Rituals, traditions, regulations; and their crucial role in human development.
Date : 18/05/2024
How relevant are the Gṛhya rituals in the present day context
It is difficult to assess the time when the ritual tradition got introduced into Hinduism (for that matter, even the term Hinduism is of much later origin. We may perhaps call it Vedic religion). The Ṛgveda is the oldest literary monument of the world. Even by a rough estimate and a lowest estimate, it is about 4000 years old. The Ṛgvedic seers were fascinated by the powers of nature and being enthralled, they composed hymns in praise of the Gods of nature like Fire (Agni) and thunderstorm ( Indra). There was perhaps an element of fear also that made them compose hymns in order to appease the powers. Then there was the desire to offer their sincere thanks to the Gods for the benefits they derived from nature, like rain. One of the remarkable feats of the Vedic seers was their effort to preserve the hymns that were composed, through oral tradition. One of the means they invented was to devise rituals and employ the mantras in them so that they were constantly put to use. That is how probably the rituals came into being. It is very clear that at least some of the rituals like the wedding existed even during the Ṛgvedic times as demonstrated by the Wedding hymn in the tenth book. In the beginning stages rituals were simple but in course of time they grew in size and number and became more complicated also. In course of time the original purpose for which a ritual was introduced was lost and the secondary things got prominence. Whenever the focus was lost certain events took place that brought good sense and sacredness back to religion. There was a time when the animal sacrifice was the order of the day. The greater the number of goats a king sacrificed, greater was his popularity. The Upaniṣads were against this practice though they did not express it in so many words. They advocated the principle seeing the soul in every being and respecting it. It was thus easier for Buddha to speak openly against the animal sacrifices. The Jainism which arose around the same time, preached ahiṁsā and jīvakāruṇya. It was not that they were totally new to Hinduism, but such principles were shrouded in the external show of another aspect of the religion. When Buddhism and Jainism started gaining popularity, Hinduism also had to reform itself. The Upaniṣadic teachings gained more prominence and the prasthāna traya consisting of the Upaniṣads, the Brahmasūtras and the Bhagavadgītā were hailed as the most sacred books of Hinduism. There evolved a galaxy of teachers like Gauḍapāda and Govindapāda and the great Ādi Śaṅkarācārya. Hinduism was rejuvenated by Śrī Śaṅkarācārya who gave a new impetus to the Vedāntic part of Hinduism. He emphasized on the importance of the jñāna mārga in preference to the karma mārga. Śrī Śaṅkara had to fight two battles at the same time- one against the non Vedic religion of the Buddhists and the other against the extreme ritualistic religion of the Mīmāṁsakas, causing no harm to the traditional aspects of Hinduism at the same time. Jñāna does not mean giving up the rituals or the devotional aspect of the religion. Śaṅkara says that one should not give up the rituals till he attains oneness with the supreme soul. Even in the case of such a person he does not give up anything but they get dropped out, of their own accord. Seeking jñāna does not mean giving up bhakti or devotion. Bhakti is the means and the jñāna is the end. In order to demonstrate this point Śaṅkara established the ṣaṇmata’( Gāṇāpatya – Ganeśa worship, Saurya- Sun worship, Vaiṣṇava- Viṣṇu worship, Śaiva – Śiva worship, Kaumāra – Kumāra worship and Śākta – worship of the Mother Goddess) himself and composed a large number of devotional hymns on Gods and Goddesses. In order to demonstrate that one should not give up rituals, he comes and performs obsequies for his diseased mother, though as a monk he is exempted from performing any rituals. In the presence of powerful arguments of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya, the Buddhists and the Mīmāṁsakas could not stand and they went into oblivion.
