India is a land of strange things. It is a store house of many old things. Superstitions are very deep rooted in this country. They are due to ignorance and lack of scientific knowledge. For example a sneeze, an empty vessel, a one eyed man, cat and owl are the things that are considered to bring a bad day. Vessel full of milk or water, cow, a cheerful child and an appearance of the Shyama bird predict success on a particular day. Amongst the Hindus, marriages cannot be held in certain months.
It is believed that if a person sneezes when any other man is leaving his house, the work can never be finished successfully. Sneeze is a symbol of hardship and failure. As soon as there is a sneeze, people postpone their journey. They return to their houses silently for sometime, drink water or have some light refreshment and then go out to complete their work.
The appearance of a one eyed man is no less horrible. As soon as we see a one eyed man coming before us, we think we are doomed. We become helpless and curse the man. If we have to continue our journey, we do it half-heartedly and unwillingly. The result is that we meet failure and disappointment.
In the same way, if we see a cat when we leave our bed in the morning or the cat happens to cross the way we are passing through, we think ourselves unfortunate. A big failure is stamped on our forehead for some time, we do not feel zeal, joy and satisfaction.
Just as bad symbol make us sorry and disappointed, good symbols make us highly optimistic and enthusiastic. As soon as we see a lady coming before us with pots full of water or a man bringing milk,we believe that somehow or the other work will be done.
Conclusion: Our belief in superstitions is due to our ignorance, lack of scientific knowledge, influence of religious people and pandits. If our life is guided by reason and sound judgement,we can never be influenced by them. I know one case last year. I left the house and there was an empty vessel before me. I got a second class. But, my friend HariRam failed, though he saw a man coming with a vessel full of milk when he reached the school. Since then, I do not reach any importance to these things.
