Indians and Rituals
Indians spend too much time on rituals said an article and I didn’t really know whether I wanted to read more of it or not. For a country so wide, it becomes incredibly hard to generalise and quote a universal truth, it would be too immature of me to even think like that. But I could speak for people who think in similar lines and even then say – I honestly don’t know what the right one is. A part of my brain says – No, not all of them follow the blind rituals. Another part of my brain says – Come on! I have seen so many people do that and it doesn’t seem to be doing any good. The logical part says – it is all a blind superstition.
Temples are divine
So yeah, it is a pretty hard question to answer. But I would like to dig a little deeper and see how or why these rituals have been a part of people. For the ones who do it regularly, it is a great way to release the stress. Most logical people may disagree, but there is a sense of calm in a temple which most places don’t offer. The ‘Not so busy’ ones are calm and the environment is serene. There is a whole lot happening around, the aroma is calming, the sound of the bell, the reverberations, the cool atmosphere. Although most of it looks like a distraction, it is one of the most distraction free environment one could think of sometimes.
Temples are a waste of time
For the ones who don’t believe in it, they argue that temples are a waste of time. The rituals are history and they need not be a part of our lives any more. There is no point in doing all those mundane things because they don’t mean anything practically. All the philosophy they throw at us is pretty pointless and I am an agnostic/atheist who doesn’t believe in god and I don’t want to get involved in all this nonsense.
Fair enough, I guess both factions will come up with logical arguments and enough justifications as to why they are right. And as far as I am concerned, both of them are perfectly right! This is not to say that I want to be politically correct, it is to say that logic can work in ways which can satisfy the result we want to derive from it.
Our View
Now coming to my view, I think sometimes all these rituals are a bit overrated – mostly because the people following them don’t really know why it is being done in the first place. The lamest answer they give is that you should not question the will of god or be rude to elders. These are the people who don’t know the answer but don’t want to accept that which makes it further worse. So yeah, left to them, Indians do waste a lot of time in temples and rituals.
But there are those people who do it because they really like it and know what it practically means to them. These are the people who are very clear as to what each of these rituals means and how it influences their lives. They don’t do it just because everyone else is doing it and such are the people who deserve my deepest respect.
End of the day, I think it all boils down to a choice and the beliefs we are willing to call our own. That really defines whether we do something too much or not. Frankly if we are doing something just for the sake of doing it without knowing how it makes sense, then it is as good as blindly doing it.
Thoughts and counter arguments?
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I always love your mature opinion and I agree that most of the rituals we follow either due to respect to our elders or so called things related to god can never be questioned. Ultimate aim of going to temple is to seek peace so it never matters whether you go to temple or some other place where you find peace
Thank you Ajay, it is really sweet of you to say that. You are absolutely right, the ultimate purpose is the one that counts the most. The moment we know that, every other reason fizzles out, leaving nothing but simple plain truth. As long as we look at that, rest of it becomes quite a simple task :)
I have no counter arguments as I agree with you. Religious rituals are quite a waste of time, performed out of fear of the future and with no real spirituality about them.
Thank you Kalpana.. I think religion is a beautiful thing, if not for the misinterpretation of certain idiots, we would all have been able to enjoy the beauty of it. The problem is these idiots dont stop at it, they propagate and impose their views on the world and call themselves godmen which is a further shame..
I liked your post. Very well written. I believe some rituals should be performed while doing pujas or upanayans or marriage. But as they say too much of everything ruins – same goes here as well. I agree to all of your points. Would like to read more of your posts.
Thank you Anushmita :). You put it up perfectly – too much of anything spoils the broth! And it loses the essence of meaning as well. I personally believe we belong to a country rich with heritage and meaning. It felt quite nice writing up this post as it kept the thought bubble growing and the interactions here are even more enriching. I would certainly write more about indispire from now :)
I am strong believer of “God help those who help themselves” I find peace of mind and connected to my roots when I go to temples once in a while.
Its the most elegant philosophy sapana, it creates a fair balance between our personal responsibility and broad set of beliefs. A beautiful balance to maintain :)
Satyam, Shivam &Sundaram! Rituals and traditions are based on Scientific reason.
Hi Thiruvenkatam, that’s a very interesting perspective. Could you please explain a bit more about the scientific aspect, I would certainly love to know more about it and so would our readers :)
Sure, If you know Tamil then directly read and learn from it through : “Arthamulla Hindu Madham” “அர்த்தமுள்ள இந்துமதம். அர்த்தமுள்ள இந்துமதம்-கண்ணதாசன் ‘ Even you can watch it on Youtube. Each and every Rituals created by our elders are meaningful.
I’m afraid I don’t know Tamil thiruvenkatam. I certainly agree to the rituals having meaning. I loved watching BBC story of India and I felt awfully proud to belong to a country with such rich heritage. I was particularly keen on the phrase you mentioned in your precious comment and would love to know your interpretation of it.
Yes, many times it is just superstition (without knowing the history or logic behind it). However, i feel if one can derive happiness through any such means, it is ok to follow it (as long as we are not harming anybody else).
True Alok, I think you have raised a very important perspective here when you talk about it deriving the happiness without harming someone else. In the broad level I think that is the essence of religion or philosophy as well.
My personal experience with religion has been terribly depressing. I have lived with godmen who are absolute frauds. I am yet to come across one godman who is honest. There are some religious persons (not godmen or sadhus or sadhvis or of that category, but simple ordinary religious persons) who are basically honest. Otherwise religion seems to be a good cover-up for all the fraud within or a good tool for winning elections. Personal experience.
I am completely with you on this Matheikal. There are no bigger fakes than these godmen, they have literally wrecked the country on false pretences and are worse than the normal people because they take on an additional level of mass eye washing. It is so much more disappointing when we look under the rug and see that there are so many unethical things in the name of religion and god that sometimes a godless world seems like a respite. Atleast there won’t be anyone to misuse the gods for their own benefits!