When The Whole Country Becomes Obsessed With Laddus!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 21 September 2024 "The biggest problem facing the country is not poverty or unemployment but the animal fat at the Tirupati temple Laddu. Oh, my God, please help us...." C V Sukumaran, A Bombay-Based Rationalist (Photo: The Times of India) ------ This reminded me of the rationalist M N Roy's statement that no philosophical advancement is possible unless we get rid of orthodox religious ideas and theological dogmas. Superstitions stem from a misinterpretation of scientific facts or from urban legends. Some are as simple as placing trust in lucky numbers — or putting empty bottles on the ground for good luck. Jason Parker, a senior lecturer in Old Dominion University's Department of Psychology, said the root of believing superstitions is adventitious reinforcement. Adventitious reinforcement is when a person begins to worry something bad is going to happen because of an action they took. Whatever they did beforehand is believed to be the cause of the expected outcome. Just the way humans are de rigueur religious and 'spiritual', they're also superstitious. In fact, every human wittingly or unwittingly harbours at least one superstition throughout his / her life. There're also harmless superstitions like knocking on wood (touchwood syndrome), chewing gum at night (according to a Turkish legend, when a person chews gum at night, it turns into the flesh of the dead. As a result, people are strongly advised against chewing gum after dark in Turkey), opening umbrellas indoors, walking under a ladder, tossing spilled salt over one's shoulder, lucky pennies, to name but a few. These superstitions are well-nigh innocuous. Ostensibly, even this Tirupati Laddu superstition seems harmless, nay 'logical' as one can argue that Prasad having animal fat is a bad omen. So, people, esp. lakhs and crores of devotees have every right to protest and make a hue and cry. They're riled up and speaking out. But when the whole country gets obsessed with this Laddu issue, it underlines the fact that we're indolent lotus eaters and we've nothing worthwhile to do. Our collective religiosity is also responsible for this kind of obsession. What's to be eaten on a specific day and what should be avoided on a particular day are our national obsessions and superstitions. People lacking scientific temperament will continue to fuss over what's in a Laddu. This amply shows our national character and temperament. We're facing a host of pressing issues. But we're least bothered about them. Instead, we're more concerned about what'll Tirupati Balaji do now as he was offered adulterated Laddus and what will a finicky god / Allah do on the Day of Judgement if you didn't observe Rozas during Ramzan or refused to believe in Hereafter, Hell and Heaven or bowed to an 'alternative' god. Allah indeed has an eye for the minutest and most useless details. So primitive! Fie on humans! ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/country-obsessed-laddus/d/133248 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism