Rituals

For most of us, the life has become ritualistic. We perform many rituals; without even knowing the purpose and meaning of those rituals, but pretend as we know them. We create some opinion within us about rituals and then think that opinion as our knowledge about rituals. We fail to recognize that such knowledge is illusionary and hence there is no meaning for those rituals we are performing, what so ever it be.

And for many of us, spirituality means performing some rituals. Most of those rituals are handed over to us from our parents and few of them we developed ourselves and few of them we modified for our convenience.

Have we ever thought about for what are we doing these rituals? This question is not to provide answer for anybody else, but for ourselves. If we ever asked this question ourselves, for sure we might have at least started to find out the answer, if not already found the answer. If we really have the urge to find an answer for this question, we must set aside the beliefs, opinions, knowledge handed over by somebody else etc. If we are not setting aside these things away from us, we will find an immediate answer for this question, which is already in our memory and for sure that answer will definitely sustain our action, in this case, support our rituals.

Are we doing the rituals for mere satisfaction or self gratification? If so, is it not a mere illusionary satisfaction? Why do we need such illusionary satisfaction? Is it because, we are afraid of facing reality? Whether we are afraid or not we have to face the reality. When it is so, why do we face the reality with a fear and hiding the fear behind the rituals? If these are not the reasons for our rituals, are we expressing our thanks to the Supreme Being by way of rituals? Why should we express our thanks to the Supreme Being? Any way we are expressing our thanks to the Supreme Being, if such thing is there, by way of living our life…. By way of supporting other life forms in this earth… the other life forms created by the same Supreme Being. why should we express our thanks by means of rituals, where we fail to live our life given by the supreme being… destroying the other life forms and destroying the anchor for sustaining our life and other life forms…., who is going to accept our expression of thanks by way of rituals, when we are trying to defeat the very source of existence? Are we able to perceive the rituals and its effects – not the illusionary effect, in our living? If not- that is the most probable answer, for what other purpose are we performing those rituals?

Please be understand that the above questions are not asked against rituals and supporting the argument against rituals. It is just to understand the need for being with the rituals, if at all we are performing any rituals. If we are being with what we are doing, they are no more rituals. In such case they are our way of life, meaning we are having complete integrity with our actions and our perceptions. When such thing happens, it is no more ritualistic action. It becomes our life. But are we in such a state. If we are performing the rituals for thanks giving, all our actions should be in that direction. We will not be wasting any thing which is in this earth for the support of something else. We use anything to the extent we need it and leave the rest for others to use. The same way we readily offer ourselves to use for the need of something else or somebody else (Does not mean anybody can use us for any purpose. It is a subtle statement). Such a state is possible only when one is with pure Love.

Are we having such a state of Love or are we having any intention to have such a state of Love? If not, all our rituals are just rituals and not our life. We are not having the perception of such rituals and hence they are meaningless. For majority of the population, the rituals are for pure self interest, probably with the warping of God or Spirituality over it. Hence, there is no use out of that except an illusionary satisfaction, an illusionary psychological security.

Probably, the Indian culture may say the rituals are based on Vedas, the scriptures of Indian culture. If we see the evolution of Vedas, only the earlier parts of Vedas are talking about rituals. The Vedas in the later part of time line moved from rituals to freedom. When the fact itself is that Vedas evolved gradually from rituals to complete freedom, why should we still be bonded with the ritualistic part of Vedas. Why don’t we move to the evolved part of Vedas? And the Vedas are aged more than seven thousands years. If we consider 40 years as one generation, we are 175 generations ahead of the age of Vedas. With such a long generation gap, we should have been evolved much, much deeper level and in fact Vedas must be very preliminary scriptures for us. Indeed it happened until about few hundred years ago. Our culture supported the evolution of so many philosophies, which support the entity of God as well as rejecting the entity of God. All of them were taking the humanity closer to reality in different angles. But, now we are dragged to nowhere and we have lost the advantage of evolution of 175 generations.

Why is it so? If we really enquire it into it we may be able to find out an answer. Probably we will be able to get back to the right track in the evolution journey. In that journey, the rituals of today may become a part - not as rituals but as our life, the way of living. What we need is just the urge to find out! And the urge to have a life of integrity!