If Śaṅkara’s teachings are not properly understood, it may give rise to false interpretations of bhakti and karma and also render the rituals as useless. But fortunately for the Hindu tradition, the Nāyanmārs and the Ālwars in the South established the bhakti cult on firm grounds and by their efforts the roots of the Hindu tradition were strengthened in the South. The Vedic religion and the ritual tradition received a big jolt in the north on account of frequent foreign invasions after the 10th century. From the 15th century the advent of the saint composers in the South, Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the East and scores of dāsa saints in the north gave faith and direction to the people. After the arrival of the British and the introduction of the British education in India, sweeping changes took place in the society. Men even from the orthodox families, cut their tuft and sought Government jobs. There was less inclination in the families to allot time and energy for the performance of elaborate rituals. Concessions and exemptions were not given but taken by the performers themselves. If one cannot perform the noon time mādhyāhnika on account of office duty, let it be performed in the morning itself before going to the office or let it be discarded. Priests had to adjust themselves to the demands of the performers since otherwise they would not perform the ritual at all and the priests would lose their fee and livelihood.
In the past fifty years, changes have taken place very fast in the social life of the people; priorities have shifted. In a recent survey taken in one of the states of the United States of America, 68 % of the people expressed the opinion that they do not know what religion is and they do not want to know also. This is the trend in most of the countries, with some variation in the percentage. When such is the case of the religion itself, where is the scope for the rituals?
This will be the general line of thinking among majority of the people around the world. But a majority opinion cannot bulldoze the minority in a democratic world. In fact, it is the minority that enjoys more privileges than the majority. Special attention is given to the protection of the endangered species. Active campaigns are conducted for creating environmental awareness and for maintaining ecological balance. Religion also needs such special attention. The fire might have caused destruction in some building, but for that sake fire cannot be banned. Likewise in the name of religion some atrocities might have been committed in some corner, but it is unwise to totally discard religion or ritual. On the other hand there are many positive aspects of religion. It has brought people together and it has inculcated a sense of belongingness among the people concerned. It has provided an identity to the people and it is responsible for the propagation of values and morals in the society. In the name of religion wars might have been waged and large sale destructions might have taken place but it is not the fault of the religion, it is the fault of a section of its followers. One thing must be made clear here. Religion does not want man; it is only the man who wants religion for his own convenience. Likewise ritual does not need man; only man needs ritual for his psychological needs. The peculiarity of ritual is that if you abolish it in one form, it will reappear in another form. A reformist leader spoke vehemently against religion (only against Hinduism), criticized idol worship and such practices as breaking a coconut in the temple or lighting a lamp. Ironically after his death, his own followers lighted camphor and broke coconuts and even tonsured their heads at the samādhi of the same leader. It is also told a Bengali rationalist leader who married an European lady, became interested in rituals during his last days and insisted that his wife wear an orthodox Bengali red-bordered white sari as his mother used to. It is reported of Lenin himself that several months before his death he mumbled old prayers that he had memorized in his childhood. Even the Protestant reformers like Luther in the 16th century, came to realize that they had to allow a degree of sacramentalism and ritualism, scarcely different from Catholic worship. Even Calvinists, after a century or more of denying everything sacramental in religion, found it necessary to readmit ritual elements that Calvin had scorned. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was an avowed rationalist. But on 14 August 1947, before announcing the Freedom at midnight, he allowed himself to be sprinkled with holy water, forehead smeared with holy ash and his body draped with Cloth of Gold. (See Larry Collins and Dominique Lapiere, Freedom at Midnight, Vikas, 1976, p. 243).
Buddhism arose as a revolt against the ritualistic tendencies of Hinduism. It originally started as a monastic order rather than a religion in the conventional sense of the term. But when it spread to become a religion of the common people, it had to accommodate gods and rituals into its system to survive. Buddhism consequently turned the Buddha – who had never claimed any divinity for himself- into a god, built temples, formed mythology and developed rituals. When certain sections of Hinduism itself started considering the Buddha as the tenth incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu, the Buddhists were left with no choice but to relent. The Buddha wanted to eschew rituals and instead prescribed rules of conduct. He did not lay down any rules for performing domestic rituals associated with birth, marriage, death and so on. In these matters, the common followers of Buddhism continued to observe the old rituals that they were following before converting to Buddhism. And these rituals were continued to be performed by the Brahmin priests since Buddhism had no priests, only monks – and monks, having renounced the world, could not officiate at worldly functions. Likewise in the weddings of the converted Christians, in many parts of India, the Hindu traditions are still followed, as for example, the tying of the maṅgala sūtra.
