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.

 

[PRVSIYER]

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,

We have our sutras and dharmasastras to distinguish between what is dharma and what is not dharma. Unless we do not consider God or religion as superstitions, these sastras are the authorities for various practices.

 

[a-TB]

We have our sutras and dharmasastras to distinguish between what is dharma and what is not dharma. Unless we do not consider God or religion as superstitions, these sastras are the authorities for various practices.

What sutras and dharmashastras guide the actions noted in opening post and post number 6

If those are viewed as isolated events, what sutras and dharmashastras do you consult to do what actions or rituals? And for what purpose? How many have a book of these kind


Are you referring to Jaimini Maharishi’s dharma sutras ? Or Patanji yoga sutras ? Or Badarayana’s Brahma sutras. Similarly there are lots of shastras, Smruthis, Puranas, and two epics. There anre varthikas and Bhashya. Enormous number of slokas. Many of these project contradictory points. Some of these are divisive. Most do not know even the names of these works.

Daily life is guided by what of these scriptures? Chanting without knowing Sanskrit and meanings?

Yes there are Panini sutras, Ashtadhysyi or Laghu Siddhanta Kiumudhi? But how many have background to know what is meant by recited verses after studying these texts

The religions of Hinduism have become a collection of superstitions, baseless traditions , modern Puranas without purport and rituals with little basis in Vedas.

God is a term that is an overloaded term. Without knowing who one is how is it possible to talk about one’s God. New gods are added to our pantheons of gods. There is a temple of a form which is half Ganesha and half Hanuman. Oh, by the way Hanuman has a vahana and it is a camel it seems. Who makes up these things.

Anyway the point here is to talk about specifics. Generally speaking ‘it is all in our Shastras’ itself is an unfounded belief unless supported by specifics

 

[sravna]

There is so much urge to point out others' purported ignorance and purported irrationality than offering constructive suggestions or highlighting positive aspects also. This also with reference to those in India and in a veiled way all that are connected with India. This has been systematically going on through some members.

 

[renuka]

Its best we let people follow their own way of thinking if it is not harmful to self or others.
Our intellect isnt always our best judge.

 

[renuka]

There is so much urge to point out others' purported ignorance and purported irrationality than offering constructive suggestions or highlighting positive aspects also. This also with reference to those in India and in a veiled way all that are connected with India. This has been systematically going on through some members.

Sravna, I wonder if its really neccesary to understand Sanskrit in order to get enlightened.
Today I attended a ceremony where a priest was reciting sanskrit mantras.
Since I know Sanskrit, I understood what he was reciting but at the same time after a while i could feel a bit disconnected..disconnected from my heart.
My mind was busy in understanding everything being recited but my heart seemed " offline".
But others who did not understand Sanskrit seemed more engaged in a heartful manner.

Then a thought came to me..mantras generate a frequency when uttered.
May be what really matters is the frequency which is needed to transmit the message of the prayers or ritual.

For eg..we all drive a car. We need not know anything about manufacturing a car..but we can drive it.
LIkewise do we really need to know Sanskrit for a mantra to be effective?

A child cries and calls Amma.
The child need not know whether Amma is a noun or how to read it or write it..the child know..just say Amma and Amma comes running.

 

[sravna]

You are right Renuka. I am not an expert on Sanskrit. Sanskrit I believe is between human language and divine thoughts. I believe it is indeed true that the sound uttered has potency and can make real impact. I would love to learn Sanskrit some day. But I love Tamil too. It is a great language in its own right.

 

[a-TB]

Sravna, I wonder if its really neccesary to understand Sanskrit in order to get enlightened.
Today I attended a ceremony where a priest was reciting sanskrit mantras.
Since I know Sanskrit, I understood what he was reciting but at the same time after a while i could feel a bit disconnected..disconnected from my heart.
My mind was busy in understanding everything being recited but my heart seemed " offline".
But others who did not understand Sanskrit seemed more engaged in a heartful manner.

Then a thought came to me..mantras generate a frequency when uttered.
May be what really matters is the frequency which is needed to transmit the message of the prayers or ritual.

For eg..we all drive a car. We need not know anything about manufacturing a car..but we can drive it.
LIkewise do we really need to know Sanskrit for a mantra to be effective?

