How to Get Rid of Superstitions — Swami Bhaskarananda
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How to Get Rid of Superstitions — Swami Bhaskarananda
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About this listen
Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on September 14, 2014.
In this thoughtful and often humorous discourse, Swami Bhaskarananda examines the many forms of superstition that cloud human understanding — religious, social, political, scientific, medical, and even spiritual. Drawing from Hindu scriptures, history, and common sense, he explains how superstitions arise from ignorance, fear, and the human tendency to seek patterns in the unknown. He traces early beliefs about heaven and hell, the evolution of mythological ideas, and misconceptions such as the notion of a wrathful God, racial superiority, or the sacredness of political boundaries.
Swami Bhaskarananda emphasizes that superstition weakens the mind and leads to dependence on false ideas rather than truth. True religion, he says, must be based on reason, direct experience, and self-effort — not on fear or ritual obsession. He also highlights that the greatest superstition of all is our identification with the body and mind, forgetting our true nature as divine. The talk concludes with the ancient prayer “Asato ma sadgamaya…”, urging the seeker to move from untruth to truth, darkness to light, and mortality to immortality.