Rituals are not present only in religious practices; indeed, they invade every realm of life. For, after all, ritual is merely the grand substratum of all belief; it codifies and simplifies behavior in extreme situations (T.G.Vaidyanathan, Ritual and the limits of reason, Suppliment to The Hindu, July, 26, 1998).
Ritual does not harm anybody. It can do good to the performer by increasing his confidence level. It consists of symbols and actions suggestive of some abstract idea beyond the ritual itself. The chaff is necessary for the paddy. But after it is ripe the chaff is removed and the rice is used. The rituals are like the chaff for some exalted principles. It is necessary till the final realization takes place. It paves the way for the purification of the mind which in turn will help in the realization of the Ultimate Truth.
A meeting was organized in a College in connection with the Anti-corruption day. The idea was to create an awareness among the public on the evils of bribery etc. Many dignitaries, teachers and student representatives spoke about the ills of corruption that are afflicting the society. All those assembled took a pledge against corruption and that they would neither take or give bribes. At the end of the session ( it was around 7O’Clock in the evening) a candle light procession was taken out. It was a grand spectacle and everyone enjoyed the session. Certainly a candle light procession or shouting slogans is not going to eradicate corruption in a day, but it created an awareness. It brought a sense of participation to everybody in the gathering. It was meant to create a pleasant memory of the occasion. In the context of it one would remember the message and even if 10 % of the audience took it seriously and desisted from corrupt practices, it would be a great success.
A ritual is also like that. It brings people together and binds them together and inculcates a sense of belongingness in the minds of all those assembled. It creates am ambience for people to gather together in a joyous mood and celebrate the occasion. People who had lost contact for several years meet in a wedding and recapitulate their younger days. Celebrations of rituals remain fresh in the mind of the people for a long time. It speaks of the unselfish nature of the performer in gathering the people together and in spending money towards gifts and food for the sake of others. Many of the rituals are once in a lifetime occasions. Both the external and internal aspect of the rituals are important. By the performance of the ritual the wealth of the performer gets distributed towards all sections of the people. It has principles of Economics behind it. For example if we look at the list of articles to be procured for a Upanayana, we will find that a large number of people are benefited.
1. Jewellery shop : silver vessel for the bhikṣā, special cup called pañcapātra for the performance of the sandhyā for the boy, silver plate.
2. Textile shop : silk dhoti for the boy, clothing for the parents, clothing for the brothers and sisters of the boy, clothing for the near relatives of the performer.
3. Sweet maker ; Many types of sweets and savories to feed the guests.
4. Provision shop : Rice, dal, sugar and many such items for the ritual purpose and for the food
5. Vegetable vendor : Varieties of vegetables, Coconuts etc
6. Flower vendor : garlands and flowers.
7. Milk vendor : Milk, Curd, ghee etc.
8. Petty shop : Turmeric powder, Kumkum, sandal etc.
9. Clay pot maker: pot, clay cups etc for the ritual purpose
10. The Cooks
11. The ritual hall contractor
12. Ritual material supplier : samid sticks, the daṇḍa, homa items, maunji etc
13. Firewood shop: Firewood for the homa
14. Cow dung cake maker: for the homa
15. The Barber
Then the priests have to be paid a sizeable sum for conducting the ritual. There will be fee for the Vighneśvara pūjā, kuṁbhasthāpana, navagraha pūjā, japa dakṣiṇā, udakaśānti, puṇyāhavācana, nandīśrāddha, aṅkurārpaṇa, agnisaṁdhāna, yajñopavīta, digvapana, Brahmadakṣiṇā, ācārya saṁbhāvanā, and fee for the main priest.
