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Thoughts - Importance of rituals

How important are the rituals in worshiping the God ? Love is the one that is stressed all throughout. Does the life of kaNNappa n^AyanAr(1) or many such devotees and the great prize they get for their love suggest that rituals are not important ? No, an analysis will clearly show that though the devotion is the prime thing the rituals are something that should be considered necessary and followed. A few of the reasons being. 1. The ritual is an expression of devotion. The love of any form which is a force gets expressed out in some form. The rituals become that expressions of love which is called devotion. The love that grows in the mind for the Lord makes one express it out on God - Its forms - with bathing, feeding, decorating etc.2. The rituals are an ordered worship procedures nicely designed to express the devotion. As love is expressed though the actions, the rituals which are beautifully coined ways of those actions evolved from a great knowledge by the ancient saints.3. The rituals done when even in the absence of devotion give betterment. In this respect the rituals could be thought of as some disciplined routines. They would certainly deliver their good effect even though done without its energy like shradhdha. In fact this allows the rituals to be flowing through the generations even if some of the predecessors did not involve themselves

completely, giving somebody down the line find its soul and usefulness and enjoy its usefulness with involvement.4. The rituals very importantly strengthen the devotion. The hindu rituals are in such a way that those are mainly the deeds one does in the ripe love. So when the devotion is growing it develops it. It decelerates the fall due to any reason in the devotion.5. The rituals develop the social discipline and a way of worship that is a symphony when done in a group.

The point is that the importance of the rituals should not be under-stressed, at the same time noting that the involvement (devotion) being the prime thing.