Superstitions
"Superstition is the religion of the feeble minds" said Burke.
It is a belief that has no basis in religion. It is the daughter of ignorance and fear. It leads men to form false ideas of beauty. Belief in omens and oracles belong to the domain of superstition.
A tree is judged by it fruits and the fruits of superstition are all evil. It has been responsible for a vast amount of cruelty, misery and madness. In olden times, men offered sacrifices to please imaginary gods. In the middle Ages, the belief in witchcraft led to the persecution of poor old women, who were believed to be in league with the devils. Even in civilized countries today, superstitions produce narrow mindedness, madness and sufferings.
Superstitions are many and they vary with nations and localities in kind and degree. In Asia and Africa, people are perhaps more superstitious than they are in the European countries. Certain things or moments are believed to bring 'luck' and others are thought to be ominous.
We find it all over the world. Some superstitions are associate good luck with black cats, horse shoes and finding of a pin r shell. And associate bad luck with the howling of the dogs, the spilling of salt, the number thirteen and walking under a ladder.
The illiterate villagers are more superstitious than the educated ones. It is ignorance and lack of education which give birth to superstitions. That's why, people have more faith in quacks and superstitions cures than in doctors and medicines. Their minds are rigid and they are against all progressive movements.
Superstitions always hamper the progress of people. The belief in witchcraft was responsible for the burning of hundreds of innocent men and women in Scotland.
Only education can eliminate the superstitions from the world. As knowledge increases, superstition decreases. The advancement in scientific knowledge has removed our irrational fears and superstitions.
We should do everything for it, if we want better and bright future for our younger's.