Posted by: Heartbeat December 15, 2007
Login in to Rate this Post:
0 
? 
?
Religion was "created" by enlightened men for the common man. Its main purpose is to give the common man an identity to a particular form of God. I am a Hindu. I am a Buddhist. I am a Christian etc. With such identifications, he feels connected with someone from the same group. Similar to patriotism. But in this case, simple basic principles like Sathya, Dharma, Santhi, Prema and Ahimsa have all been dressed up with such elaborate costumes called "rituals". These dressings are a necessary part of one's spiritual evolution. Since all 5 fingers are not the same, every man travels on his own path of evolution. A simple villager would not understand the concept of Shiva and Shakti. He needs an image of Kali Matha depicting terror if you fail to follow Her dictates. So, in order to control the simple villager, the Brahmin priests carry out elaborate rituals to put fear and terror in his heart. But the educated urbanites can't be treated like that. So, they are guided to seek the blessings of more benevolent gods and goddesses like Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Krishna, Rama, Tara, Buddha, Jesus, Allah etc. These gods are portayed as being more loving, understanding, giving and easily approachable. The rituals have more pomp and gaeity because the the urbanite seeks a god who appears to have some standards. Then, those who renounce materialism and live a detached life, live on an even higher plateau. They seek self-realisation through the grace of the indestructible Lord Shiva and his invincible consort Parvati. The union with Shiva and Shakti is the ultimate goal of all yogis and yoginis, sadhus, sages and saints. And that can only be attained through the following methods:- 1. Karma Yoga i.e. the path of activity. 2. Bhakti Yoga i.e. the path of devotion. 3. Gyana Yoga i.e. the path of enquiry. 4. Raja Yoga i.e. the path of introspection. 5. Hatha Yoga i.e. the path of balancing the mental, physical and subtle forces of the body.
In other words, self-realisation can be attained by following any of these Paths. So, it doesn't matter whether a religion is simple or complex with rituals. The bottom line is man seeks god in his own way. What appears right for one man may appear wrong to another. Everything is just appearances i.e. maya or illusion. Hence, let's not worry about the rituals of various religions. Let's set the right example for others to emulate. When you do that, automatically others will follow.