COVID19 DAY 7 (31.3.2020)

SCIENCE AND SUPERSTITION

SITALA MATA (FROM A KALIGHAT PATA PAINTING)

Several thoughts come to my mind as the lockdown enters its seventh day. The one that strikes most is this old debate between science and superstition. Among Bengalis for instance there was a belief that keeping the Sitala Mata happy was the best protection against the scourge of small pox, one of the deadliest diseases that mankind has ever known. This one single disease perhaps killed more people in India than any other infectious disease as recently as 1974, as many as 188,000 cases were reported from India, according to an online exhibit at the University of Michigan library. Over the years millions lost their lives due to small pox and even the ‘60s India accounted for more than half of small pox cases in the world. But this disease was wiped out of the country by the middle of 1975, mainly by the administration of mass vaccinations.

So, the battle in the case of small pox was won by science rather than faith in the powers of deities. Of course, the Sitala deity has now been entrusted with many other ‘portfolios’ following the eradication of the disease. But perhaps the problem arises from a confusion in people’s minds between faith and superstition. Does a black cat crossing the path result in bad luck? Now that is pure superstition as there is absolutely no evidence to support this assumption. Nobody has yet cleared a doubt – does this rule hold good if the black cat’s tail has a white tip? Yet I have seen many educated people change course when their paths are crossed by a black cat.

Then there is the matter of mascots. Sportsmen are said to be most susceptible to mascots. Famous football players have quirky beliefs about actions that they think will bring them success. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, makes sure that its always his right foot that crosses the line first as he enters the field and he also the last to come out of the tunnel. Former England player David Beckham was known to clean a fridge before matches as it got his team victories. Many people also have strong beliefs in evil or good omens. Somebody sneezing just as you are leaving a place is considered to be an ill omen. On the other hand, an itchy left palm is promise of wealth flowing into the coffers. Another one is the twitching of eye-lids which usually is believed to portend misfortune.

Faith is quite another thing and unlike superstitions has a certain logic. There is the old story about Tulsidas and his faith in Lord Ram. He wrote something on a chit of paper and gave it to a man who found that with it in his hand he could walk on the water in the river in spate. Curious, he opened the chit to find the name of Lord Ram written on it and thought “its only Ram” and began to sink. “This is not your Ram…this is Tulsi’s Ram,” shouted Tulsidas from the river bank. Whether or not this incident actually happened is not material. What it speaks of is the power of Tulsidas’s faith in the Lord. Faith, and its close relative trust, plays a huge role in life. In fact, life would be virtually impossible without faith and trust.

But superstition is not as dangerous as half-baked scientific knowledge. United States President Donald Trump for instance said that chloroquine promised to be the wonder drug that would control COVID19 as health experts in his administration standing next to him squirmed and could only say that this was based on anecdotal evidence which means virtually no evidence at all. Similar are reports that say that consuming large amounts of tea would help control the virus and that is how the Chinese had succeeded. No scientific evidence based on logic to confirm this exists but many people actually believe in it. Cow urine and cow dung fall into this category as well. Had they really worked our leaders would not be so alarmed as to order a lockdown at all. There is enough of both in India.

In sum, while faith is important, superstition is dangerous in crisis situations like the present one as it could mean the difference between life and death. Faith, however, takes one through life giving strength to face its many problems and successes. One need not depend on some magic in which Lord Ganesh drinks milk to have faith in the deity. It is enough to know that he is the lord of the intellect and faith in him will help intellectual pursuits.