Superstition

Superstition means blind faith, misguided faith. Among the incorrect beliefs that prevail in worldly life, the belief that creates the most dangerous kind of blindness is superstition. For centuries, people have been caught in superstition related to astrology, good and bad omens, possession of deities, black magic, ghosts, spirits, and godmen, pitru dosh (faults of our ancestors), vastushastra, as well as various so-called miracles.

Earlier, superstitions were widespread in villages. But today, believing in superstitions has been steadily increasing even in cities and foreign countries. It is not only the uneducated masses; even highly educated and accomplished people are secretly caught up in one superstition or another. Outwardly, they may present themselves as modern-minded individuals who believe superstition should not exist. Yet when a difficult situation arises in their own lives, knowingly or unknowingly, they themselves get swept away by superstition.

The more a person gets entangled in superstition, the farther he moves away from the truth. And the farther one moves away from the truth, the more our happiness slips away. Without understanding, due to what others say, by mere imitation, or in search of reassurance during difficult times, a person ends up spending his time and energy chasing superstition. If a belief works sometimes and fails at other times, how can faith truly be placed in such a belief? In reality, happiness or suffering in life comes only according to one’s own punya (merit karma) and paap (demerit karma). When the principle of karma is understood, superstition naturally falls away.

In human life, one is meant to manifest one’s inner strengths and pass through the karmas that arise in life without attachment or abhorrence. Instead of doing so, by falling into false beliefs through superstition or by seeking false reassurances, a person ends up weakening and breaking his own developing inner power. Superstition arises due to a lack of true understanding. Here, through the Gnani Purush Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, we receive the right understanding to come out of various forms of superstition.