Rituals are a means to religion, and are not religion per se. This needs to be realised if religion is to lead us to the ultimate truth
Religion is perhaps one of the most important concepts that has influenced human life. But it has been the most misunderstood and abused idea as well. The fundamental question veers around one basic fact: What exactly is the purpose of religionIJ Its answer holds the key to understanding religion, its liet motif. But this cannot be possible without unravelling the mystery of the nature of religion.
For almost the entire humanity, life cannot be imagined without religion, notwithstanding the so-called atheists who comprise a very minuscule minority. There are as many views as there are religions. After all, a religion is a way of interpreting the ultimate reality and suggesting its own path, ostensibly the best one, to realise that ultimate reality. But here lies the problem. Not because there cannot be many best ways to realise the ultimate reality. There can be, and this confusion has been put to rest with the validation of the idea of equifinality, quite popular in the field of management. The problem occurs when one path is regarded as superior to others; this causes conflict, sometimes violent ones.
The Vendantic view is perhaps the most catholic in this regard. It says, “Eko satam vipra bahudha vadanti (there is only one truth that the wise call by different names).” But understanding the importance of this proposition requires a higher level of consciousness. For the large majority, the idea appears fuzzy. It is this fuzziness that we call ignorance or avidya, lack of knowledge or agyaan.
Religion, as advocated in Vedanta, belongs to the higher mind of humanity. It calls for efforts of the higher mind to approach something beyond it, that something which we call by various names. For the lesser mortals, religion is rooted in idolatry, which is transactional in nature — a quid pro quo. Here lie the roots of conflict between the mundane reality and the divine reality; the future of humanity lies in resolving this conflict. While the commonly traversed path that starts with worship encompassed in ritualism is good to begin with, it can only lead to the goal if it bridges the gap between ritualism and spiritualism. It is in this light that puja or ritualism has to be seen. Puja is a means to dharma, but it is not dharma per se. And this subtlety needs to be understood if religion is to lead to the ultimate truth.
In fact, Kabir has done a better service to the cause of religion than the so-called priests. The simple words of mystics like Kabir attempt to unravel the mysteries of the divine in the language of mundane. The way religion is interpreted, it becomes an obstacle to the spiritual life. It should not and the ritualism of religion must lead to spiritualism.
The writer is professor, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (Jharkhand). He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com