Mr. Harshavardhan Reddy, Chairman, Aura Group, Delhi is actively involved with social media and frequently shares useful articles / blogs. Below is one such. Readers are welcome to comment.

 

Hindu Rituals and Religion

Religion

Religion is the highest need of mankind. Just as our body requires food for its sustenance our mind require religious experiences for providing us the right direction. It is believed to help us in leading the way to find God Almighty. We create God in our imagination as per geographic surroundings; therefore one religion is as true and right as another – in other words truly equal.

One God

Hindus believe in one god, Brahma, the absolute, who rules over the world with the aid of many other Gods – major being ‘Vishnu’, ‘Shiva’, and ‘Durga’. It therefore does not matter whether one worships anyone or all the three of them – ultimately one is worshiping the Supreme. As;

As water from different rivers and different raindrop is eventually assimilated with the water of ocean, similarly worship to any god is accepted by the supreme, Purna Brahma.

Rituals in Religion

Almost all the religions of the world have their own mythology, as they have their own rites and ceremonies. Just as a Sanyasi is not in need of any ritual, so is a pholosopher not in need of any mythology. But it is for the common people who are neither Sanyasis nor philosophers; there is a need for mythology as well as rituals. In fact mythology is a very useful part of religion, though not an essential part of it. It helps to concretize the abstract truth of philosophy.

A very important function of rituals is determined by its symbolism. Most of the rites we perform are intended for visualizing belief. Our gratitude to God is visualized by our offerings of flowers and other things on as altar. Our humble service to Him is visualized in the temple where He is hreated as an earthly king and highest honors are paid to Hi.

Rituals have obvious psychological function of providing an outlet for religious emotion. Like every emotion tries to seek an outlet in action it finds satisfaction in something that is done under its influence so is the religious emotion craves for expression and finds it in the prescribed ritual. Rituals have also a moral function. In fact, we may say that rituals in one sense are incipient morals. Almost every rite we perform is a lesson in self-control. It is the first step in that long process of the liberation of spirit from the thralldom of the flesh.

The most important subjective function of the rituals is what may be called its mystical function. Soul feel the mysterious presence of God.

 

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