Skip to main content

Religion Is Not An Obligation

My motto has always been - "Do what you believe in and NOT that which you don't." This is something which I practise in every facet of my life, even religion and especially religion! Which brings me to the topic of today's rant.

Religion is about belief, you embrace it and practise it out of belief. And if you don't believe and can't bring yourself to embrace the beliefs of you religion, then you're a non-believer, a free thinker, an atheist etc. As far as my knowledge goes, not many people will come out right and make such a stand, and those who do, will usually be seen in an unfavourable light.

Because somewhere along the line, there arose this notion that believing in God makes you a good person, and those who don't are more likely to turn the Devil's way. Which of course is not true, because we only have to read the news to know that much evil has been perpetrated in the name of God and religion.

This post however is not in support of those who do not embrace a faith. It's about "blind followers" those who follow without understanding, and do things out of fear. Out of ignorance has risen strange rituals to appease the gods. But gods are not monsters or beasts to be appeased. God is to be approached, not appeased!

The Crux of the Matter

As a practising Hindu, many a time have I seen people perform rituals which they have no understanding of, simply because they felt it was better to do it then not. I have actually asked several people about this. Their reply was: " I wanna play safe!", "Better safe than sorry!" Are you kidding me? Are the divine powers going to rain down ill luck on you because you did not break several coconuts at the temple or perform costly Pujas (rituals). You think God works that way huh? Well God is not a corrupt politician or a government servant who can be greased with offerings.


 I'm a regular subscriber to Hindu Blog. I not only read the posts of the blogger, sometimes I peruse the comments as well. Once this guy wrote in asking if it was obligatory for him as a Hindu to perform this and that ritual on certain days. Call me weird, but I think its kinda sad when one views their religion as some sort of obligation to be performed.

In my opinion, when one approaches God out of sincerity, love and faith - all will be good. Even a little flower when offered by a genuine heart, will be accepted with love. In this age of materialism, one can buy the love of mortals, but not that of the cosmic powers.

The Ritual Factor

Now this does not mean that I'm downplaying the importance of ritual in Hinduism. There are reasons why  these rituals are performed and the inclusion of certain items also has significant value. For instance ghee is used in a lot of prayer ceremonies because of its purifying properties. Which is why Hindus are encouraged to light their prayer lamp with ghee instead of oil, because ghee purifies the air in the room.


However performing rituals which you don't understand head or tail of, will not yield the positive results you desire. If someone says you should perform some ceremonies to improve a certain area of your life, read up on it - the Internet is a fount of knowledge, or ask around.

No Obligation

A friend of mine visited Bali sometime ago, while touring the temples, her tour guide told her that many Balinese were becoming Muslims because practising Hinduism was becoming a toll on them - too many festivals to be observed and the rituals to be performed was taxing.

If someone wanted to convert because they believed in another religion, that's fine. But if one was converting because they felt that being a Hindu they are obligated to perform a myriad of rituals and ceremonies, that demonstrates a total ignorance of one's religion.

Don't feel obliged to do something out of fear. If you find you are unable to perform some act of worship or another, just don't do it. There is no need to feel obliged. No divine power is going to rain down calamity into your life for that, and it doesn't make you any less of a devotee.

Comments

Jothi said…
Glad you appreciate my view point, thanks for dropping by!

Popular posts from this blog

"Seksualiti" Will Survive

The other day my mum who was reading news alerts on her mobile asked me, "Hei have you heard about this festival - ' Seksualiti Merdeka '......?" And I was like: "Seksualiti what....??" Then I promptly googled it and oh then I knew! My first reaction? I was mighty impressed that we actually have such a festival here and wondered how come I never knew about it before this. I'm sure a lot of you out there are hearing about Seksualiti Merdeka for the first time too. But imagine this guys, if the powers that be didn't go all frothy at the mouth and decide to ban it, would the majority of us even know about this annual sexuality rights festival that has been around since 2008? Now not only city folks know all about Seksualiti Merdeka, even those in Baling......where is that again? Are up in arms about this event which they fear will encourage more gayness in society......well people will always delude themselves silly if they want to. So what

Travel Tales: The grandeur of Russia

Visit iconic monuments and see treasures from the past in one of Europe’s oldest cities Night view of the famed St Basil's Cathedral. FOR all its great political and social upheavals which have given rise to many a good movie script, the largest country on earth has never quite popped up on glossy tourist brochures boasting a “bucket list” of must-see architectural wonders like the Eiffel Tower or the iconic Taj Mahal. Neither does it beckon with the promise of breathtaking natural scenery and beautiful landscapes. Before the invitation for this media familiarisation trip came along, my impression of Russia and Moscow in particular was of a city still dominated by grey Soviet-era apartment blocks and sombre locals. However, when I received the itinerary for the trip to Moscow and St Petersburg organised by Trafalgar, another version of Russia began to emerge, that of a country steeped in culture and art, with many well-preserved heritage buildings. B

Heritage trail: The beauty of St Petersburg

The Winter Palace. THE  city of St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great, who aspired to create a city that would rival the great cultural capitals of Europe. Built on the banks of the Neva river, St. Petersburg stretches across 42 islands with natural waterways and canals, giving it the title of the ‘Venice of the North’. It was the imperial capital of Russia for two centuries until the Communist revolution of 1917. To this day, it retains its status as the country’s cultural capital with its heritage buildings, grand palaces, cathedrals and museums. Exploring St. Petersburg Considering that I only had three days to explore the city after arriving by bullet train from Moscow, I was glad to find that the Park Inn Nevsky, my home for the next few nights, was located on Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg’s main street. What you will find along this street are plenty of places to shop and eat, like the Eliseyev Emporium Coffee shop, the Gostiny Dvor shopping centre, loc