The Greatest Cosmic Scapegoat
Anwesha Ghosh
SY BSc
Reading time: 5 mins
My Dear Children,
Thanks to the overwhelming responses and prayers at my divine complaint department, it has come to my attention that I am once again responsible for every disaster taking place in your life, right from your low CGPA (despite not studying) to your disastrous dating life (maybe it’s not me, it’s you). I apparently hold full responsibility.
If not me, then the blame shifts to my colleagues. Saturn, Jupiter, and Mercury have been unfairly accused of ruining your life. A slight wobble in their orbit and suddenly your relationship won’t work out?
Aren’t they also just minding their businesses?
Of course, when all of these options fail to become the reason for your mishaps, you have society to hold accountable: “It’s not my fault I made this decision; they asked me to come with them!” like peer pressure is inevitable and is stronger than your willpower.
It’s surreal how humans forget that they are themselves part of the decisions made in their lives. Gentle reminder: Every mishap you will be facing this week will not be stated in your horoscope, which, by the way, applies to half a billion people. “A big change is coming your way. – SHOCKING!
Hence, I, God, as of today, am officially resigning and going on a long vacation away from all of this and letting you live your life of free will without any sort of intervention. Good luck!
Signing off,
God.
God has left the chat.
Why do you think humans have this innate need to shift responsibilities? Why does the first thing that comes to mind be that there are cosmic conspiracies against them in the universe?
The chaos in your life might not make sense all the time and that’s fine. Since the dawn of time, we have always correlated earthquakes and tsunamis with the displeasure of God. Even in Ancient Greece, if there was a famine, it wasn’t due to poor irrigation; it was Zeus having a fit or in the Mahabharata, Shani caused Karna’s misfortune. Fast forward to today, and we now have a new fear amongst ourselves—the Leviathan (depicted as a fire-breathing, scaly, multi-headed, uncatchable, water-dwelling sea serpent), who is destined to show up on judgment day and make the world come to an end.
Blame acts as a psychological defense mechanism for people. Now, why do we do this? Why do people need to have a nonexistent external force to pin their misfortunes on? The answer to this lies in a series of psychological and philosophical theories, out of which some are logical and the others are straight-up bizarre. Let’s explore some of the wildest ones.
THE PERSONALIZATION BIAS
The ERP portal crashed at 11:59, just when you were about to turn in your assignment and your submission is due at midnight. Does that mean the cosmos is testing you or Saturn had an unfortunate position according to your birth month? How about the fact that you procrastinated to the absolute last moment and had the entire day to turn in the assignment? Well, you just ignore that. This concept is known as the main character syndrome. Instagram reels may preach, “You’re the protagonist of your own story,” but that does not mean you’re the protagonist of the universe’s story. People believe the world revolves around them; a single star is working to compensate them for a hardship that they had to face this week through a grand resolution, a satisfying final arc. According to cognitive psychology studies, people overestimate how much other people notice or care about their personal experiences. This phenomenon is known as the spotlight effect.
FOCUS:
Have you ever noticed that when your brain gets bombarded with multiple pieces of information, it only chooses to focus on the things relevant to you? Then, over the next couple of days, you read and research only about that particular topic and you think that it is actually affecting you. But in reality, the world isn’t ‘sending signs’; rather, it’s simply your brain emphasizing patterns that fit with your preexisting thoughts. It’s not a cosmic intervention but a psychological ploy!
Picture this: let’s say you’ve read about how mercury can affect your decision-making this week and how that can lead to a misunderstanding in your daily relationship. Over the next few days, you research it and read tweets. A single mishap in your relationship, and you think the universe is sending you a sign; however, it’s just your brain actively filtering out the information because it recently became relevant to you. This phenomenon of noticing something first and then seeing it everywhere is known as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.
Ever wondered how religions evolved?
According to researchers, the Hyperactive Agency Detection Device (HADD) is the way humans and even some animals interpret effects as being caused by some intentional agent, like another creature. This led to people believing that there’s a supreme power in the universe deciding our fate.
Don’t you often wait for God to drop hints or a divine sign when life throws you a tough choice, be it in your love life or your career?
But here’s an unlikely twist.
What if it’s the devil playing mind games with you? What if your mind is piecing together random thoughts to create an illusion for guidance?
Here, free will comes into the picture. The question of whether or not we are the ones making the real decision arises. Wouldn’t it be wiser to trust yourself instead of others if dishonesty is a possibility? Why not accept complete responsibility for your decisions rather than waiting for someone else to steer you in a particular direction? Perhaps the cosmos isn’t working against you or in favor of you and maybe you should give the universe the benefit of the doubt that maybe, just maybe, it’s not against you?
JUST WORLD FALLACY
“Everything happens for a reason.” Does it, though?
So the reason he cheated on you isn’t that he lacks morals; it is because the universe needed you to experience heartbreak to become “stronger” from it?
In a world of uncertainties and chaos, people often find defense mechanisms to cope with the harsh truths of life. Psychologists relate this to cognitive bias, a tendency to act in an irrational way due to our limited ability to process information objectively. It is easier to assume the world is fundamentally fair and that good things happen to good people and bad people face karma, which is often not the case.
Now, here’s something to think about. Do you have an internal locus or an external locus? People who believe your actions actually shape your life and you have authority over your future have an internal locus. People who think their lives are out of control and planets and God have significant influence over them have an external locus. Now I don’t believe anyone can strictly be restricted to one of those. There are times when people are so desperate to find some ray of hope that they end up seeking comfort in these thoughts, which is justified.
When you turn in your assignment on time or ace a job interview, do you thank the universe? Or was it the all-nighter you pulled and the actual effort that got you through?
Let’s say you believe that Mercury retrograde brings bad luck—just like some Indian households believe that if a black cat crosses your path, misfortune will follow. If your car gets a flat tire later, you immediately think, “See? The black cat curse is real!” But if nothing goes wrong, you forget the incident altogether because it doesn’t fit your narrative. The same happens when we ask the universe for something—if it comes true, we see it as a “sign,” but if it doesn’t, we conveniently ignore it. This tendency to remember only the events that support our beliefs while disregarding contradictory evidence is called confirmation bias.
For example, in the modern world, ‘manifestation’ trends and the Law of Attraction have a huge role. Positive outcomes, such as finding love or getting the job, were ‘manifested’ by ‘you.’ My positive energy led to this moment”. But if something terrible happens, then you say, “Negative energy in the universe blocked my desires.”
Does the idea that no higher entity is looking out for you feel unsettling? If you think about it, you can’t truly separate the debate about God’s existence from the undeniable fact that humanity has always treated the divine, the planets, or fate itself as a convenient scapegoat. After all, we’ve been blaming celestial bodies for our misfortunes since ancient times—whether it’s Saturn in retrograde or a black cat crossing the road. Maybe the universe is not your crazy ex holding a grudge against you. At some point, we have to take responsibility because if things do happen for a reason, that reason might just be you.