1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

Warding Off The Evil Eye

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Balajee, Oct 9, 2019.

  1. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    5,504
    Likes Received:
    4,480
    Trophy Points:
    338
    Gender:
    Male
    Agathinai, my definition of superstition is quite simple. Belief in anything that has not been proved is superstition. That makes religion and superstition conjoined twins. But though an unabashed unbeliever I have enough knowledge of cultural history of mankind to know the positive contribution of religion to cultural enrichment, in the fields of art, architecture, music, literature etc/ After all without religion you cannot visualize the Sistine Chapel, Rome's St.Peter's. , hanjavur Brihadeeswara tenmple, Bach's St.Mathew Passion, Handel's Messaiah, Krithis of Tyagaraja, Dikshitar etc. But I also believe religion has exhausted its creative energy and only its twin superstition is alive and kicking.
     
  2. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    5,504
    Likes Received:
    4,480
    Trophy Points:
    338
    Gender:
    Male
    Haha when the shop keeper had an affair with the woma n in burkha, I am sure he didn't ignore the rest of the space. Or did he stand hypnotized by the eyes all the timer?
     
  3. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    17,880
    Likes Received:
    25,952
    Trophy Points:
    590
    Gender:
    Female
    Hi Balajee,

    I do not believe that such rituals performed out of superstitious beliefs really change anything. Lemons, mirchi, vrats, poojas, black magic are all performed to satisfy an emotional need of the individual doing it. If lemons and mirchis could ward off the evil eye, there would have been no accidents in India. If vrats and wearing sindoor, mangalsootra and bindi could protect the men in this country, there would be no widows in this country and no sister would lose a brother. If people for whom no death ceremonies are performed could not get liberated, only Indians with sons would be liberated. So that is what it is. The video I have shared below is proof enough for it. Sunita Williams did not return safely to earth.

    Having said this, does it harm anyone else? Did that superstitious ritual performed for that Rafele hurt anybody? No. Did people mock and poke fun at the ritual conducted in the following video? No. Then what is the problem with this ritual having been performed for the Rafele? Don't we do that for any new vehicle we buy? You admit you did to keep the peace. Which was really good of you considering how much you so loathe such rituals. Don't we do a pooja for all our equipments on Saraswati pooja day? So what is so deplorable about this? OK, it is a Hindu ritual. The West has all along poked fun at our rituals. Let them get used to it. Nobody is asking them to do it. Why do we have to be apologetic or ashamed or poke fun at any of our own traditions? We are not forcing anybody to follow them. Nobody is forcing us to follow them either.

    Speaking for myself, I do not do any poojas. I don't stop others from doing whatever they want to do either. To each one his/her own. In fact all the stuff required for a pooja is available in the house for anyone who wants to do one, PROVIDED their pooja is restricted to the area where the Gods are kept and there is nothing done that disrupts the routine of others who do not want to be part of the rituals. As for my red car which I had written about, we squashed a poor lemon under the wheel and did aarti - for whom? For the people in the house who support my existence - Lady Anatole, Woman Friday and the guy in the building who cleans our car. They did the aarti. They were happy. Did it hurt me? Apparently not, considering I am still sitting here and writing this. It is a different matter that I did bend a fender and eventually despite having learned to drive quite well had to stop because I suffer from frequent muscle cramps which I shall not allow to short circuit somebody else's life on the roads.

     
    startinganew and joylokhi like this.
  4. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,478
    Likes Received:
    30,213
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Is that a swastik? Looked more like the Om symbol. Asking for my gk (general knowledge). Does not matter to the discussion.

