Are you superstitious?

[coolphool]

Today I want to share the story of a very close Jat friend, and then ask you a question about your personal beliefs.

I have known Sandeep from my days in college. We both attended the same Graduate School here in the US. After graduation Sandeep could not find work. So, he worked overtime at an Indian owned business to pay his bills. Eventually he decided to return to India. But just before that happened, he met an American girl and fell in love with her. They got married last year. She filed for his Green Card. Soon, he got his Work Permit.

Even with his qualifications, he could not secure a job. He is willing to do minimum wage jobs, but no one would hire him. I constantly support him financially. But it only puts him through so much. Fortunatley his wife is an understanding person. She is co-operating with him through his struggle.

Last December, Sandeep and Shirley (Sandeep's wife) got their interview call for the Green Card application. The interview seemed to have gone fine until January 31st, when they got a letter in the mail from Immigration authorities stating that they suspected immigration fraud. They gave Sandeep and Shirley 18 days (from the date on the letter which is January 30th) to provide evidence to refute any fraud charges.

Sandeep and Shirley put together a response and mailed it out on February 12th, by Priority mail. Regular mail between LA and Fresno takes a day or two. So, Priority mail should have definitely been there in two days, even in a worst case scenario. Guess what! Immigration authorities received the letter in seven days. That was two days past the deadline set by the immigration authorities. Priority mail has guaranteed delivery to any address in the US within 3-4 days. So, what took the letter 7 days to be delivered at an address 200 miles away.

Sandeep hasn't heard back from the immigration authorities. But, he is dead-sure his application will be denied, just on the basis of the letter being delayed. In the meantime he hasnt heard back from any of the places where he applied for work. He is under a mountain of debt.

I have done the best I could. I am supporting him financially to the extent that it is affecting me adversely now. So, yesterday I asked him a really unexpected question. Last year, his mother had sent him a ring with his birth stone and another ring made from horse-shoe iron. The purpose was to stave off the negative impact of Shani on Sandeep's life. I asked Sandeep if he ever thought about wearing those two rings.

Sandeep is a hardcore non-believer. He is as atheist and non-superstitious as it gets. But, yesterday I somehow convinced him to start wearing the rings sent by his mother. He has agreed to start doing that starting today, that is a Saturday.

I am personally a very non-superstitious person too. But, I have a strong feeling what is happening with Sandeep is not normal. It must be a big coincidence for him to be so unlucky with everything he tries. So, yesterday I kind of shoved away my non-superstitious beliefs and came to the conclusion that Sandeep needs an unconventional solution to his unconventional situtation in life.

Sandeep's situation has kind of left me thinking too. At what point in life man becomes a beliver in the power of the super-natural? Does it help to be humble and believe in the power of a supreme being?

What do you guys think is happening with Sandeep? Do you think his new attempt towards becoming a believer will help him.

In the mean time, I am going to keep everyone posted on what's happening with him.

 

[mamtadg]

hi

i think this story line is faced by many in there lives .superstitious might not be the right word but i personally feel its all about faith .Answer to your friend life exist in the book ,the secret .........................
and can add these lines
i bargained with life and life would pay no more , for life is just an employer it gives u what u ask , thats why any wages i had asked of life life would have willingly paid.

 

[kapdal]

Today I want to share the story of a very close Jat friend, and then ask you a question about your personal beliefs.

I have known Sandeep from my days in college. We both attended the same Graduate School here in the US. After graduation Sandeep could not find work. So, he worked overtime at an Indian owned business to pay his bills. Eventually he decided to return to India. But just before that happened, he met an American girl and fell in love with her. They got married last year. She filed for his Green Card. Soon, he got his Work Permit.

Even with his qualifications, he could not secure a job. He is willing to do minimum wage jobs, but no one would hire him. I constantly support him financially. But it only puts him through so much. Fortunatley his wife is an understanding person. She is co-operating with him through his struggle.

Last December, Sandeep and Shirley (Sandeep's wife) got their interview call for the Green Card application. The interview seemed to have gone fine until January 31st, when they got a letter in the mail from Immigration authorities stating that they suspected immigration fraud. They gave Sandeep and Shirley 18 days (from the date on the letter which is January 30th) to provide evidence to refute any fraud charges.

Sandeep and Shirley put together a response and mailed it out on February 12th, by Priority mail. Regular mail between LA and Fresno takes a day or two. So, Priority mail should have definitely been there in two days, even in a worst case scenario. Guess what! Immigration authorities received the letter in seven days. That was two days past the deadline set by the immigration authorities. Priority mail has guaranteed delivery to any address in the US within 3-4 days. So, what took the letter 7 days to be delivered at an address 200 miles away.

Sandeep hasn't heard back from the immigration authorities. But, he is dead-sure his application will be denied, just on the basis of the letter being delayed. In the meantime he hasnt heard back from any of the places where he applied for work. He is under a mountain of debt.

I have done the best I could. I am supporting him financially to the extent that it is affecting me adversely now. So, yesterday I asked him a really unexpected question. Last year, his mother had sent him a ring with his birth stone and another ring made from horse-shoe iron. The purpose was to stave off the negative impact of Shani on Sandeep's life. I asked Sandeep if he ever thought about wearing those two rings.

Sandeep is a hardcore non-believer. He is as atheist and non-superstitious as it gets. But, yesterday I somehow convinced him to start wearing the rings sent by his mother. He has agreed to start doing that starting today, that is a Saturday.

I am personally a very non-superstitious person too. But, I have a strong feeling what is happening with Sandeep is not normal. It must be a big coincidence for him to be so unlucky with everything he tries. So, yesterday I kind of shoved away my non-superstitious beliefs and came to the conclusion that Sandeep needs an unconventional solution to his unconventional situtation in life.

Sandeep's situation has kind of left me thinking too. At what point in life man becomes a beliver in the power of the super-natural? Does it help to be humble and believe in the power of a supreme being?

What do you guys think is happening with Sandeep? Do you think his new attempt towards becoming a believer will help him.

In the mean time, I am going to keep everyone posted on what's happening with him.

Phool, a thoughtful topic. I think people can believe in the power of supernatural or a supreme being/force (god or something else) without being superstitious. I have myself been quite ambivalent about these issues. I have always heard such stories from people around me and I find it hard to either believe/disbelieve them. Personally, I won't like to believe in superstitions. If my parents want me to do something and I find it ridiculous, I won't do it. If I am confused about it, I'd do it as long as it is in my comfort zone. Wearing rings won't have been in my comfort zone.

In this case, can Sandeep show the receipt of the priority mail delivery as a proof that it was not his fault? Basically, despite the rings, he'd have to take some steps to prove that he had sent the letter on time and he shouldn't be held liable for late delivery. Now hoping that his plea is accepted, what would be the cause and effect in his mind? In all likelihood, he'd not give much importance to the logical steps taken by him or by others, and attribute it to the rings. Even generally speaking, something good is bound to happen to him in the long run. And as soon as something good happens, it'd be attributed to the rings. I read somewhere- "You know why American rain dance always works. Because they don't stop dancing until it rains". You can also call it "selection bias". You tend to select the positives and attribute them to "a cause" you want to believe in, without looking at the negatives that happened despite the presence of the "cause".

 

[vivektaliyan]

Phool Bhai ..I am also a belevier of that.

But I have seen many times that sucessful peoples say that all things are bias. Don't trust on that and only u have to do is beleive ur self and work hard.

But if a person working hard and not getting the results as per the efforts made by him/her. Then obviously he truned on these things.

I think we are living in a world there every thing exist. It's on us that we beleive on that or not. But one day we have to beleive due to any reason.

So it does't matter that what procedures u r applying to get success but important that are u there where u want to be ur self.

 

[anilsinghd]

Even generally speaking, something good is bound to happen to him in the long run.

Mean reversion ? So you believe life will also mean revert ? Law of averages ( a confused term by me ) !!!

