Friday, May 18, 2007

Rituals Vs Religion ????

Just a simple question, but gets me thinking everytime.

I will spend the coming weekend with the family in Srirangapatna, a beautiful place near Mysore,abt 2 hours away from Bangalore, with the very old Ranganatha temple and the Kauveri river flowing, with all her beauty near the city.

But we are not going there to see the Lord or for a picnic, but to perform certain rituals - two HOMAs (a sacrifice to the Gods infront of a blazing fire, thats all I know abt homa and havan etc), one to pay for all the sins committed in the past, and one to give us good returns in the future. All at home seem to think that all by performing these homas, we should get good results, should be able to overcome obstacles in life.

Now, I wonder, if only sins can be washed away so easily and wishes granted !! Can a ritual take the place of hard work and a clear conscious...I wonder. Why is it that so many people still believe that rituals and sacrifices can be an answer to problems that we should take responsibility to resolve, when did religion, belief in God turn into performing a set of rituals and expecting instant returns..

3 of us in our household work for IT companies, are well educated, earn decent salaries, have travelled, met people from different cultures, have been through quite a few trials in life, yet here we are spending a weeknd sitting ramrod straight in front of a burnign fire and performing a homa....God knows we all need miracles, but is this the way to get them? Time will tell :)

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