[DRIV3R]

A potential missile! I know that the Fortuner has a commanding driving position, but......

[Lobogris]

Having recently moved back to India, I am appalled by the amount of superstitions still prevalent in India, even among educated folks. Let me start with an example. Auspicious and inauspicious days for taking delivery of a vehicle. If one looks at it logically, does any one believe that none of the vehicles purchased/ received on these auspicious days will ever have an accident? If one takes a look at say a hundred accidents, one will find them equally divided among purchases made on all days of the week. People come up with some anecdotes of how xx bought a car on x or y day and crashed it. If they look around, they will find that hundreds of people bought their cars on auspicious days and still crashed them but they only look for this excuse if it fits their belief.

Next is doing a ritual after purchase and placing an idol on the dashboard. Once again, practically all cars involved in accidents have idols but it obviously doesn't make them immune to a misfortune. It is fine to have faith and say a prayer but it is wrong to focus on some perceived safety provided by an idol rather than buying a safe car, using seat belts and above all driving safely.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Next is doing a ritual after purchase and placing an idol on the dashboard. Once again, practically all cars involved in accidents have idols but it obviously doesn't make them immune to a misfortune. It is fine to have faith and say a prayer but it is wrong to focus on some perceived safety provided by an idol rather than buying a safe car, using seat belts and above all driving safely.

Well as long as person placing Cross / kaba / Idol / Hammer and Sickle / A Copy of brief history of time / Or naked pic of Sunny Leone etc. does follow safety rules such as wearing seat belts and buying a safe car I do not think it comes in way of safety in any manner.

Placing of any object which gives personal satisfaction and peace of mind and safety precautions are not necessarily mutually exclusive , neither placing things on dashboard exclusive to India.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Well as long as person placing Cross / kaba / Idol / Hammer and Sickle / A Copy of brief history of time / Or naked pic of Sunny Leone etc. does follow safety rules such as wearing seat belts and buying a safe car I do not think it comes in way of safety in any manner.

Placing of any object which gives personal satisfaction and peace of mind and safety precautions are not necessarily mutually exclusive , neither placing things on dashboard exclusive to India.

Quite true. In Europe or US one might find a cross or some picture in perhaps 1 or 2 cars out of 100 (I have never seen one) but in India it is practically a hundred out of hundred! However in Latin America it is more like India with cars having crosses but even there people don't think of auspicious days to purchase nor do they perform rituals for cars. You are correct, no harm done as long as people drive safe.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Quite true. In Europe or US one might find a cross or some picture in perhaps 1 or 2 cars out of 100 (I have never seen one) but in India it is practically a hundred out of hundred! However in Latin America it is more like India with cars having crosses but even there people don't think of auspicious days to purchase nor do they perform rituals for cars. You are correct, no harm done as long as people drive safe.

Church attendance has gone down in Europe and lots of churches are converted to banks post offices and what not however lack of religiousness should not be mistaken for lack of superstition in fact many people putting article of faith on dashboard may not be that superstitious.

Ask people in Europe or US if they will happily take a car with registration number 13 and you will see a different picture.

I have seen a lots of buildings where there is no 13th floor similarly in China , Singapore , HK and Korea number 4 is avoided as 4 is "sa" which is same as word for death.

Best combination is Korea a nation based on confucious values but converted to Christianity so they have F written in lifts for 4th floor and a missing 13th floor as well

Rather then bucketing all local cultural aspects such as placing deities , cross , crossing on chest while entering church , crossing oneself or mumbling prayers as superstition a more agreeable or PC terminology these days is "folk belief"

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Church attendance has gone down in Europe and lots of churches are converted to banks post offices and what not however lack of religiousness should not be mistaken for lack of superstition in fact many people putting article of faith on dashboard may not be that superstitious.

Ask people in Europe or US if they will happily take a car with registration number 13 and you will see a different picture.

I have seen a lots of buildings where there is no 13th floor similarly in China , Singapore , HK and Korea number 4 is avoided as 4 is "sa" which is same as word for death.

Best combination is Korea a nation based on confucious values but converted to Christianity so they have F written in lifts for 4th floor and a missing 13th floor as well

Rather then bucketing all local cultural aspects such as placing deities , cross , crossing on chest while entering church , crossing oneself or mumbling prayers as superstition a more agreeable or PC terminology these days is "folk belief"

No doubt superstitions, sorry, folk beliefs, exist in every corner of the world but India is at the top when we figure in the influence of astrology in marriages and business deals, auspicious days, godmen with millions of followers, caste beliefs, horoscopes for marriages and so many other beliefs that other societies used to have but left behind as they got more educated and modern.

