SUPERSTITION OR REALITY ?

A man went to an astrologer to check his horoscope. After
peering at the calculations carefully, the astrologer looked up and said to the anxious inquirer, "Sir, it appears that your future holds more horror than scope."
The stars, planets and eclipses. The black cats, owls andcows. The fluttering of an eyelid, a bout of hiccups, a dream.In this world, almost nothing is without a meaning or bereft of an interpretation. Many tie lemons and chillies to their doorways or vehicles to ward off evil spirits. Others wear exotic rings on their fingers and talismans around their necks.Abroad, people avoid walking on cracks in the pavement,or beneath a ladder or acquiring a flat on the 13th floor of a building. And for heaven's sake don't drop that mirror! If it breaks, it means seven years of bad luck! Are these mere superstitions or is their some truth in any of this? People believe talismans and coloured stones have improved the quality of life. Others argue that if this jantra-mantra or hocus-pocus was true, there would be no need for governments around the world to maintain and build expensive armies and arsenals with nuclear warheads. All a leader need do is employ a good tantric and he'll create hell for his political enemies using just a few seeds of mung or by piercing a small doll replica of the enemy leader with pins.Yet, why don't we see such incidents occurring anywhere? Certainly, there are clear references to tantric procedures and practices in the Atharva Veda and Shiv Tantra scriptures showing that such powers do exist and can be honed into. But these are very difficult and ancient practices. How can people know them today? Could it be just by chance and coincidence that things seem to happen due to magical powers? In school we were taught a law which reigns above all the others in the universe, called Murphy's Law. It states categorically, "If anything can go wrong, it will!" Sooner or later, something goes wrong in almost everybody's life and you may conclude that your misfortunes were due to a tantric casting spells upon you when in fact your bad luck was due merely to complex and unforeseeable environmental, social or financial events such as the fall of the Nasdaq Index or simply because of some unwise decisions. Even mega-companies which were booming just six months ago video site and online retailer are today struggling for business. So are thousands of other companies. Is it because same tantric is working his powers on the e-commerce of the world? Personally, I think we create our own mindsets and then interpret our situation in a way that fulfils it. An old woman was throwing grains of rice around her house."Why?" asked a neighbour. "To keep tigers away," she replied."But there aren' t any tigers around here," objected the neighbour. "Effective, isn't it?" said the old woman jubilantly.

Whatever the answer to this conundrum, one thing should be understood clearly: the greatest and most powerful of tantrics' is God. One who has deep and single-minded devotion to God need not fear tantrics or ill omens, Even if outwardly it appears some evil force is harming them, they themselves understand that what is happening is happening only because of the will of their Lord, to whom they have surrendered themselves. They refuse to surrender to tantries and black magicians even if they are faced with death! For such devotees, God himself becomes their surety and securitySo if one day you find that someone has thrown mung seedsor placed a lemon in front of your doorstep, thank the personcollect the seeds together, wash them, boil them, offer themwith love to the deity and have a hearty meal. Or else givethem to some poor person or donate them at the mandir. Keepyour faith in God firm and continue on your way unruffled.Even if the tantric's powers are genuine, they will not work onyou - in fact, it will be the tantric who better watch out. It alljust may backfire on him.