The list may be mind boggling and may act as a deterrent factor even for a person who is genuinely interested in performing the ritual. But it must be remembered that this is once in a lifetime function and one should not mind to spend money for the ritual. The list shows how large sections of the people are benefited by the performance of the ritual. Even those who advocate simplicity spend money lavishly on something else. What is the use of saving money on the ritual but spending it on creating a home theatre, thereby only spoiling the mind of the children. Money is not the criterion for a ritual; it is the mind. Money spent on a ritual is not a waste; it reaches several sections of the people and benefits them. It is a kind of socialism where nobody grabs the wealth of the performer; on the other hand he willingly distributes his wealth for the sake of different sections of the people. Every ritual consists of two aspects – the religious and the social. Both are important and both should be given equal weightage.
If a person were to say that he believes in religion but not in the ritual, he is not a true follower of the religion. There cannot be religion without ritual or ritual without religion. Religion without ritual is stale and ritual without religion is shallow. Rituals are not needed only for a realized soul; till the final realization dawns all the duties have to be done and one cannot cast off the worldly things. The ritual is also worldly but it leads towards spirituality.
If one were to say that Hinduism has idol worship and is full of rituals; one does not like them and so would like to convert to another religion, it does not serve the purpose or the person. In the first place idol worship is not compulsory in Hinduism; it is optional. It is an option for those who cannot concentrate on the formless god. One can also concentrate on the formless god through Hinduism. The next point is that no religion is free from rituals. They are there in some form or other.
If a person were to say – let me be an atheist, he is only defeating his own self. Sri Sri Ravishankarji says, ‘Atheism is not a reality; it is just a matter of convenience. When you have a spirit of inquiry or when you reach for the truth, atheism falls apart. With a spirit of inquiry, you cannot deny something that you cannot disprove. An atheist denies god without first disproving god’s existence. In order to disprove god, you must have enormous knowledge and when you have enormous knowledge, you cannot disprove it.
To say that something does not exist, you must know about the whole universe. So you can never be one hundred per cent atheistic. An atheist is only a believer in sleeping.
For a person to say ‘ I do not believe in anything’ means he must believe in himself; so he believes in a self that he does not even know.
An atheist can never be sincere because sincerity needs depth and an atheist refuses to go to his depth. The deeper he goes, he finds a void, a field of all possibilities and he has to accept that there are many secrets he does not know. He would then need to acknowledge his ignorance—which he refuses to do – because the moment he is sincere, he seriously starts doubting his atheism. A doubt-free atheist is nearly impossible. An atheist can never be sincere and doubt-free.’ ( Sri Sri Ravishankar, Celebrating Love, p. 109)
‘For a flame to rise up, you need space above it. In the same way, for a man to rise up in his life, he needs an ideal; something to adore and worship. In worship, love, honour, respect and sense of belongingness – all come together. However, without a sense of belongingness, worship or idealism can lead to low self-esteem. Ancient people knew this, so they insisted that people should feel part of what they worship. (They encouraged people to worship the earth, water, fire, air and ether or space of which he is made.) They encouraged people to worship the sun, the moon, mountains, rivers, plants, animals and other people.’ ( Sri Sri Ravishankar, Celebrating love, p. 34)
They also created rituals for the same purpose. In Indian context, there is no worship without rituals and no rituals without worship.
Ritual is an expression of love. When the child is born, the father performs the jātakarma ritual in the course of which he says ‘you are gold undiminished, you are my own self. May you live for a hundred years.’ In the wedding the husband lovingly says to his wife ‘I am the mind, you are the speech. Let us be united together like the mind and the speech.’ When the husband and the wife there is love and there is a ritual also because ritual is an expression of love. Ritual makes love more enjoyable. The ritual makes one to forget his ego, his own separate identity and makes him to love everybody around. It brings out the divinity in him. In a ritual the performer gets the blessings of all those assembled. The vibrations of the good thoughts and the blessings and the love of so many people take him to new heights.
