Thus Spake the Divine - Rituals

Thus Spake the Divine

Rituals

There are people who feel that whatever rituals I talk about, be they daily karmas or pooja etc., are ‘mere’ rituals. That experiencing the blissful soul (Atmanubhavam) is an internal experience, whereas rituals are external in nature. How can such external rituals help us experience the blissful soul? The rituals thus are of little meaning.

However, if we honestly look within ourselves as to whether we have reached the stage of experiencing our own blissful soul, we will realise that we are still quite far away from that stage. We have already taken several births. We have done innumerable karmas. But these have only helped us deal with the strong subconscious imprints and inclinations of our previous births (poorva janma vasana). Having done good deeds and having acquired virtuous vasanas, we have overcome our erstwhile bad deeds and evil imprints. We have to now enter the self-interrogation mode.

Till we reach this stage, it is essential to continue the so-called ‘rituals’ and other karmas. Thus, it is very important that all ordinary (samanya) people continue adhering to rituals and karmas, as defined in the Shastras. The karmas have to be performed without any errors or flaws, and with utmost care and total concentration within the mind. This manner of concentration is important when performing meditation in the next stage. The benefits of following such a path will be quite visible.

An individual becomes disciplined when he follows rules and regulations of the Shastras while performing a particular ritual. This demonstrates the will power of the person in being firm and not indulging in any acts contrary to the rules of Shastras. In the process, he becomes simple and humble, without holding any specific opinion on the rituals being performed. He just follows the rules as stipulated in the Shastras. This helps the person build ethical characteristics within him. All these aspects, coupled with good conduct and morality, enable the individual to experience his blissful soul.

Buddha did not insist on spiritual rituals, but he was firm on morality and virtue. On the other hand, the Purva Meemamsaka school of thought insisted only on adherence to spiritual rites and rituals. To them, Bhakti and Ishvara were not that important. However, our Sanatana Dharma has integrated rituals with the morality that results, followed by Bhakti towards God and then attainment of self-wisdom. Morality does not come on its own. If we need milk, we have to rear a cow. Cow does not give milk alone. Cow dung and haystack garbage come along with the milk. We have to clean up the garbage and cow dung as we have to still rear the cow. Similarly, when we rear the Cow of Karma, we not only get virtue as milk but also the unwanted garbage of thoughts. We have to clean up such thoughts by performing the required rituals.

If we say rituals are not required to truly experience the blissful soul, then, there will be no need for the image of Ishvara too. But this is possible only at a higher stage. As such, at the initial stages, we cannot do away with rituals, just as we need Ishvara at later stages. There are many reasons for this and let me tell you one reason.

We require a model figure as an embodiment of virtuous qualities. We have already been treating Ishvara as an embodiment of eternal virtues. When we hear the name of Ishvara, we immediately think that He is the one who, for sure, cannot possess any evil qualities, isn’t it? If there is something absolute in terms of beauty, compassion, power and wisdom, it can only be Ishvara. Psychologically, we become what we keep thinking. Likewise, thinking about virtuous qualities of Ishvara also makes us virtuous. To summarise, rituals, poojas etc., offer us several benefits, one among which is that they help us acquire virtuous qualities. They also enable us to associate ourselves with action-less meditation and inquiry towards wisdom.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.

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