Although having become secular in 2006, our society is one that coexists with religion since time immemorial; hence we are unable to isolate ourselves from religious beliefs and the submission to God. Right from our childhood we are taught about certain things, which should be avoided and certain things that are never to be ignored.[break]
This time around in chit chat we talk to four youngsters and discuss their views on religion and superstition.
Kala Rai, 18 Anish Bastola, 19 Saugat Thapa, 19 and Bishnu Maharjan, 17, all college going students are our participants.
“I love talking about supernatural powers,” burst out Kala. Ghost stories, incidents on wishes coming true and the luck factor are amongst her favorite topics to be discussed.
A second opinion came in from Anish, “Religion is something we can’t avoid even if we don’t have faith in it. It is because we were educated to believe in god and the elaborate rituals right from childhood.”
Saugat shared similar thoughts with Anish when he opined. “I don’t pray regularly or participate in poojas but while in trouble God does come to mind and I do end up offering prayers even if it is just a line or two.”
Bishnu elaborated his views saying, “Major or minor problems, God is immediately asked for help, Oh! God is the ubiquitous expression.”
The belief in god of these youngsters seem to be associated with gaining a sense of control during unpredictable situations. They talked of how during exams they would remember to pay their respect to all temples that passed by and how any difficult task or any sort of competition venturing would always commence with the name of the almighty.
The discussion on prior exam tension and wishing for good things from God led to the talk of luck. So what do these youngsters have to say about luck?
“There must be something similar if not exactly luck that some people are said to be blessed with, and I am definitely not one amongst those” said Kala. The explanation for her statement was that while all her friends would bunk classes and not get caught, she was punished on her first attempt at bunking a class.
Sangat too seemed to be a strong believer of luck. In fact he considered himself to be a lucky person, “ I once scored the highest at a test when every single answer I chose was based on sheer guesses made at that very moment,” he said, adding “I was awarded a cash prize based on that test, if this is not luck what is?” He questioned.
Anish put himself in the “ok” category in terms of luck. “I have lucky days and unlucky days, I have received punishments and rewards for happenings, not directly related to me,” he said.
That’s that about luck but what about superstition? Does it mean anything to them or is it something that deserves no heed.
“Our society is shaped as such that superstition is a part of our lives without us even realizing it,” put in Kala. She shared with us that during illness although the first call has always been to a doctor, there is an equally important role played by prayers to God and also by shamans.
“Shamans have many a times miraculously cured my mother and so I believe in faith healing,” she said.
Anish added that although the prescribed definition of superstition was irrational belief, incidents like Kala’s mom’s illness getting cured not by doctors but by shamans makes us question ourselves regarding the word superstition.
“I don’t think there are a lot of us who would cross the road if a black cat was to appear before us,” said Sangat, while others supported him by talking about incidents of fluttering eyes which have resulted in specific incidents. Also they talked of how white spots on the nails are associated with the luck of possession.
The talk which had gotten quite interesting with participants sharing their personal experiences and incidents related to these beliefs had to now come to an end.
“Although there a lot of such beliefs that are true, but we choose what we want to believe, and as for God we all need something to look up to. God plays the role perfectly by staying exclusive,” laughed Sangat as a final note while all others nodded in agreement.
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