I have been thinking about this for a while.
I like going to temples. I like the smell of incense, the lamp, the bell, and the feeling of standing before a deity. I still think rituals have beauty. They can create the right atmosphere. They can make a place feel sacred.
But by themselves, they do not seem enough to me, even though I come from a family that is extremely ritualistic and religious.
I have attended so many pravachanas, discourses … where everything is about ancient scriptures, some stories on bhakti, rituals, etc, etc. .. but nobody seems to speak about japa, stillness, introspection, or anything spiritual.
I see people go in and out of these rituals, poojas, discourses … unchanged. Nothing changes in them.
I can go to a temple, bow down, do pradakshina, stand for mangala-arati, and come back home. But very often, by the end of the day, I am still the same person. Same thoughts, same distractions, same worries, same irritation.
So I keep asking myself: what really changed?
That is where japa and dhyana feel very different to me.
The moment I sit for japa, I can see the state of my mind. It does not take long. Within seconds, the mind wants to run somewhere else. It wants to think about work, food, some old memory, some random problem, anything at all.
That is useful to see. At least it is honest.
Dhyana is similar. Maybe even harder. There is nothing to do there except sit quietly. And when I do that, I can see how restless I really am.
This is why external rituals without some inward practice do not make much sense to me anymore.
I am not saying rituals are useless. They have a place. They can prepare the mind. They can create reverence. They can remind us of something higher. But unless they lead to some inward turning, I feel they remain incomplete.
It is a bit like standing at the entrance and never entering the house.
Maybe this is also why I feel uneasy when religion becomes only about doing external things. Visit this temple. Do this puja. Sponsor this ritual. Offer this. Wear this. Pay Rs 500 to get VIP entry into the temple ;)
All of that may have value. But if the mind does not become quieter, more watchful, more prayerful, then what is the point?
I say this very much for myself.
I am NOT very disciplined. I start and stop. I do japa for some days, then lose the rhythm, then begin again. Dhyana is even harder. So this is not advice. It is just something I have noticed.
Whenever I do japa sincerely, even for a short while, something feels more real.
Whenever I sit quietly, even if the sitting is not great, something shifts a little. The day feels slightly less scattered. I feel slightly less pulled outward.
I do not get that from outer ritual alone.
Thank you!