4. Spi-Ritual.

Embracing rituals is more or less a normal practice as a part of almost every religion or spiritual doctrine on this planet.

While it may be a good idea to follow rituals, a natural question arises: Do I simply follow them, or do I pause to understand the thought process, the logic, and the reasoning behind them?

Do I ever question myself on one or more of the following points?

Am I following rituals merely because they are written in scriptures? Or because a learned person has conveyed that enlightened or omniscient beings of the past have asked us to follow them? And if I follow them without doubting, challenging, or questioning, I may progress on the path, whereas if I question them, I might end up insulting or disregarding those pious souls.

OR

Am I following them because the entire world seems to be following them, and there are countless people with greater intellect and understanding than mine? If that is the case, who am I to question these things?

OR

Am I following them mechanically, simply because I belong to a particular religion and therefore feel obligated to do so, even if I do not understand the meaning?

OR

Am I following them out of fear; a fear that going against the flow might lead to some form of punishment?

OR

Am I following them due to social pressure, carrying an invisible burden on my head?

OR...

Do I want to understand rituals thoroughly, reflect on the sense behind them, develop genuine interest in their purpose, and then participate in them with awareness; an awareness that can maximize the outcome of those rituals?

As an analogy, if I want to earn money, there may be many ways to do it. However, one element remains common across all those approaches: Awareness. Whatever path I choose, I remain constantly aware of the process and the direction in which I am moving. If I notice that I am making losses, I pause, reassess, and create a fallback plan to correct the course.

In this process I may gather information, listen to people, and read relevant material, but the constant focus remains on whether I am on the right track. If any derailment appears, either proactively or reactively, I try to return to the right path at the earliest.

Human birth is invaluable beyond measure. On top of that, it is one of the rarest occurrences. Also, the lifespan itself is limited, but one of the greatest gifts of human birth is the "intellect" (vivek).

If I use this intellect (vivek) wisely to understand goals and purposes in a way that allows me to gain the maximum benefit from the most precious parameter I am investing (which is "Time"), it can certainly lead to a meaningful outcome.

Everyone has different goals and varied purposes in life, and each person is engaged in working towards them.

I am neither trying to agree nor disagree, neither advocating nor contradicting, nor preaching about the positives or negatives.

What I truly want to reflect upon is this: How can I use this human birth and this intellect to maximize benefits that are long-lasting; the benefits that do not end with this single lifetime?

Circling back to rituals, as mentioned earlier, each person may approach them differently.

My reflection here is simply about choosing one among three possible approaches.

1) I may immerse myself in one, two, or perhaps many rituals, speak about them openly, gain appreciation in society, build a visible image around them, and focus on how I appear in the eyes of others. This approach carries a strong possibility of leading to demerits (Paap), ultimately burdening the soul with heavy karmas that may later manifest in material discomforts, in ways best understood by the omniscient.

2) I may follow rituals sincerely and silently, out of discipline, personal will, social conditioning, or even ignorance and above all, without any desire for recognition. However, if I do so without deeper awareness of their purpose, such as cleansing karmas or uplifting the soul on the path toward liberation, this approach may lead to accumulation of merits (Punya). Even these merits are karmas, and they too bind the soul, though they may manifest as material comforts and favorable circumstances.

3) Now, I might want to look at rituals from a different perspective. I may try to understand their time-tested importance, explore the deeper sense behind them, and then practice them with awareness and clarity of purpose. With this awareness and focus on the ultimate outcome, I train myself (the soul) to participate in the rituals while witnessing the process, allowing the actions to appear as though they are simply happening, while I remain aware.

This reflection resonates with a verse from AtmaSiddhi Shastra composed by revered Shrimad Rajchandra:

Tyaag viraag na chitt ma,

Thaay na tene gyaan;

Atke tyaag viraag ma,

To bhoole nij bhaan.

If the mind completely rejects renunciation or detachment, true knowledge does not arise. But if one becomes stuck merely in the practices of renunciation and detachment, one may forget the awareness of the true Self.

In the same way, if one rejects rituals entirely, the path may remain incomplete. But if one becomes absorbed only in performing rituals mechanically, without awareness, one may lose the very purpose for which those rituals exist.

Ultimately, this understanding is not limited only to rituals. It applies to every activity in life.

What matters most is awareness, focus, and a constant alignment with the path and the destination, so that the effort invested yields the highest possible benefit.