Ritual has two main aspects – faith and reason. One can perform the rituals in blind faith that it will do good for him. One may also reason out as to why a ritual is performed, what is the significance of it and then perform it. A person in complete faith does not care for reason. A person who does not want to follow something blindly, wants the reason behind it. Faith gives instant comfort while reason keeps you sane and grounded. Apparently faith and reason seem to be mutually contradictory, but they are not. One cannot exist without the other. Faith without reason is blind while reason without faith is lame. There are two types of faith – faith that is born out of fear, greed and selfishness. This is a lower form of faith. Some of the rituals reflect such a faith. The second one is faith born out of love like the love of a child for its mother. We find this aspect being predominantly reflected in majority of the rituals. The former aspect is lower and the later higher. But both are necessary. One can not reach the higher level without crossing the lower level. One cannot jump to the tenth step of a staircase ignoring the first few steps. Likewise one has to perform even the rituals that are lower in order to reach the higher realms of worship.
The most ancient and inescapable fear that human beings have is the fear of death. Man does not know what exists after death. Since death completely defeats reason, the imagination must take over. That is where ritual springs. That is why in majority of the rituals there are prayers for long life. Early man associated himself with nature and fellow human beings. Every moment had to be made memorable by celebration in some form. That is how rituals developed when man and woman united in wedlock or when a baby arrived on earth. There are also rituals for the arrival of seasons, vegetation and plant life, harvesting season and so on. When man realized the advantages of a community life, there arose rituals for the entire community and that could have been the origin for the śrauta rituals.
It is worth noting here a few points from the article ‘Earth Spirituality’ by Siddharta (published in The Hindu, Chennai Edition, April 8, 2001). An influential body of opinion all over the world is now stressing that the cause of our civilisational crisis lies in our disconnectedness with nature. We have forgotten where we come from. We see the Earth, from which we have evolved, as little more than a mere "resource", a storehouse of minerals and other raw materials, inert matter which we need to use in the furtherance of our physical and material needs. The earth is a mere producer of food and a garbage dump, not our larger body. Obviously, nothing could be further By polluting and violating the biosphere the human is going against the unfolding of the universe. This violation is not only against the earth but to all her human and non-human offspring. Enhancing the journey of the universe means that we move away from a linear and mechanical understanding of progress and market fundamentalism, and the false values of consumerism that tell us that one is human only in the measure that one can buy, sell and accumulate.
The earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family."
Poverty, industrial pollution, climate change, acute water scarcity, population explosion religious conflict, and the commercialisation of values - these are the major challenges of the 21st Century. Where do we find the vision and the political will to deal with these awesome tasks. As our secular ideologies appear to flounder, there are many who believe that the earth, from whom we have evolved, is likely to give us the strength to deal with our many afflictions
Earth spirituality may be the only way out. The sense of fulfilment that accompanies a reverential relationship to the The Hinduism of the Vedic period is replete with texts and rituals that celebrate the earth (bhū), the atmosphere (bhuvaḥ) and sky (sva). Gods and goddesses are also associated with the earth (Pṛthvī), with water (Ap), with fire (Agni) and wind (Vāyu). These Vedic insights were later formalised into the mahābhūta (the five great elements). They were earth (pṛthvī), water (jala), fire (tejas), air (vāyu) and space (ākāśa). The tree was considered sacred from very early on. From the Indus valley seals to the edicts of Aśoka to the Chipko movement, the tree was nurtured and protected. Many families and communities have their own sacred trees and show particular attention and reverence to them (From Earth Spirituality).
The ritual is an art. There are many similarities between both. Both have aesthetic purpose. They aim at transforming of nature into structured but virtual reality. Symbolism is the essential part of both art and ritual. In art, just a few lines represent a concept. For example, by seeing a triangle people are reminded of family planning. Likewise in a ritual just a drop of water will represent a river or an ocean. Both rituals and arts bring to us a hint of immortality by their transcendence of time as well as space. Besides, their meaning lies more in their structure than in their expressed sense.
