Are rituals wrong numbers for calling God? (PK answered 3)

Answer Podcast:

Hare Krishna Question Are religious rituals wrong numbers for dialing to God? Answer If we say that they are wrong numbers we have to first of all tell what is the right number otherwise how do we say that something is a wrong number? Secondly if you don’t know the right number then if you are going to say that it is a wrong number based on the seeming illogicality of certain rituals then the question comes up that is our logic itself adequate for knowing God entirely? Is our logic adequate even for understanding quantum physics? In quantum physics we have simultaneously things being particles and waves. Scientists have said that quantum physics is not only queerer than we imagine it is queerer than what we can imagine and yet just because it doesn’t make sense we don’t reject quantum physics we educate ourselves sufficiently so that we can see the sense in what doesn’t make sense so similarly with respect to rituals certainly there are many many rituals which are going on today and not all of them are bona fide not all of them are valid ways to God but to say that none of them are valid ways to God is a blanket statement that is unjustified so rituals are means to an end so rituals are ways by which we express the essence they gave us a structure and a form for expressing the essential emotion for example if we go to a republic day parade of say India now imagine all the soldiers there are in their casual dress somebody is in dhoti kurta somebody is in a pyjama somebody is in jeans somebody is wearing goggle and they are just longing around chit chatting with each other what kind of republic parade is this now they are holding a gun in a particular way marching in a very formal synchronized way what is this if not a ritual so now the precision with which they do the ritual does not necessarily have anything to do with the patriotism somebody may be able to march very nicely but that person may not be patriotic that person may flee away from the battlefield at the time of war or may even become a traitor who knows but still the point is rituals are required because those rituals give us structure for expressing emotions so when we meet people we shake hands now what is so special about shaking hands you know there can people who can very firmly and warmly shake hands and afterwards they cheat us but still rituals are the initial step in expressing the essence and there can be times when the initial step comes without the subsequent the emotion essential emotion but still as a matter of regular discourse we have the rituals and then we have the essence being expressed so the ideal situation is where there is the external expression of the ritual followed by the internal essence coming out so similarly when we go to God so now we pray to God we fold our hands or we raise our hands whatever we do that is an external and the external is meant to give us a structure by which we can express the essence so rituals now when we understand their purpose and then when we do those rituals then they are not wrong numbers then they are means by which we can connect with God and we can receive his blessings and the reason why thousands and thousands of people not just thousands millions of people practice rituals in term in connection with God is not because they are foolish but because they experience something higher they experience a higher presence so rituals can be wrong numbers to God but that does not mean that we have to stop dialing the number at all that it does not mean that we have to reject all rituals we have to understand through scripture through philosophy what particular rituals are meant to express and how they are meant to express that so for example in the Vedic tradition when we fold our hands so folding our hands is a way of expressing reverence it’s a way of offering respects so now just as shaking hands is a way of greeting other people so in the Indian tradition folding hands is a way of expressing respect and we do that or even bowing down is also a way of expressing respect to God and in this way we actually get a structure by which we can express the essence so the purpose is to get to the essence but without the structure often the essence is inaccessible and when the essence and the structure both are there then there is a beauty there is a charm to it just as there are patriotic soldiers and they are marching majestically on their public day parade then it’s a sight which excites and brings pride to people of the country so same way rituals are not necessarily wrong numbers they are right numbers when those rituals are based on scripture and they are done with the right intent to connect with God and to offer our respect and devotion to him thank you