[ani_meher]

What seperates faith from superstition? If the God's idol on the car's dashboard reminds me to stay humble and pray at the times when I get angry due to road rage, is it bad? Of course, if it instills a feeling of supremacy in 'owning the road', then it is harmful and should be labelled as superstition.

Same with auspicious days. One can't choose his birth or dying day (though through planned ceasarians, this is changing!). But I don't see any harm in waiting for an auspicious day for a big purchase.

I feel the similarity between superstition and too much reality based thinking is poking nose into matters that don't concern them. In moderation, both faith and logic can co-exist peacefully without disturbing each other. But in excess, faith turns to superstition which attracts strong opposition from logic.

[ashwin489]

I earlier knew that RTOs across Tamilnadu did not give out registration numbers that added up to the number 8, unless you specifically request it.

However, what I found out today was, even the RTO codes don't add up to the number 8.

For instance: TN 16 Tindivanam; TN 18 Redhills &
TN43 Ooty; TN43Z Gudalur; TN 45 Trichy

TN 44 & TN 17 are conspicuous by their absence, since they 44 (4+4) & 17(1+7) add up to 8.

http://www.getallnumber.com/tn-rto-c...ister-vehicle/

The strange thing is a part of TN prides itself on being very progressive, rational and against superstition. Who the heck was put in charge of establishing this code? ***

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

What seperates faith from superstition? If the God's idol on the car's dashboard reminds me to stay humble and pray at the times when I get angry due to road rage, is it bad? Of course, if it instills a feeling of supremacy in 'owning the road', then it is harmful and should be labelled as superstition.

Same with auspicious days. One can't choose his birth or dying day (though through planned ceasarians, this is changing!). But I don't see any harm in waiting for an auspicious day for a big purchase.

I feel the similarity between superstition and too much reality based thinking is poking nose into matters that don't concern them. In moderation, both faith and logic can co-exist peacefully without disturbing each other. But in excess, faith turns to superstition which attracts strong opposition from logic.

A first class post. I subscribe in toto.
Whats the harm with some good faith in this faithless crass and dirty world?

[ashwin489]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

What seperates faith from superstition? If the God's idol on the car's dashboard reminds me to stay humble and pray at the times when I get angry due to road rage, is it bad? Of course, if it instills a feeling of supremacy in 'owning the road', then it is harmful and should be labelled as superstition.

There is nothing wrong in having faith. No one has the right to interfere with your faith, as long as you are a law-abiding citizen.

However, the fact that you feel humble when see the idol inside your car, is also an embodiment of superstition.

In your case, superstition beliefs help you to be a better person.

No judgement here. No matter how rational I try to be or imagine myself to be, I also end up being subconsciously superstitious at times.

Kindly adjust the nitpicking about semantics

[sridhu]

Came across this very interesting article about car superstitions.

Looked like an interesting topic poll people on.

Personally, I am guilty of the following:

• Warming up the car: I think this not a myth for diesel cars. Diesel cars do need warm up, IMO
  
• Manual more efficient than auto: depends on the type but mostly agree that nowadays it is a myth
  
• Change oil every 5k km: True this is a myth. No need. Are you listening, Honda?
  
• Dont use cell phones at bunks: a greater pot of crock has not been propagated! This is absolutely a myth
  
• Cars explode when crashed: dont think this is myth that is common in India
  
• SUVs are safer: Guilty!
  
• Fill petrol in the morning : Think this is technically true but definitely not worth going out of the way to do
  
• Unauthorized Mechanics void warranty; this is not a myth in India. Absolutely true.
  
• Scheduled Tune-up: Never knew this was prevalent. Probably the reverse is true in India - most people dont do any preventive maintenance and only visit a service centre after free services if something is palpably wrong with the car
  
• Red car = more insurance: Not true. And in India it is a sea of white & silver anyway!

Are there any different myths for motorcycles?

[Fulcrum]

As I was told “Sher ka Khula munh khoon maangta hain, shubh nahi hota (The open mouth of a lion demands blood, it’s not auspicious.)”. So the owners of this Jaguar decided to cover the mouth of the wild cat as much as they could and put red nail paint inside it’s mouth as a symbol of blood. 😐

I for sure consider it as animal cruelty.

[Gansan]

Long ago, I wanted to buy the then latest Yamaha Rx 100, but had to settle for the Ind-Suzuki AX 100 instead, because my parents strictly forbade the former. The reason given was, "Yama" was present in the very name of the bike so a strict no no!