    ======
    I don't get how lemons/swastik/Om/coconuts can be viewed as "OK" in any way. The Rafale is bought using taxpayer money? Then, how can the celebration to mark its procurement or inauguration follow the rituals that are widely associated with one religion? That no one has strongly raised objections, or that non-Hindu people in the group that oversaw the purchase did not care is immaterial. In a country where religious sentiment is so strong and can cause riots whose impact lasts for generations, celebrations to mark govt. achievements have to be carefully scrutinized. "I am fine with the rituals" or "I am fine with this (lemons), not that (swastika, Om)" is silly. That people are quiet does not mean they don't resent it. Such small things accumulate over time and lead to bigger troubles. What if another religion's people start to say they want to sacrifice an animal next to the Rafale to mark such occasions? One man's lemon or coconut can be another's goat [no pun intended].

    It is easy to consider what has been happening for long as normal. Years ago, when Bengaluru's Namma Metro was inaugurated, we had coconuts offered/broken before the first run.
    cm.jpg
    Source

    We like to celebrate and there should be some ronak-shonak (merriness) to mark such occasions of national pride. But there are ways to celebrate that are inclusive. Like the ones we have before sporting events like the Olympics or the Asiad. Or, for example, lighting a lamp, which is a more universal mark of solemn celebration. Get a lamp thingie with multiple lamps. Give a candle to each V.I.P. Like this:

    lamp.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2019
    Viswamitra, Agathinai and Vaikuntha like this.
  5. Amulet

    Amulet IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,147
    Likes Received:
    5,088
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Female
    We must adapt this practice on Finest Post results for each month.
    The computer has one of these that can be applied on the announcement, and this black dot can also be overimposed on the red patch under the winning member's name. The winning member may stomp on lemons in her own kitchen.
     
    Viswamitra and satchitananda like this.
  6. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    13,364
    Likes Received:
    24,099
    Trophy Points:
    538
    Gender:
    Male
  7. kaluputti

    kaluputti Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,147
    Likes Received:
    563
    Trophy Points:
    208
    Gender:
    Female
    Do we say anything about starting any function, govt or anywhere, by lighting a lamp, I mean kuthuvilakku?
     
  8. kaluputti

    kaluputti Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,147
    Likes Received:
    563
    Trophy Points:
    208
    Gender:
    Female
    Our ancient sages and rishis having questioned about their very existance, of jiva, jagat and Iswara had found the truth that everything is iswara. Seeing iswara everywhere brings in respect, reverance and love towards all living and nonliving entity. Our own Bagavad Gita explains this in viboodhi yogam, ch. 10.Our culture goess beyond all borders as viswa kudumbakam.

    We see the poor illiterate boatwallah of Kasi dipping his rupee that he got as the fee for a boat ride, into the ganges as an offerring for the Ganga Ma before using it. We even consider our coutry as'mother' ,loving,nourishing and forgiving mother. We see the .rich man of down south ,offering huge amount of wealth into the temple hundi, a taxiwalla praying before starting his duty, all this can seem meaningless to some. But notwithstanding the fact that they have become only hollow rituals, a must for many Hindus, to reinforce that we have to be humble and true to ourselves to be answerable to the all knowing, all powerful and all pervading god. Infact 95 % of the people around the world have their own ritualsm beliefs and customs.whether they believe in a god.

    centuriess of invasions and occupation has taken a toll on our minds, so deep that we are ashamed of observing our own customs or whatever in front of others especially those who do not belong to our culture and customs..it has become a trend to mock at our own, now in social media to show our patriotism to the whole world...wonderful! This is the very reason occupation happened by diving people.we want to 'belong' elsewhere and want to prove that too .. Also we embrace 'cutting ribbon' or 'cake' or rather we feel proud and elated that we belong to the 'cultured' class. As teens we favor night bars & discos (though as parents )we don't. At least Let us allow those who we have the guts to stand up themselves.

    Our responsibility as human beings starts first from ourselves, then to our family,society, country & the world in that order. Let us prioritize properly between the last two.Whether we believe in something or not, let us not mock at our own, but respect others' sentiments.
     
    Angel121 likes this.
  9. Amulet

    Amulet IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    3,147
    Likes Received:
    5,088
    Trophy Points:
    408
    Gender:
    Female

Share This Page