[AirbusCapt]

Originally Posted by distiller

I don't know whether the learned men should discuss this subject. We need to eradicate such practices & all the myths associated with them.
When someone says "Personally, I don't believe in any kind of superstition " & then posts a photo at a superstitious place minus his shoes, shows his belief in it.
If you look at our society and the part of it which resides in rural areas, are illiterate or are economically weaker. Such practices are rampant and the people are misled, terrified to extract money.
I feel in my opinion, we being the learned members should refrain from discussing such subjects and generating interest of the other members on forum or the other visitors of this forum to go & visit such places.
And is our beloved country a "Superstitious/ Mythical " place, a tag that we are trying to remove!

You sir are entitled to your opinion. However, asking purely in the scientific spirit, how can you call a phenomena as a superstition, just because current science has not progressed enough to either study or explain the same?
It's always been the white man's folly of rigid thinking, earlier choosing religion and discarding everything else and now choosing science and calling everything else as superstition.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by AirbusCapt

You sir are entitled to your opinion. However, asking purely in the scientific spirit, how can you call a phenomena as a superstition, just because current science has not progressed enough to either study or explain the same?
It's always been the white man's folly of rigid thinking, earlier choosing religion and discarding everything else and now choosing science and calling everything else as superstition.

That, by the way, is a textbook example of "argumentum ad ignorantiam"

"Science has not yet proved X wrong, so X is correct"

[AirbusCapt]

Originally Posted by hserus

That, by the way, is a textbook example of "argumentum ad ignorantiam"

"Science has not yet proved X wrong, so X is correct"

No. It merely means, unless proven otherwise, one can't comment if X is correct or not. Hence no judgement on the same.

[dailydriver]

What is superstition to some is the bulwark of others' life, more so in a society so deep rooted in mythology and tradition as ours. I would like to bring forth an instance from a place near to my hometown - the Annappa Swamy Temple in Charmadi Ghat. Many people travelling in this route stop there for a moment to offer their prayers, thanks and a rupee or two, and move on. Inherent therein is the fear of the treacherous ghat sections which could, with one small error on the part of the driver, send the entire vehicle diving into the dense forests. The perceived blessings of the Lord is nothing more than a psychological boost to them; a reassurance that God is with them through the journey. Who are we to question them? If i do not believe in or need that divine intervention, i can very well give the stopover a pass; like many people actually do.

The Annappa Swamy Temple, Charmadi Ghat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fth33WuLGeE

Now, by posting about the temple, am I promoting superstition and blind belief or is it an attempt at documenting an integral, interesting and unique part of Indian road trips?

Originally Posted by distiller

I don't know whether the learned men should discuss this subject. We need to eradicate such practices & all the myths associated with them.

I can distinctly see two examples of superstitious belief in this very statement:

1. That we are all learned men.
2. That since the said learned men believe it unworthy, a topic shouldn't be discussed at all.

Originally Posted by distiller

When someone says "Personally, I don't believe in any kind of superstition " & then posts a photo at a superstitious place minus his shoes, shows his belief in it.

I will let an extract from a previous post answer this:

Originally Posted by JediKnight

You have no right to call someone's faith as superstition. Also whenever i see posts like these the poster always puts a disclaimer-"i don't believe in any of this". So why do you go there? To make fun of the people who created the shrine or to dis-honor the person for whom the shrine was created for?

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Would you say this forum, and by extension, this country, has a severe dearth of Freethinkers?

[PearlJam]

I see this thread going down a treacherous path (well, not literally!) with no end in sight.

Since there's a fine line between superstition and faith, and one man's faith being the other man's superstition, or maybe not - Probably the mods can remove all references to the word "superstition" in this thread, and change the title to something like "Extraordinary and renowned places along our roads".

[Miyata]

Etymologically speaking, there is enough elbow-room in the definition and understanding of the word "superstition" that really no one needs to take umbrage to its use in this context.

Moreover, as "learned folks", are we that inflexible that we cannot accommodate differing perspectives and views? In my opinion, as one of the side-effects, these are some of the examples we can possibly set on the forum of respectful discussions and disagreements and still be those "jolly good fellas!"

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

I just dislike the title of thread. "Superstitious" place in India. It is so judgmental. You have no right to call someone's faith as superstition

I knew that this kind of question would arise that's why I kept the title name as Superstitious / Mythical. I also added the definition of "Superstitious" to avoid the never-ending debate of Faith Vs Superstition. I can debate endlessly on the topic of someone's faith and someone's superstition but this is not the proper forum neither proper thread for that kind of discussion.

the poster always puts a disclaimer-"i don't believe in any of this". So why do you go there?

