Ritual,Tradition or Emotion?
The wedding preparations of Soniya, our daughter got underway yesterday. It was a kind of invocation for seeking the blessings of the Lord as we kicked off the distribution of invitations. There were some very interesting and curious rituals.
Medha had invited her parents, sister and a few close friends to participate in this light hearted function.
An oft encountered dilemma, that can become a very contentious issue is the relevance, importance and extent of tradition and rituals for occasions and more specifically for weddings. Weddings are an inevitable clash of egos, cultures and beliefs.
Today's generations are very emancipated and quite often treat tradition, legacy and rituals as anachronistic archaic orthodoxy. Their stance is justified as performance of rituals, pujas, religious practices has never and will never impact the outcome of any event or alliance. Recital of Vedic hymns can never sanctify an alliance, that's not backed up with a moral and ethical commitment of the concerned parties.
The rising levels of disharmony, incongruence and fractures in relationships, has indeed reduced all these traditional garnishings to senseless profanities. So in light of these ever changing equations and lifestyles, should we abandon our legacy and embrace a less deliberate and more practical alternative that's more in accordance with the pragmatic mindset of the today's youth?
Is ritual merely a set of mechanical actions that are totally irrelevant and out of synch?
I am an agnostic, with a modest realisation of the limitations of my perceptive and intellectual faculties. A vehement denial implies a total conviction in ones own faculties and their obsession with tangibility. I have a very patchy almost hypocritical belief system that shuffles and switches sides depending on the circumstances.
True liberation would be breaking the shackles of dogma. Insistence on the non existence of any anthropological or other God, or proclaiming the futility of all belief systems is also a belief system.
My profession permits me close ups of life that always make me realise how insignificant and utterly powerless we are. Reposing faith and trust in some power that's beyond ones sphere of control goes a long way in trimming the rapidly growing tentacles of the ego.
Seeing Medha and her ethnic coterie, all decked up in a traditional attire, and enjoying the nuances of the carefully crafted rituals stirred something within me.
The thought, emotion and the intention behind devoting so much time and energy into these acts of orthodoxy surely injected an enthusiasm, positivity, and cheer into this oncoming event. Tradition certainly has it's own aesthetic appeal. Orthodoxy had its own charm. There was no harm in seeking the benedictions of the Almighty, and even if He were to remain unaffected by this attempted appeasement, the fun and frolic, the mirth and gaiety that this gathering generated was so refreshing. There will always be those sceptics, who with their neo- intellectual approach reduce these acts to blasphemy. They will argue till eternity about the incongruence of Science and these menial indulgences.
I guess, at the end of the day, they certainly have a point, but then, could they find any workable tangible alternative, that could guarantee the solidity and durability of these holy alliances?
Seeing the entire episode first hand I somehow am convinced, that the ritual reaffirmed the love, concern, and commitment to the happiness and welfare of the soon to be couple. I might not believe in rituals, but I certainly believe in soliciting blessings. God Bless the occasion and the alliance.
The wedding preparations of Soniya, our daughter got underway yesterday. It was a kind of invocation for seeking the blessings of the Lord as we kicked off the distribution of invitations. There were some very interesting and curious rituals.
Medha had invited her parents, sister and a few close friends to participate in this light hearted function.
An oft encountered dilemma, that can become a very contentious issue is the relevance, importance and extent of tradition and rituals for occasions and more specifically for weddings. Weddings are an inevitable clash of egos, cultures and beliefs.
Today's generations are very emancipated and quite often treat tradition, legacy and rituals as anachronistic archaic orthodoxy. Their stance is justified as performance of rituals, pujas, religious practices has never and will never impact the outcome of any event or alliance. Recital of Vedic hymns can never sanctify an alliance, that's not backed up with a moral and ethical commitment of the concerned parties.
The rising levels of disharmony, incongruence and fractures in relationships, has indeed reduced all these traditional garnishings to senseless profanities. So in light of these ever changing equations and lifestyles, should we abandon our legacy and embrace a less deliberate and more practical alternative that's more in accordance with the pragmatic mindset of the today's youth?
Is ritual merely a set of mechanical actions that are totally irrelevant and out of synch?
I am an agnostic, with a modest realisation of the limitations of my perceptive and intellectual faculties. A vehement denial implies a total conviction in ones own faculties and their obsession with tangibility. I have a very patchy almost hypocritical belief system that shuffles and switches sides depending on the circumstances.
True liberation would be breaking the shackles of dogma. Insistence on the non existence of any anthropological or other God, or proclaiming the futility of all belief systems is also a belief system.
My profession permits me close ups of life that always make me realise how insignificant and utterly powerless we are. Reposing faith and trust in some power that's beyond ones sphere of control goes a long way in trimming the rapidly growing tentacles of the ego.
Seeing Medha and her ethnic coterie, all decked up in a traditional attire, and enjoying the nuances of the carefully crafted rituals stirred something within me.
The thought, emotion and the intention behind devoting so much time and energy into these acts of orthodoxy surely injected an enthusiasm, positivity, and cheer into this oncoming event. Tradition certainly has it's own aesthetic appeal. Orthodoxy had its own charm. There was no harm in seeking the benedictions of the Almighty, and even if He were to remain unaffected by this attempted appeasement, the fun and frolic, the mirth and gaiety that this gathering generated was so refreshing. There will always be those sceptics, who with their neo- intellectual approach reduce these acts to blasphemy. They will argue till eternity about the incongruence of Science and these menial indulgences.
I guess, at the end of the day, they certainly have a point, but then, could they find any workable tangible alternative, that could guarantee the solidity and durability of these holy alliances?
Seeing the entire episode first hand I somehow am convinced, that the ritual reaffirmed the love, concern, and commitment to the happiness and welfare of the soon to be couple. I might not believe in rituals, but I certainly believe in soliciting blessings. God Bless the occasion and the alliance.
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