OF TRUST AND FAITH!

Superstition and blind faith play a very important role in our life. Often these affect our life without our even knowing about it.

Superstitions are based on beliefs. A belief is that which we follow without question. 

In India one often finds little babies with black tikka somewhere on their face. This black tikka is to ward off the evil eye of all those who look at the baby. I feel quite sad to think that we apprehend that some friend, relative or well wisher could have an evil eye which could harm our little baby. 

Well, that was just an aside, which has some part to play in the story that I want to tell you today. This story is about an intelligent person  who believes that he is very rational and does not believe in superstion or blind faith.

Once upon a time in the land of the five rivers of India, lived a prosperous cloth merchant. He had five sons. One of them got good education and as was the practice in those days, joined Government Service in British India. Soon he was transferred to the capital of India and moved to Delhi with his wife and daughter. As everything appeared to be  good, one would presume that they should have been a happy family. They had everything that a person needs to be happy, except for the fact that they did not have a son.

We have to remember that in India it is imperative that a son must be born in a household otherwise the ancestors would have a lot of discomfort as there would be no body to offer food and water to their souls by way of annual rituals performed which are called "Shhradh".

This young couple were educated people and quite forward looking and modern in their outlook. Yet not having a son was always their eternal cause of anxiety and sorrow. Soon a son was born in the household. Then the next child too was a son. A succession of daughters also followed.It was a large, prosperous and happy family.

As chance would have it, sadly both the sons died mysteriously. It was believed by the mother of the sons that someone had poisoned one of her sons and also that the evil eye had been cast on her sons. 

Once again sorrow and  desperation started living in their house, as tragedy had befallen twice, and the much coveted sons did not survive.

The Lady of the house kept as many fasts as she was advised to. She went on pilgrimage to every place that she could think of. She even trudged upto the Amarnath cave, in those days when the path leading to the Cave was not well maintained. It was a very treacherous climb, but faith moveth mountains, so this mountain moved the Lady in question.

Once on top of the Amarnath cave, for once the lord and master of the house put his foot down and told the lady not to promise that they would return to Amarnath if their boon was granted and their wish was fulfilled.

They had already promised the residing deities at Amritsar, Vaishno Devi and many others that they would return and give more offerings if and when a son was born in their family.

Perhaps collective prayer to so many Gods and Godesses had their effect and soon a son was born in this house. There was great rejoicing and celebrations in this household. The son was welcomed with a lot of pomp and show. 

Because of the fear of evil eye this boy was given only old clothes to wear, for one full year.

The family astrologer was consulted and all papers connected with janm kundli, tehwa, and horoscope forecasting the future of the boy was calculated and prepared.

Everything in the horoscope  was good, the future was bright, the boy would live and do well for himself and fulfill all his obligations and duties. His ancestors would rest in peace and would be well fed for ever and ever after.

There was just one thing predicted, which was an issue of anxiety. The boy was to meet a stranger in the train. That stranger was this boy's enemy from a previous birth. The stranger was going to take revenge  in this birth.

This story was put in the cold storage and for all practical purposes was forgotten by everyone.

Time passed and the boy grew up. As it was written in the stars, this boy met a person on the train, whom he befriended. The friendship looked healthy and both were comfortable with each other.

Yet there was something between them which did not allow happiness to last for too long. There were more downs than ups. Life started to become bitter. There were too many frictions, arguments and insults were hurled at each other vociferously and regularly.

The friend B could never understand why their great friendship always had this twinge of sadness, distrust and arguments. Until one day the story of the horoscope was told to him.

The whole picture became clear and the friend B could understand what the real problem was.

This friend A had grown up knowing that he would one day meet someone on the train who was going to wreck havoc in his life. When this prophecy came true and A actually met a stranger on the train, whom he befriended  the story that had been lying dormant in his memory raised its head without being intrusive.
To ensure that the train friend  would not cause any problem, A started being on the offensive and created as many problems as he could to make life insufferable for friend B. A had made it his habit to rebut everything that B suggested. It had become his stance to always throw back each and every suggestion made by friend B.
A  would seek advice about each and everything from Friend B. He would make an effort to show that he was listening and also that he valued the advise of B. Perhaps consciously he did believe that he valued the advise of B. Yet after taking the advise, A would invariably take an absolutely opposite stance. B being unaware of the reason for this kind of mistrusting attitude and behavior, could not fathom out this  distrust and offensive action. 

It was a sad tale of mistrust. A had himself made his own life miserable. He could never trust, had no faith and questioned each and every action of B. A had become a victim of the superstition and story told to him in his childhood. This stupid tale of rebirth and someone taking revenge in this birth had taken its toll. Poor A had become a victim of a sordid story told by some godman, who obviously did this to earn a living off gullible people who would give donations, perform Pujas with dakshina and propitiate the Gods to ensure that the ills that were foretold were warded off.

Sadly, A did not even know that this story was the cause of his mistrust and suspicious nature which never allowed him to trust anyone. All his actions had been performed without malice. Perhaps his sub conscious mind with the memory of this prophecy had taken charge of his behavior to ensure that no harm befell A. 

That is how superstition, blind faith destroys innocent lives without the people even knowing what actually hit them. Stories told in childhood usually have a lasting impression upon the psyche of all people. 
A rational person is one who questions everything including his own behavior. He takes conscious decisions and controls his own life pattern and behavior. He takes charge of his own life and takes corrective action to ensure the happiness of all, himself included.
As Buddha had said, we are responsible for our own happiness. He had said peace can be attained by our own self. We are responsible for our own thoughts and our thoughts shape our destiny.