 

[anilsinghd]

gives u what u ask

too positive a statement Mamta ji God is not that kind

 

[anilsinghd]

Today I want to share the .......

Thanks Phool for sharing the story of your friend


I would not quote anyone but me ,

2007 , 6th August , 3 guys at American embassy (I was one of them ) to get their visa done for job at PIMCO and a couple of minutes before I was called in , i just asked one of my mates that is not it fully at the discretion of the interviewer that he can accept or reject !

And guess what I went left and the other two behind me went right , they were done with in a couple of minutes and I was killed without mercy for no mistake of mine , utter stupidity and illogical reasons and I was told that they have put me on hold and will re-examine everything!

The other two guys flied to US and here I was having the highest paid undergrad job of 2007 and sitting at home , idling!

Acouple of months and I was frustrat ed , i asked the embassy that i need an reply and the reply was that they have posted the reply a couple of days back to me through courier and its on the way ! And that never arrived , not till now at least

Finally the company had sense to post me to Munich and five months of misery , i started at work!

My mom tried all nuskhas and I was told by at least 3-4 pandits that December first week I would be flying and I flew to germany on 11th December , not bad !


Again i belong to the category of not so g reat believers , but then i do not hesitate to buy a free option to tail hedge myself !

There have been couple more incidents which have been even more grave , i will try to share , the end result , i do not know whether I should be superstitious but certainly it is a cheap option to me !

 

[kapdal]

Mean reversion ? So you believe life will also mean revert ? Law of averages ( a confused term by me ) !!!

Nopes..no mean reversion...I just said that "something good will happen in the long run"....mean reversion would have meant that so much good would happen that it would wipe out all the bad stuff....probably so much good may also happen, probably less, probably more...Nobody can say how much....All I meant was that it is difficult to go through the life without anything good happening to you...and when that happens it is human nature to ascribe them to beliefs rather than logical steps...

 

[anilsinghd]

Just got this quote !!! This i have referred a couple of times , pretty correlat ed with what we are talking ...

felt like sharing ...


Even though there is no direct physical evidence of God , one is better off having faith that God exists than suffering the potential consequences of being a non - believer : Pascal Wager !

 

[coolphool]

From the responses we have received on this thread, I feel people are kind of splitwhen it comes to their acceptance of superstitions.

I just got off the phone with my mother. I told her about Sandeep. She knows him well as he would drop by our place when my mother was visiting me.

Realizing the sudden shake-up of my beliefs, she added the following to the list of things I should observe:

1. Dont use any kind of body oil on Saturday
2. Dont buy iron on Saturdays and Tuesdays
3. She will keep me updated on the list days when she wants me abstain from a non-vegetarian diet.

To tell you the truth, Saare America ki hee aisee-taisee ho rakhi hai. Sandeep is not unique. The country is going to hell in a handbasket. Obama thinks he can save it by throwing money around. Republicans think they have better ideas. Sandeep thinks theres a controversy against him. My mother and her Pindat think I need to stop wearing black, not to buy iron on certain days etc.

I really have no clue what the hell is going on. But I do know that the **** has hit the fan and everybody is running for cover.

Update on Sandeep's immigration case: He called me yesterday and told me that the Zip Code for the Immigration Office return address was mentioned incorrectly in the letter. Now, I don't know if the immigration authorities intentionally mentioned a wrong Zip Code so Sandeep would never be able to respond on time, or if it was simply a clerical error. But, I can definitely say that Sandeep's response got delayed due to the wrong Zip Code. His letter was sitting in the wrong post office for four days before it was routed to the correct one.

 

[sidchhikara]

Phool, I don't think there is any supernatural controversy against your friend. The US Immigration system is totally messed up. There is no reason to believe in anything supernatural as a matter of fact.

 

[sidchhikara]

From the responses we have received on this thread, I feel people are kind of splitwhen it comes to their acceptance of superstitions.

I just got off the phone with my mother. I told her about Sandeep. She knows him well as he would drop by our place when my mother was visiting me.

