“Hindu religious superstitions and inhuman customs in India”

The religious structure of Indian society has always been a complex and multidimensional reality. However, some deep problems are intertwined in this complexity in a way that directly conflicts with humanity on the one hand and intellectual consciousness on the other. The superstitions, fears and inhuman customs that are woven into the layers of Hinduism still control the lives of millions of people today—especially the lower classes of society, women and children. These customs are not only prevalent in the name of religion, but in many cases are nurtured, established as justified and accepted without question by the state and society. As a result, the development of human and rational consciousness is hindered, and society is stuck in an un-Aryan blindness.

One of the central points of Hinduism is worship, and worship of innumerable gods and goddesses, yagnas, vows, pilgrimages and mantras are associated with worship. On the one hand, religious rituals are observed through this system of worship, but the extent to which superstitions have spread in its shadow is beyond imagination. For example, people still believe in many parts of India that childlessness is the result of sin, disease is the punishment for sin, misfortune is the wrath of the gods. From this mentality, they take refuge in sorcerers, tantrics and temple priests. Innocent people lose money, labor and mental peace in this false cycle of mantra tantra.

Superstition is not limited to the individual level, it has been established socially through many customs and traditions. The practice of sati is one example of this—when the husband died, the society believed that the wife had become ‘sacred’ by burning her alive. Similarly, the practice of sacrifice, especially animal sacrifice in the worship of Kali or Bhairava, is still practiced in many places. On the one hand, it is cruelty, and on the other hand, it is a religious justification for violence against innocent animals. Again, in many temples, practices like “indiscriminate kissing” or “praying naked before the goddess” are still practiced, which legitimize the exploitation of the female body and religious confusion.

Hindu religious superstitions have the greatest impact on women. The idea of ​​women being ‘unclean’ during menstruation still exists in society today. Women are banned from entering many temples, they are kept separate even within the family, they are not allowed to go to the kitchen, their beds are separated, and they cannot perform religious rituals. There is no scientific basis behind this custom, only a remnant of patriarchal religious rule. Women are like goddesses, but that divinity is established only when she is devout, silent, indulgent and defined by men.

Another form of this superstition is seen in blind obedience in the name of pilgrimage and mantra chanting. People believe that bathing in the Ganges washes away all sins, praying under a particular tree will result in children, or observing a particular vow will resolve marital problems. Society never questions these beliefs, but rather it has become a business. Temples, pilgrimage sites, vow books, priests have all given rise to a huge economy, which has become a cycle of crores of rupees. It is sad but true—as a result of this superstitious structure, many people become poorer, and the money from their suffering goes to the coffers of priests, ashrams, or temples.

Many Hindu families still practice the practice of cutting off the ears of their children, shaving their heads, or sacrificing them to temples at birth. Many children are made into ‘devadasis’ with dowry, especially teenage girls, who are used as sex slaves in temples. This inhuman system persists in many places even in the twentieth century, although it is legally prohibited. In reality, many teenage girls are raped, impregnated, and mentally destroyed under the guise of this religion.

This religious structure created by the Brahmins is not just superstition, but a kind of class rule. People have been controlled through the concept of ‘sin-virtue’, the fear of the afterlife has been shown through ‘rebirth’, and caste and gender-based discrimination has been legitimized through ‘unclean-clean’. This religious system does not solve the real problems of people, but rather diverts their minds from them. In the context of poverty, unemployment, lack of education, oppression of women, etc. in society, the Hindu religious perspective often says that these are the ‘results of previous births’. As a result, the social system remains unchanged, and the tendency of rebellion is suppressed.

Although the Constitution of independent India speaks of secularism and rationalism, in reality, political parties do not speak much against superstitions, but rather use this religious belief to gain advantage in electoral politics. Those who raise questions are called “heretics”. As a result, the path of reform or re-examination is almost closed.

If humanity and progress are to be truly developed in today’s India, it is necessary to take a clear stand against Hindu religious superstitions and inhuman customs. Religion does not mean faith—religion does not mean inhuman rule. If religion belittles people, bans women, sacrifices children, exploits the poor—then it is not religion, it is a kind of weapon of state and social oppression.

We can hope that a new generation will courageously question these superstitious practices, shape themselves in the light of rationality, and move forward on the path to building a society based on humanity.