Traditional Beliefs

 9 Scientific Reasons behind Traditional beliefs

Hello Friends, here are the scientific reasons behind superstitious, the superstitious which we follow in our daily routine. I guess most of us have heard it even more during this lock down period. Here are few of them and the reasons behind why these superstitions were developed. More often or not we can find a very good scientific reason behind some of these superstitions

1) Not exchanging/giving SALT hand to hand: Most of us are fed up with this saying stop giving the salt in hand to hand it will cause fights between you guys

 The real reason behind it is that salt contains small particles which are difficult to clean and there are high chances of getting air borne it as they are very fine and granular if we exchange it from hand to hand. So, it is suggested to keep it on place then exchanging.

2) Restricting or stopping from cutting nails at night: We were always said that it is not good to cut nails at night time and reason said is that goddess Lakshmi will go away from home coming to reality aspect in our olden days there was no electricity and cutting nails in night times may cause nails to misplace and high chances of getting under toe's and getting harmed because of it.

 

3) Avoid sleeping under Peepal trees: We hear different sayings that we cant sleep near Peepal trees and also under trees we may get scary dreams and so on.

Most plants largely uptake Carbon dioxide (CO²)and release oxygen during the day (photosynthesis) and uptake oxygen and release CO² during the night (respiration). Some plants such as Peepal tree can uptake CO² during the night as well because of their ability to perform a type of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). So, Peepal tree would either release or not release CO² in the night depending on if they are epiphytic or not.

One is advised not to sleep under a tree because plants release carbon dioxide (CO2) at night which may harm our body if inhaled in huge amounts. Our body expels out carbon dioxide because it is a waste product for it. Therefore if we inhale large quantities of carbon dioxide we may become unconscious for sometime. People mistaken this to be ghost's curse which is rubbish .

Peepal tree is very huge and heavy therefore it releases a great amount of carbon dioxide at night. So one should not sleep under any tree at night.

4) Black cat crossing paths: In most parts of Europe it is believed that if a black cat crosses one's path, it leads to that person's death or misfortune. In Germany, the same superstition narrows to the fact that a black cat has to cross one's path from right to left to be considered an unlucky sign so from there we have adopted this superstition and we shall stop our way from where we are going or wait till some other crosses the path and we usually take 7 steps back.

Even this one has an amazing back story which will even help convincing few people. Apparently cats have really sharpened senses and they can predict the dangers or calamities before hand and they start moving to the higher grounds to be safe from Earthquakes, flash floods. That's the reason if cat crosses your path it is seen as a bad Omen and If the cat walks away from you it is considered as Good Luck. Besides that we all know the stories about cats travelling miles to find its owners which helps the story to make believable that their senses are highly sharpened.

5) Broken mirrors: In the past mirrors were so costly and it is not affordable to buy it all the times and there were no edge frames for mirrors. so to be careful people started with a myth saying if u broke a mirror then it is an indication of some death in the house or unlucky.

6) Swallow Tulsi leaves never chew them: According to traditional belief, Tulsi is considered as the wife of Lord Vishnu, and chewing it is considered as a disrespectful act.

but in reality When looked at scientifically, according to botanists, Tulsi has a maximum quantity of Mercury and Iron in it. So when these minerals are released in your mouth these minerals can cause damage and discoloration of teeth. The effect of Tulsi does not have such immediate effect but it surely damages the teeth.

7) Food why we start with spice and end with sweet: Have you ever wonder why our meals start off with spice and end with some sweet. According to science, spice activates the digestive juices and acids to boost our digestive system efficiently; sweets contain carbohydrates that bring down the digestive process. Due to this reason sweets are always served at the end of meals.

8) Sitting on floor and eating: We see Indians other places from eastern countries sit in “Sukhasana” position during lunch and dinner. Sukhasana is considered to be one of the important Asanas in Yoga. In this position, we sit cross-legged. This posture immediately brings a sense of calm and helps in digestion. Our brain automatically receives a signal to prepare our stomach for digestion.

9) Charan Sparsh: The person of whose feet you are touching is either old or pious. At that point When they accept your respect which came from your reduced ego (and is called your shraddha) their hearts start emiting positive thoughts and energy (which is called their karuna) which reaches you through their hands and toes. In essence, the completed circuit enables flow of energy and increases cosmic energy, switching on a quick connect between two minds and hearts. In a way, the same is achieved through handshakes and hugs. The nerves that start from our brain spread across all your body. These nerves end in the fingertips of your hand and feet. When you join the fingertips of your hand to those of their opposite feet, a circuit is immediately formed and the energies of two bodies are connected. Your fingers and palms become the ‘receptor’ of energy and the feet of other person become the ‘giver’ of energy.

From the above examples we can see that there are reason for every traditional beliefs which you follow and as in the 20th century we need to know reasons than following them blindly and asking "WHY" is always the first step to learn things.