Realizing the sudden shake-up of my beliefs, she added the following to the list of things I should observe:

1. Dont use any kind of body oil on Saturday
2. Dont buy iron on Saturdays and Tuesdays
3. She will keep me updated on the list days when she wants me abstain from a non-vegetarian diet.

To tell you the truth, Saare America ki hee aisee-taisee ho rakhi hai. Sandeep is not unique. The country is going to hell in a handbasket. Obama thinks he can save it by throwing money around. Republicans think they have better ideas. Sandeep thinks theres a controversy against him. My mother and her Pindat think I need to stop wearing black, not to buy iron on certain days etc.

I really have no clue what the hell is going on. But I do know that the **** has hit the fan and everybody is running for cover.

Update on Sandeep's immigration case: He called me yesterday and told me that the Zip Code for the Immigration Office return address was mentioned incorrectly in the letter. Now, I don't know if the immigration authorities intentionally mentioned a wrong Zip Code so Sandeep would never be able to respond on time, or if it was simply a clerical error. But, I can definitely say that Sandeep's response got delayed due to the wrong Zip Code. His letter was sitting in the wrong post office for four days before it was routed to the correct one.

I hate those lazy Pindats ... greasy, greedy bastards. People are just eager to eat up whatever bull$hit they have to offer. They need to be sent to jail for fraud.... haha

 

[sandeep5]

Today I want to share the story of a very close Jat friend, and then ask you a question about your personal beliefs.

I have known Sandeep from my days in college. We both attended the same Graduate School here in the US. After graduation Sandeep could not find work. So, he worked overtime at an Indian owned business to pay his bills. Eventually he decided to return to India. But just before that happened, he met an American girl and fell in love with her. They got married last year. She filed for his Green Card. Soon, he got his Work Permit.

Even with his qualifications, he could not secure a job. He is willing to do minimum wage jobs, but no one would hire him. I constantly support him financially. But it only puts him through so much. Fortunatley his wife is an understanding person. She is co-operating with him through his struggle.

Last December, Sandeep and Shirley (Sandeep's wife) got their interview call for the Green Card application. The interview seemed to have gone fine until January 31st, when they got a letter in the mail from Immigration authorities stating that they suspected immigration fraud. They gave Sandeep and Shirley 18 days (from the date on the letter which is January 30th) to provide evidence to refute any fraud charges.

Sandeep and Shirley put together a response and mailed it out on February 12th, by Priority mail. Regular mail between LA and Fresno takes a day or two. So, Priority mail should have definitely been there in two days, even in a worst case scenario. Guess what! Immigration authorities received the letter in seven days. That was two days past the deadline set by the immigration authorities. Priority mail has guaranteed delivery to any address in the US within 3-4 days. So, what took the letter 7 days to be delivered at an address 200 miles away.

Sandeep hasn't heard back from the immigration authorities. But, he is dead-sure his application will be denied, just on the basis of the letter being delayed. In the meantime he hasnt heard back from any of the places where he applied for work. He is under a mountain of debt.

I have done the best I could. I am supporting him financially to the extent that it is affecting me adversely now. So, yesterday I asked him a really unexpected question. Last year, his mother had sent him a ring with his birth stone and another ring made from horse-shoe iron. The purpose was to stave off the negative impact of Shani on Sandeep's life. I asked Sandeep if he ever thought about wearing those two rings.

Sandeep is a hardcore non-believer. He is as atheist and non-superstitious as it gets. But, yesterday I somehow convinced him to start wearing the rings sent by his mother. He has agreed to start doing that starting today, that is a Saturday.

I am personally a very non-superstitious person too. But, I have a strong feeling what is happening with Sandeep is not normal. It must be a big coincidence for him to be so unlucky with everything he tries. So, yesterday I kind of shoved away my non-superstitious beliefs and came to the conclusion that Sandeep needs an unconventional solution to his unconventional situtation in life.

Sandeep's situation has kind of left me thinking too. At what point in life man becomes a beliver in the power of the super-natural? Does it help to be humble and believe in the power of a supreme being?

