The rituals ultimately burn in fire!

The people live more in the world of spirituality than reality maybe because it's their way of bringing minds at peace. Being spiritual is good but being a religious fanatic who believes, follows, and dominates others to follow rituals is what I believe is something not right!

Sexist traditions and rituals

We all keep talking about feminism but we are far behind when it comes to our traditions and rituals. Don't we need to evolve them with time instead they become rotten on their way and lose all their importance?  Weddings are just a perfect demonstration of sexism. The women leave home and not men. Her parents have to give dowry however educated or successful she is; if not in the name of dowry then in the name of gifts but everywhere it's the same. The after marriage traditions of wearing mangal sutra, bangles, bindi, sindoor, etc or signs of being married are only for women. The men don't need a signboard of being married? The live-long fastings like karwa Chauth, Teej, and many more again are all for women. Do only men need long life? In the new fashion trend, some husbands have started fasting for their wives also but let me tell you it's just a one-time attention-grabbing act which is still not easily acceptable in families or it does not change the mindsets. Sometimes it feels the rituals were made smartly by our ancestors so that it keeps dragging the male-dominated society perfectly in one way or the other. However modern society you are living in, just look for all the actions and situations around you and you will be able to judge better!

 

The holy fire

Holy because fire is thought to be connected to God. The fire is one of the companions who is with us from our birth till our end. Have you seen fire burning or hawan being done when a child is born? It brings rejoice to the family. Everyone is happy to see the fire then and they worship it to take away all the evils from the child or family and burn them. The same fire burn in our homes every day. Sometimes it burns to cure hunger and sometimes in the Deepak at the temple which brings divine peace. The same fire is considered the most sacred witness to tie knots in marriages. Almost every "shubh" thing is not done without fire!

The same holy fire is used to burn your body when you are not alive anymore! Have you ever seen a body burning on the funeral pyre as a part of the last ritual of life? Have you ever seen the dead body of your loved one burning in this fire? It's frightening and unbelievable, it can hit you hard from within, it will make you lose faith in everything, it will end all your expectations, it will make you realize the ultimate truth of life. Just a glimpse of the famous 'Manikarnika Ghat' at Varanasi will show you the rarest scene of what ultimately life brings to us!

The same fire is the cause of happiness one time and scary the next time. So scary that you don't want to get close. Daily news of people and innocent children caught in the fire makes you sad. You remember the famous movie 'The jungle book' which mentions fire as 'raktfool'. It is far beyond imagination how fire can end up everything. Still so sacred and holy it is considered!

Mourning and grief on someone's death

Do we need the support of any ritual to express our griefs and sorrows on someone's death? The recent movie 'pagglait' was just the finest masterpiece to make us aware of the situations around us. Every part of the movie has some message for society. The two best dialogues from the movie which touched me from within are "agar hum apne faisle khud nhi lenge...to doosre le lenge" and "Jab ladki log ko Akal ati hai na...sab unhe pagglait hi kehte hai". But still, you have to face the man-made rituals because unless you follow them, you will not be a part of the sorrow or grief of the family, relatives, or friends! The loud cries, the false tears, the unwanted expressions just drag you more to the world of negativity. The real emotions are just felt from far, they are always not required to be said or expressed! One should understand and always have empathy for the person who has lost someone very close. What a widow has to undergo in our country is pathetic to know.  Don't expect anything from them because they are already undergoing the biggest trauma and still trying to realize what has happened. They just need love and support to easily overcome the situation. Do not bind them in the chains of rituals but let them be free to think, express and do whatever they feel is right.

The ultimate objective is to let people follow what makes them happy. If they ask for your support and guidance, give a helping hand else don't become the part of criticism. Our traditions and rituals are of course respectful but nothing is meant to be followed strictly or to be forced. It should all depend on your inner satisfaction. Life is short, live and let others also live on their terms. Life will then become more beautiful for every person on Earth!