amrit' – sacred water from Lord Krishna's feet. Viral footage reveals devotees reverently gathering and sipping...

www.ndtv.com

 

[praveen]

When I read this news, I was shocked. Everyone is desperate for solutions minus the hard work. That's what came to my mind immediately.

Rather than putting the faith in us and doing stuff, most folks want to offload that to someone or something.

 

[a-TB]

When I read this news, I was shocked. Everyone is desperate for solutions minus the hard work. That's what came to my mind immediately.

Rather than putting the faith in us and doing stuff, most folks want to offload that to someone or something.

what is Hinduism today? It seem to be free for all. The practices are largely based on superstitions and unfounded beliefs. Someone starts something and calls it a tradition and people follow. Then call this shastra or sanatana dharma (eternal dharma). Even temple initiation of a deity called agama shastra are only few hundred years old. Most practices are less than few decades old. There is even more distortions in what is called spiritual texts. Laziness not to learn properly permeates there also. Hinduism is in the grip of this confusion. It is further affected divisive practices and caste hierarchies,

 

[a-TB]

The wake up call was by Swami Vivekananda about 125 years ago or so . It is not heeded yet. The issue is not with original shastras. It is in the practices and in inauthentic books

 

[sravna]

Superstition makes bad sense only when undue merit is given to Science. Science explains physical laws somewhat well. But it's scope stops there. It has no authority or knowledge to call something like personal and social beliefs wrong. Anything not upheld by or against the grain of Science is called superstition.

People should understand the physical and mental are two different territories . One cannot prevail over the other but only try to synchronize. If Science does that by increasing its scope I will begin to have more respect for Science.

 

[a-TB]

Witch Hunts Today: Abuse of Women, Superstition and Murder Collide in India

More than 2,500 people have died because failed development in villages heightens gender inequality and tensions, experts say

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[a-TB]

Superstitions can be very harmful. Genius of Indian thinkers more than several hundred years ago is that there were no conflicts between philosophy ( Advita Vedanta) , religious practices based on Vedic rituals , fundamental sciences and Puranic stories that taught deep truths through stories. Contrast this with Europe and other nations during that time. The church was dead against sciences and used its power to excommunicate the likes of Galileo.

Swami Vivekananda was called an instinctive scientist. His letters written are published and his collected works of talks are available. He is the first one to claim that Energy and mass are of same reality. He shared his findings with Tesla who used to attend his Satsang. Before the next visit to USA swami Vivekananda wrote that he is anxious to learn the findings of his friend Tesla for Tesla may have proved the equivalence. I am paraphrasing here. But all these communications are verifiable and I have checked them. Now Tesla did not succeed due to wrong assumptions but shared his attempts with Einstein.

Few years after swami Vivekananda left his mortal abode Einstein published his results in 1905. Of course Einstein discovered independently

In Chandogya Upanishad father of Svethaketu teaches using scientific experiments that are very advanced several thousands of years ago

Europe and many parts the world, for long time, were dominated by superstitions and faith that has no basis. They were enemies of learning.

Today India has abandoned its roots of a knowledge society. We have Tamasic gurus who have not studied basics of Sanskrit or any of the teaching scriptures but busy preaching.

Someone told me that if you fail school two careers await you in India. One is to be politician and the other to become a guru

The society is plunged down by its enmity to proper effort and to learning . New superstitions are created every day.

The scientific American article above is but one example of harmful superstitions.

Despite this the new generation is revolting the nonsense. The entirety of caste hierarchy and hatred to others including knowledge is a sad chapter but there is hope.

Even here in this forum , it is hard to debate with objectivity. Because those that are superstitious and ignorant of Vedanta or basic sciences do not know they are ignorant

I saw laymen book by a leading theoretical physicist that time is an illusion. Nobel prize for physics a few years was given to quantum entanglement which imply unreality of space

Anyway let us hope India thrives once again in knowledge economy away from superstitions

 

[sravna]

I am not against reason. But taken to its extreme it can be as harmful as something totally without reason. Many people's and society's beliefs have an intuitive basis and a basis of faith. The capabilities of the human brain are truly amazing. Ascribing to it and celebrating the logical capabilities of it is doing little justice to its true capabilities. As long as people keep their beliefs to themselves or do not harm others in any way with those beliefs it is unjustified to ask them not to have such beliefs. Science itself is something that is evolving . What was considered truth 500 years ago by science may be dismissed now as false. It cannot be a definitive authority at any point. But as long as it serves a purpose it has to be pursued.

Similarly what are considered superstitions may have a purpose. It can be soothing to people at a time of difficulty or a crisis, something like a placebo effect. Some beliefs may actually have a logical basis too. The way to address this is not to ask people to abandon all beliefs that go against science but to have a right mix of rationality and faith and not to abandon rationality altogether.