What do you guys think is happening with Sandeep? Do you think his new attempt towards becoming a believer will help him.

In the mean time, I am going to keep everyone posted on what's happening with him.

Story is good. But as per my view I am always feel totally confused my self to believe on these things or not. Bcoz some time due to these things the result will be very very good and some times it never work. So clearly I am saying that i am confused about this.

Is there any other member who can give more practical example on this issue.

 

[bhavnasingh20]

ppl like to believe wht is convenient to then......pehle non believers hote hein...
n when everythin is goin against them then believers ho jaate hein....
so its more of a personal experience n to each his own....
frankly even i hate those pandits who only know how to swindle money outta ppl n give them stupid ways n formulas to cure various probs....

but i'll give u a personal eg......
some pandit asked my mum to make me wear "gomed".....so she got a ring made for me n i wore tht...
tht time i was lookin for a job n ppl worse off than me were gettin jobs easily but i wasnt able to clear ne interview....even though acc to me they went pretty well....
then our family pandit saw tht ring in my hand n asked my mum to remove it as it was hampering my growth......
i removed it n tht day only gave an interview for which i was selected....
now i dunno whether it was just a mere coincidence or actually coz of tht ring.....

another relative bought a black car on sat...against everybody's wishes......
n while he was bringing it home it met wit an accident n was so badly damaged tht it cudnt b repaired.....

so i leave it to everybody's descretion wht they wud like to make out of these 2 incidents....n i hav many more to share if nebody wants further evidence....

n i am a firm believer in all this know...my brother met wit a lot of accidents.....all pretty serious...but the day v removed all black frm his wardrobe things improved....

so i really feel tht ur frend shud wear those rings....after all he has nothing to lose !!

 

[jitendershooda]

I still cant say much about this. But sometimes I think:

If these things have something to do then why not these indian pandits either change minds of terrorists, fauji ladke marein bechare ... ye pandit baithey baithey kyuna dhuma tha dete pakistan ka? Kime isa pathar sa de dein ek sarkar bagva de musharraf ke ghar ne er wo kashmir problem sulajhva jyata? Agra aaya tha jib kime ghol ke pya dete .... uske bisthar ke sirane kime pathar puthar dharva dete jiste uska dimag badal jyata.

Er baki bhai aap aale case mein Sandeep agar paher le to koe dikkat bhi na hai ... let us see ... aacha ho jya te badhiya ee se ...

 

[kapdal]

ppl like to believe wht is convenient to then......pehle non believers hote hein...
n when everythin is goin against them then believers ho jaate hein....
so its more of a personal experience n to each his own....
frankly even i hate those pandits who only know how to swindle money outta ppl n give them stupid ways n formulas to cure various probs....

but i'll give u a personal eg......
some pandit asked my mum to make me wear "gomed".....so she got a ring made for me n i wore tht...
tht time i was lookin for a job n ppl worse off than me were gettin jobs easily but i wasnt able to clear ne interview....even though acc to me they went pretty well....
then our family pandit saw tht ring in my hand n asked my mum to remove it as it was hampering my growth......
i removed it n tht day only gave an interview for which i was selected....
now i dunno whether it was just a mere coincidence or actually coz of tht ring.....

another relative bought a black car on sat...against everybody's wishes......
n while he was bringing it home it met wit an accident n was so badly damaged tht it cudnt b repaired.....

so i leave it to everybody's descretion wht they wud like to make out of these 2 incidents....n i hav many more to share if nebody wants further evidence....

n i am a firm believer in all this know...my brother met wit a lot of accidents.....all pretty serious...but the day v removed all black frm his wardrobe things improved....

so i really feel tht ur frend shud wear those rings....after all he has nothing to lose !!

Selection bias again. All the cases of wearing/non-wearing of rings when the results were not positive won't come to these pages. Similarly all black cars that were purchased but never had an accident won't make it to these pages. The right way to check the efficiency of the ring would be to give 100 interviews while wearing the ring and 100 without wearing the ring (interviews which are similar in difficulty level) and then compare...

