The problem is, people are contented with just following rituals. There is a certain security they enjoy in doing this. The science behind the rituals is no more known to people but the rituals are ego-fulfilling to them. Rituals are complex and we always find it a challenge to keep pace with complex things.
People come to me with their problems and ask me for a solution. I tell them that I will take care and suggest to them to sit for a while under the banyan tree while they are in the ashram. The banyan tree in the ashram is an Energy field. But they are not happy with that answer. They ask me what rituals they should do to make things better.
If I tell them that they should go 108 times around the banyan tree in the ashram, they will be very happy doing it! You see, when you go 108 times around the banyan tree, it becomes ego-fulfilling for you. You then feel that you have worked hard and that you will get the benefit out of it. This is how we have trained our minds with respect to religion.
Even in religion and rituals, I have seen – people compete with each other! If your neighbour has done a particular offering in a particular temple, next you go and do the same offering in that temple. What is the focus on? The deity or the neighbour?! You have missed the whole thing by doing these things!
People feel proud in saying that they have visited so many important holy shrines all over the world. They list out the groups of temples that they have visited. Immediately, the people who listen to these stories make an effort in surpassing these achievements.
After visiting all these holy shrines, your ego is still solid and your Vishuddhi chakra is still locked! Have you ever thought about that? All these things are done only to progress in the inner world, to be free from comparison and jealousy and similar things, but here also you miss the point and again and again, you do things for the sake of the outer world.
I have seen people reading recitations in front of the deity. They will read a few lines and then call out to the maid to find out if she’s finished the job she was asked to do. Or, they will read a few lines and see how many more pages there are to finish! This is how they relate with God and they feel satisfied at having read the recitation at the end of the day.
And on top of it, they will repeat such recitations for 21 days because they have taken a vow to do so! Then they will proudly go and tell their neighbor or relative that they fulfilled such an arduous vow!
Everything that we do is mostly just to tell to people that we did it and sow a seed of comparison in them. You see, if you decide to follow rituals, do it with utmost sincerity, with a feeling of deep connection with Existence. When you do it this way, you won’t even talk about it.
When you decide to follow the ritualistic path, commitment and sincerity must become your master keys. So do it with utmost sincerity. Today, there are hundreds of ways of ritualistic worship. You don’t have to get confused as to which to follow. Just decide to follow any one way and do it with commitment. It is the commitment that gets you the benefit, not the ritual itself.
And one more thing: Don’t look for instant results. Today, everyone wants instant results like instant tea and instant coffee! Most of us feel that others’ prayers are getting answered quicker than ours and so we should shift from our type of worship to others’ type of worship. All this is nonsense. So much of comparison even in worship! Do what you are doing with commitment and faith, and leave the rest open. Things will happen automatically.
Also, try to understand the science behind rituals when you follow them so that your mind will be tuned in the proper way instead of getting caught in the rituals themselves. The ultimate goal of any religion or ritual is to tune in with Existence. This has to be understood in no uncertain terms.
Rituals are not a transaction to bribe the Gods. They are not any bank balances that you create to protect yourself. They are not any race that you are having with anybody to see who is doing more. So stop comparing and start feeling the intensity of what you are trying to do.
I am reminded of a story:
Three men started a business together.
They decided to include God as a partner in their business.
They agreed that whatever profit they would get, they would give away one percent of it to God.
They started their business and they made unexpectedly high profits.
Then came the problem: How to give away so much to God?
They each gave a suggestion.
The first man said, “Alright, let’s draw a circle and throw up all the money. Whatever falls inside the circle is God’s and whatever falls outside is ours.”
The second man said, “No. I will give you a better idea. We will draw a really big circle and throw up all the money. Whatever falls inside is ours and whatever falls outside is God’s.”
The third man said, “Look, listen to me. Anyway God is above us. Let us throw up all the money. Whatever he wants, let him take, whatever comes down is ours!”
(Loud laughter!)
As long as we want something, we bribe God for it. As soon as we get it, we drop him until the next want arises. This is how we are taught to function.
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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Guaranteed Solutions.
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