To all the many friends who have told me, "We are spiritual. but not religious'. Indicating their superiority to those of us who say shlokas, light lamps, put muggus/ kolams, and follow other rituals.
Every person in every village follows rituals.
(via Akanksha Damini Joshi)
" Once someone is at a stage to move beyond them"
I have come across many 'progressive' people who decide that they are "Beyond Rituals". In that statement is hidden a judgement. As if rituals are Class One level. And they are PhD. The funny part is most of this judgemental lot claim to be "born PhDs", "beyond rituals". No passing through rituals. In fact rejecting them with disdain.
So humbly i will say, there is no "going beyond rituals" as long as you are in the body, on earth. There is no ritual lower or higher. Just, different. Some worked then, others work now. The forms change, rituals remain.
Yes, your wisdom emerges through one recognition, as you say, consciousness. A knowledge that any ritual that you do, is a part of the play of being in body, on earth. It is a method. To be used. Not to be possessed by.
Akanksha Damini Joshi Aparna, there are various kinds of arrogance. The one born of knowing is still acceptable. The knowledge, no matter how limited, has some basis, at least of effort. But the arrogance born of ignorance, of laziness, needs to be first done a namaste to and then, simply, slashed. The jokes made on women who do a #pooja ritual is one such space. The pooja is a part of Karma. Kayikam. A kram performed through the body. Like the mantras we recite are a part of the Vachikam Karma, the karma through voice. Manasam is Mind, what the modern folks call meditation. Life is a combination of all these. Actions, #Karma of the body, the voice, the mind. A basic study reveals that. But study we must. Laziness and ready made opinions served on a wordy platter?! That i no longer pamper.
Aparna Krishnan The superiority of the 'modern'/'educated'/'progressive' needs to be unforgivingly challenged. Their mockery of the peoples of this land has gone on too long.
Kaveri Murthy Every ritual has evolved out of a judgement. It is man made and not asked by God. The way our spirituality works is you start with external ritual and concentration on idol worship and move to inner sanctum. Thats why sages used to sit in forests nowherr without any idol or worship to do penance. But being judgemental about non ritualistic people is also not right. U do what u belive and like and they do theirs. Please note there is no one truth nor just one path to the truth!
Akanksha Damini Joshi Unlike some sages, Meera found moksha through the 'murti' of Kanha. The murti was man made, and man? God made. Everything in our culture is sacred. God exists in everything, Brahman. Including pooja rituals. Yes, those rituals can be of many types, many forms, many expressions. A "non-ritualistic", perhaps meaning, one who does not perform pooja, also has her/his own rituals. They may be of a different nature. But they are rituals nonetheless. Just, different. There is One truth. The expressions of it, many.
And humbly, not knowing you personally, i'll still add a general comment: when a way of life is ridiculed over centuries, so much so that the ridicule, the rejection has become natural to 'growing up', it needs a counter. To sit on the fence is not an option for Arjuna.
Kaveri Murthy Ridiculing and going againdt any culture has existed and is as old as the culture itself. When there is a path there are very well people who dont follow. Atheism is older than any religion or ritualistic behaviours because thats the first state of being for anyone. A child knows no ritualsno God. Depending on the family he is taught a path or ritual. To me every belief is sacred but forcing it on someone who doesnt feel connected is not acceptable. Let us not term every person who is non ritulistic as arrogance.
Akanksha Damini Joshi "Atheism is older than any religion or ritualistic behaviours because thats the first state of being for anyone." A child, an atheist? Thats news. I thought the first state was theism. Yes. To all that life is. Life itself is God. But well, thats what i thought. And i could well be wrong.
" forcing it on someone who doesnt feel connected is not acceptable" Agreed. All kinds of conversions are sin. Even to ones own ideology.
Aparna Krishnan Karma Yoga gives dispassion, Upasana yoga (rituals, meditation) gives the mind focus, and then Gnana Yoga to absorb the truth. This is the sequence though there is also a degree of parallelism. These are the steps. to claim that one is sitting at the top of the ladder, and looking down on the others on the steps is rubbish. A saint may be there, having covered the earlier stages in pervious janmas. And he will never dismiss the need for the steps. Arrogance goes hand in hand with ignorance, never wisdom.
Most of the educated who 'dismiss rituals', look down on them and those performing them.
Shashi Joshi The truly wise may not follow any ritual, but they don't brag about it either. They just gently transcend the need for ritual. They are stithaprajna.
Those who brag about moving beyond rituals just have a psychological complex.
Actually anyone who brags, has that tumor in the cranium.
Kaveri Murthy Agree! However i have seen ritualistic treating non ritualistic as outcaste. That is also notacceptable. Sthithtapagnas wont bother about that too :-)
Aparna Krishnan Any arrogance shows shallowness.
Aparna Krishnan But the fact is that steps of rituals are essential to ascend. To focus the mind, for discipline, and
Kaveri Murthy It is all about belief and connectedness one feels. Every individual is different so let us not define anyone's path as we dont us to be judged for ours
Shashi Joshi Rituals, devotion style, rising above the form into the formless are all stages of spiritual growth.
If one claims to have grown the need to do Hindu rituals because they are spiritual shouldn't have need for any ritual, including cheers of wine glass , bday cake, throwing of graduation hat, or the need to have anything branded, any kind of anger or frustration. Till then we all are in the realm of mortals and need some sort of celebration, life, vivre, and as soon as that happens rituals come in picture.
There is no one who has nothing that he or she reveres. Living paramhans are too few, and you won't hear from them.
Shashi Joshi And those who are wise also know that different stages of growth have different needs. So they never ridicule anyone.
Aparna Krishnan Vidya vinayam dadathi.
Kaveri Murthy Agree we wont hear ! Most of those lessons are passrd in silence. There is no ritual..no sounds.no hymns and no words needed
Aparna Krishnan "Living paramhans are too few, and you won't hear from them.". He means they will not talk of their superior non-ritualistic spiritualities !
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