But I can understand it is hard not to believe when a huge coincidence happens. Even though I know it doesn't make sense, I'd still go along if it is within my comfort levels (I am quite uncomfrortable wearing anything on my hands- so no rings for me, not even my wedding ring ). But I do see myself praying to god whenever I need something, while in normal circumstances I tend to forget.

 

[kapdal]

From the responses we have received on this thread, I feel people are kind of splitwhen it comes to their acceptance of superstitions.

I just got off the phone with my mother. I told her about Sandeep. She knows him well as he would drop by our place when my mother was visiting me.

Realizing the sudden shake-up of my beliefs, she added the following to the list of things I should observe:

1. Dont use any kind of body oil on Saturday
2. Dont buy iron on Saturdays and Tuesdays
3. She will keep me updated on the list days when she wants me abstain from a non-vegetarian diet.

To tell you the truth, Saare America ki hee aisee-taisee ho rakhi hai. Sandeep is not unique. The country is going to hell in a handbasket. Obama thinks he can save it by throwing money around. Republicans think they have better ideas. Sandeep thinks theres a controversy against him. My mother and her Pindat think I need to stop wearing black, not to buy iron on certain days etc.

I really have no clue what the hell is going on. But I do know that the **** has hit the fan and everybody is running for cover.

Update on Sandeep's immigration case: He called me yesterday and told me that the Zip Code for the Immigration Office return address was mentioned incorrectly in the letter. Now, I don't know if the immigration authorities intentionally mentioned a wrong Zip Code so Sandeep would never be able to respond on time, or if it was simply a clerical error. But, I can definitely say that Sandeep's response got delayed due to the wrong Zip Code. His letter was sitting in the wrong post office for four days before it was routed to the correct one.

Wrong zip code is clearly their error. Your friend can probably sue the department for causing mental pain and anguish. Now that we know the reason, I think we can safely ignore the superstitious part.

 

[bhavnasingh20]

Selection bias again. All the cases of wearing/non-wearing of rings when the results were not positive won't come to these pages. Similarly all black cars that were purchased but never had an accident won't make it to these pages. The right way to check the efficiency of the ring would be to give 100 interviews while wearing the ring and 100 without wearing the ring (interviews which are similar in difficulty level) and then compare...

But I can understand it is hard not to believe when a huge coincidence happens. Even though I know it doesn't make sense, I'd still go along if it is within my comfort levels (I am quite uncomfrortable wearing anything on my hands- so no rings for me, not even my wedding ring ). But I do see myself praying to god whenever I need something, while in normal circumstances I tend to forget.

thts y i said na....ppl believe when they r comfortable believing n otherwise they dun...

n like i earlier said...all a matter of personal exp....ab koi research ki backin to milegi nahin superstition ko

aur 200 interview ...
mein to interview dete dete hi shaheed ho jaongi ....
na ji...aise kaam na karne mujhe....

n m comfortable wearing rings.....so mujhe bhi moti pehna rakha hai gussa shant karne ke liye...
though uska asar mujhe aaj tak nazar to aaya nahin

 

[sidchhikara]

Selection bias again. All the cases of wearing/non-wearing of rings when the results were not positive won't come to these pages. Similarly all black cars that were purchased but never had an accident won't make it to these pages. The right way to check the efficiency of the ring would be to give 100 interviews while wearing the ring and 100 without wearing the ring (interviews which are similar in difficulty level) and then compare...

Right on .....

 

[anilsangwan]

The right way to check the efficiency of the ring would be to give 100 interviews while wearing the ring and 100 without wearing the ring (interviews which are similar in difficulty level) and then compare...

.

Kaaljja kadhwa de bhai Kapil .. mere yaar 100 -100 interview deye paachey aadmi naukri karann jogga na rehwe.. uske chain maarnni paddein... baawla ho jya.... .....

But you are right...this nothing but selection bias... ek aadh interview tein bera bhi na paat-ta ek ring ka kamaal huya ek na....