Superstitions and Rituals

**indykid1991** · 17 August 2012, 10:27 PM

There are so many superstitions and rituals in Hinduism. Are we supposed to follow all of them? Do we get punished if we do not follow them?

**Omkara** · 18 August 2012, 01:30 AM

Define 'superstitions and rituals'

**Eastern Mind** · 18 August 2012, 07:08 AM

Vannakkam indykid: Good question, and not an easy answer. In my opinion, you have to sort through it all, one by one. Some have real validity, while others don't. You can also consult elders or swamis, or your own conscience. a lot depends on your original programming. If you come from a superstitious family, then most likely you'll retain some of that. If you come from a rationalist family or atheistic programming, then maybe all of it seems like superstition. One thing you could do is make a list, then ask about each one separately. Sometimes there are logical explanations that you just haven't heard of. I think this could make a great thread, and thanks for starting it.

Aum Namasivaya

**wundermonk** · 18 August 2012, 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by indykid1991

There are so many superstitions and rituals in Hinduism. Are we supposed to follow all of them? Do we get punished if we do not follow them?

I do not know about specific superstitions.

But rituals? I love them because:

(1)it is a nice occasion to get together with your extended family - be it grahapravesam (house warming ceremony), punyavachanam (ceremony on the 11th day of a child to name him/her), kalyanam (marriage ceremony), etc.

(2)it personalizes the Hindu's conception of God. The Sanskrit mantras just call upon God to bless the home, the child, the newlyweds, etc. Nothing wrong with this.

(3)It offers a chance to pay poor Pandits who know and chant the Vedas for us. This is their only employment.

(4)It gives you a good/clean state of mind after conducting the rituals.

**Seeker** · 18 August 2012, 10:12 AM

Namaste Indikid Ji,

Good question and Eastern Mindji has provided a succinct answer , which is in line with my thinking.

I run into various categories of this and have formed my own opinion in accepting/rejecting them.

Omens : I reject them . As a child I have seen my parents & grand parents obsessed with this. They observed lizards noises , events that occured when they start a task , saw people of particular type (single brahmin coming toward you was a bad omen - believe it or not!) etc..

functions & Rituals - as Wundermonkji says , I love most of them. Recently we celebrated 84th birthday for my father and it was an occasion to see so many of younger generation (there were more than 300 relatives in one place). For my grand mothers death anniversary , we stood in the river and performed some rituals - which felt solemn.

There are some rituals which are purely symbolism - some need to come up with a circuitous explanation on why you follow those. You can make a personal call on these. These are like wearing tilak , thread around wrist etc.. I follow some of these if this is the norm at a place -for example at a temple. I have read a book by Swami Vimalanada of Chinamaya mission regarding the reason behind sybolisms & rituals. You can google it .

Jyothish - I reject this also. Mostly due to the reason that I dont like predictions of any nature . But most of my friends and family love this.

Black magic: Sometimes these gets combined / bundled with religious worships , mostly in tribal regions. I have met people who swear by the effectiveness of this. I wont touch it even with a ten feet pole.