When considered thought is tied together with appearances, that is ritual; and then people can work on with their eyes closed, effortlessly, and not vacillate with their eyes open.”
“Way back before you were born, Calla and Persephone and I were messing around with things we probably shouldn't have been messing around with--"
"Drugs?"
"Rituals. Are you messing around with drugs?"
"No. But maybe rituals"
"Drugs might be better.”
Rituals and society go hand in hand. Ever since man started living in groups, it is assumed that certain acts, certain practices took the form of rituals. They were repeated, they were attached with symbolic meanings, and they gradually became indispensable to the specific groups that practiced those rituals.
My knowledge about the history of rituals is limited. But as I perceive them today, I feel that they are acts of communication within social groups that share a common belief. They are also a way of integrating certain social systems. They consolidate and assert social identities in a world that is shifting to global oneness. Rituals help assert one's uniqueness and diversity. In that sense, they remain essential.
Rituals belong not just to Hindu societies. They are part and parcel of every community that functions in the social sphere.
Are they relevant to our society in the present times? When practices took shape thousands of years ago, critical thinking was developing. Man tried to find meaning to his existence by way of certain acts. He created certain stories that made him feel secure about who created the world, and about his own place in that world. It gave him a certain sense of security. It aided in bringing a sense of singularity to his little world.
With time, it changed. Diversity popped up. Different beliefs crossed paths. Confusion, doubt, further interrogation set in. He still needed to comfort himself amidst all the uncertainties. So, he persisted. He persisted in the beliefs he had 'learnt' to believe in. He passed it on to his progeny with no questions asked. It was a matter of faith. It became his religion. Power structures of the society he belonged to were happy too, because these rituals helped maintain status quo.
The highly spectacular nature of rituals today has heightened the social drama. When anthropologists read about us years later, we will make an interesting case study of a society driven to display and extravaganza. We will be read as day-observing, ritual-fastidious, globally-aware, diversity-hugging, ceremony-finicky secular nation.
By the way, do read Tagore's story Ritual and Reform, from which I quoted in the beginning. The irony of action and thought is beautifully brought out in the narrative.
Written for IndiSpire #115