In fact, ritual is the origin of several forms of art. According one of the theories, Sanskrit Drama developed out of the performance of rituals. The ancient Greek theatre developed out of the practice of worshipping Greek gods like Dionysius. While ritual became more and more associated with religion and culture, art became an independent expression of imagination.
Ritual links the members of a community like an invisible thread. A social life without ritual will generate not only a high incidence of insanity but also an unprecedented increase in violence. When the traditional fox hunting of the British, the bull fighting of the Spaniards, the snake worship of the Indians became socially unacceptable, arms pile up and communal hatred became inevitable. One reason why communities in multi-racial, multi-cultural societies get into frequent conflicts is that they do not share rituals.
Most of the rituals are associated with a mythological account that stands for some values. For example, the ritual of worship of the banyan tree by the women has its roots in the Satyavān – Sāvitrī story. Princess Sāvitrī protects Satyavān’s life from Yama, symbolizing the triumph of love over death. At the moment of his death, Satyavān was cutting a banyan ( Aśvattha) tree and Sāvitrī got back his life while sitting and praying under that tree. Since then the banyan tree became an object worship, especially for women praying for the long life of their husband.
Women observe several customs in most cultures. For example, there are several folk rituals concerning a woman, prior to and after the delivery of the child. For example, in Japan there was a tradition of keeping women in seclusion during confinement and delivery. She would be prevented from participating in household functions probably to avoid the attention of the evil eyes of the society. For about a month after the birth of the child also the period of seclusion would continue as she was considered impure and she was not allowed to mingle with other members of the family. In India also, the period of impurity is observed for 40 days after the birth of the child. Among one of the tribes of the Mandya district in Karnataka, a woman at the time of delivery is isolated and sent to a hut outside the village. She is given a sickle to cut the umbilical cord herself and she has to convalesce on her own. Nobody visits her and food is kept outside the hut and she cannot meet or even show her face to anyone. On a certain auspicious day she is welcomed back to the village. It may look rather cruel from our point of view but each tribe has its own tradition and we cannot question it. We can perhaps educate them. They will have to change of their own accord.
Coming back to the present day situation, there are four types of people who perform rituals and four others who do not perform them..
Each one of these sets of people owe a responsibility to contribute something to the society. The first set of people may explain to the general public about the significance of the ritual and its usefulness. They will be doing a great service not to the ritual but to the people by helping them to gain self confidence and approach life in the proper perspective instead of groping for something in darkness. Belief and faith in tradition helps one to gain faith in one’s own self. With that self belief one can achieve great things in this world. The second set of people should start the process of learning without wasting time. Anything that is postponed will not get the desired result.
The third set of people who perform ritual mechanically are worse than non-believers. Anything performed mechanically is only a waste of time. Nothing in the world is difficult to know if one has the will to learn. They must put that extra effort to know the significance of what they do. Likewise the fourth set of people are losing their individuality by doing something for the sake of others. It is better not to do a particular thing than doing it under compulsion from others. We may not know the effect of everything instantaneously. They will do good in the long run. They may perform the rituals with interest an see the results in the future. There is nothing in this world that goes waste. Everything has its purpose and place. If there had been any bad effect in the performance of the rituals they would have dropped out long back.
The fifth set of people are to be sympathized with and helped. Some of the traditions are lost and found again. Those who have gone astray mend their ways and come back to the mainstream of life. So these people who have not been performing since the family has lost the tradition, may always approach the people or the priests who are ready to help. The sixth set of people are those who are trying to find a pretext for their non-performance. The God says ‘Seek the truth. It shall dawn on you’. So they should seek the truth of the rituals by resorting to books and finding the truth themselves. Convincing oneself by one’s own efforts will lost longer than being convinced by others. The seventh set of people may be left alone. By watching others perform the rituals they will get interested in due course and start performing themselves. Nothing much can be done for the last set of people. Time is the cure for everything. Hard core non-believers have become saints by the turn of events in their life. These people will also realize the truth in course of time.
Excerpts taken from:
Source: Dr Ramratnam,S, The Ritual Traditions of India, Published by Somaiya Publications, Mumbai,2015
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