Originally Posted by distiller

When someone says "Personally, I don't believe in any kind of superstition " & then posts a photo at a superstitious place minus his shoes, shows his belief in it.

Personally, I don't believe in any kind of superstitions and I mean it. I read thousands of fiction books and watch fiction movies it doesn't mean I believe them. There is something called "curiosity" and in the above cases, my curiosity was aroused due to the stories of Roads, vehicles and Accidents. That's it.

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Of course, the places and the stories should be related to Roads, vehicles and accidents somehow.

I wanted to keep this thread related to places which have stories related to Roads, Vehicles and accidents. Somehow, places like
"The Hero of Nathu La - the Ghost of Baba Harbhajan Singh " also get mentioned in this thread.

So, why not to include one more place named The Shrine Of OP Baba, Siachin BaseCamp. It has the same story as Baba Harbhajan Singh. Here it is.

The Shrine Of OP Baba.
Location: Siachen Base Camp.

The faith in the shrine of OP Baba is almost fanatical for soldiers posted at the base camp at the Siachen Glacier. Built near the snout of the glacier in 1996, elaborate ceremonies are performed as soon as a soldier finishes his posting of 90 days on the glacier, something allotted by rotation. Living under sub-zero conditions on a mass of ice can be fatal or cause loss of limbs or eye-sight or even sanity amongst the hardest. Even when all precautions are taken and right training imparted. Coming back from the glacier intact is a cause for celebration.

Who is OP Baba? According to the legend mentioned at the shrine:

“The true origin of the legend of OP Baba shrine remains obscured in the mist and frozen mass of the Siachen Glacier. The shrine itself originated in the Malaun post-Bila complex in the northern glacier in the late 1980s. As the legend goes, a soldier named Om Prakash was instrumental in single-handedly beating back an enemy attack on Malaun post while the soldiers of the post had been temporarily called to the rear headquarters. Who the soldier Om Prakash was and what became of him is the mystery of the legend.

It is the firm belief of the troops that the soldier Saint Om Prakash, fondly revered as OP Baba, is their Guardian Deity who protects them not only form the depredations of nature on the glacier but also from the enemy by forewarning them of impending dangers by appearing in their dreams. A formal military report is given to OP Baba by the troops prior to and on the accomplishment of every mission on the glaciers. So strong is the faith on OP Baba that all troops pledge to give up consumption of alcohol and tobacco during their stay on the glacier. As the legend spread, shrines in honour of OP Baba have come up at all posts on the glaciers.”

The shrine was renovated in 2003 and renamed OP Baba – Sarva Dharma Sthal (All religions place) to reflect the secular tradition of the Army.

Article Source.




Image Source.


Image Source.

[VijayAnand1]

Lovely thread. Call it superstitious or borderline virtue, the information shared and the fact that getting to know some tid bit about our highway history along the way is sure to add some spice to the information. How many of us know the Gata Loops story, I bet I don't know or for matter the thousands that flock there.

Life on the road is always interesting and so is this thread. Glued.

Cheers!
VJ

[GTO]

Mod Note: No more off-topic discussions please. If you have any suggestions on the title, 'report' the post and we'll act if necessary. For now, the title stays as it is. Thanks!

[superbad]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

I wanted to keep this thread related to places which have stories related to Roads, Vehicles and accidents. Somehow, places like
"The Hero of Nathu La - the Ghost of Baba Harbhajan Singh " also get mentioned in this thread.

So, why not to include one more place named The Shrine Of OP Baba, Siachin BaseCamp. It has the same story as Baba Harbhajan Singh. Here it is.

Yes, OP baba has become a legend in that area. In fact, on the forward posts, troops will not eat before laying out a plate for OP baba like prasad.

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Any input about this place?

Received one more latest photograph of this place from a friend and an avid traveler Gaurav Tomar. He visited this place last week, but as per him, no-one was available there to tell the story behind this place.


Image Courtesy: Gaurav Tomar

[hserus]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Received one more latest photograph of this place from a friend and an avid traveler Gaurav Tomar. He visited this place last week, but as per him, no-one was available there to tell the story behind this place.

You should ask him to put a LTD sticker there so that whatever deity is on that spot can extend his blessings to tbhp in general.

[pd_scorpio]

Wow..

Some of the places are really Interesting. The Ghost of Ghata Loops have a unique story. Thanks for this interesting thread.