A child cries and calls Amma.
The child need not know whether Amma is a noun or how to read it or write it..the child know..just say Amma and Amma comes running.

Normally I don’t comment on beliefs and wrong ideas etc. I rarely come here and over the years have been studying many topics of wisdom literature.

I don’t claim to know much but it is always easier to prove falsehood. It is not fun to do so in an environment not conducive to learning

Main point of this reply is to say one does not need to know Sanskrit to be enlightened. There are many people who are formally uneducated who one could say are enlightened though such a judgement is never complete ( chapter 2 Gita in Sthitaprjnya lakshanam). Rituals have nothing to do with enlightenment.

Main impediments to learning is not just overall ignorance but an attitude to not learn from authentic teachings. Most so called big name gurus make things up. There are guidelines to identify a right teacher and those are available in Upanishad and even those are distorted by gurus and public pretending to know.

Good news is that world over many are studying with earnestness. In India mostly it is a mess because of this approach to making things up rather than study which requires effort. Many cite Sankara without ever having studied one line with someone who truly attempted to understand the vision of Sankara. Do lip service to Advita but lead a life of contradiction.

What Gita teach is in the end language of the heart like a baby of any species calling out its mother.

With that said without criticism of anyone my opinion is that saying some magical vibrations etc is like putting lipstick on a pig. It is trying to philosophize and make pseudo science out of ignorance. If Sanskrit is known many rituals the way they are conducted will appear as false with little basis.

There is a pranayama method called Bramari that is excellent. It is like listening to vibrations but more effective for it is shown to product small amounts of Nitrous oxide which I am told is great for heart health. This is based on a scientific study

 

[a-TB]

Bhramari Pranayama – A simple lifestyle intervention to reduce heart rate, enhance the lung function and immunity - PMC

Individuals with chronic diseases have a higher risk of infection and show lung function impairment. Poor lifestyle choices such as physical inactivity, poor diet, stress, excess tobacco, and alcohol, and sleep disruption increase the risk of ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[sravna]

Learning Sanskrit helps . It is like one born privileged helping in success though you can succeed without being privileged. According to me something anyone can do to move towards enlightenment is to harbor good thoughts and perform right actions

 

[renuka]

Learning Sanskrit helps . It is like one born privileged helping in success though you can succeed without being privileged. According to me something anyone can do to move towards enlightenment is to harbor good thoughts and perform right actions

Sravna..I learnt 2 classical languages linked with religion.
Sanskrit and Classical Arabic.
I spent a lot of time on both learning grammar in detail.
Detailed study of grammar especially root/stem words, syntax, etymology is needed before we can attempt to read religious text as Classical languages have multiple shades of expression.

But in the path to realization laukika knowledge of any kind be it even Sanskrit or Classical Arabic doesnt help.

From my personal experience I feel the path of spirituality
by- passes the intellect.
We need to transit from thinking from the mind to gnosis/ intuition.
For gnosis/ intuition, the mind has to be a " lake placid"..only in the absence of ripples of the mind can we really " know".

If you want to learn Sanskrit, go ahead.
Its a nice journey but focus more on keeping the lake of your mind as placid as possible.

 

[renuka]

There is a pranayama method called Bramari that is excellent. It is like listening to vibrations but more effective for it is shown to product small amounts of Nitrous oxide which I am told is great for heart health. This is based on a scientific study

There might be some other benefits we still might not know yet.

 

[sravna]

Sravna..I learnt 2 classical languages linked with religion.
Sanskrit and Classical Arabic.
I spent a lot of time on both learning grammar in detail.
Detailed study of grammar especially root/stem words, syntax, etymology is needed before we can attempt to read religious text as Classical languages have multiple shades of expression.

But in the path to realization laukika knowledge of any kind be it even Sanskrit or Classical Arabic doesnt help.

From my personal experience I feel the path of spirituality
by- passes the intellect.
We need to transit from thinking from the mind to gnosis/ intuition.
For gnosis/ intuition, the mind has to be a " lake placid"..only in the absence of ripples of the mind can we really " know".

If you want to learn Sanskrit, go ahead.
Its a nice journey but focus more on keeping the lake of your mind as placid as possible.

Thank you Renuka. Sanskrit is different I believe. I am just curious to find out.