Rituals!

As advised by Rām, Vibhishana entered the city of Lankā & quickly concluded Agnihotra ritual (act of pouring oblations into sacred fire) which was started by Rāvan. He further gave instructions to arrange carts of excellent varieties of firewood, 3 sacred fires & priests required to officiate the last rites of his brother. Logs of sandalwood, fragrant aloe wood, odorous perfumes, gems, pearls & corals were also brought in

He along with Malayvan (father of his mother) initiated the obsequies. Rāvan, who was covered with linen, was accompanied by blasts of various musical instruments as well as panegyrists singing hymns with brahmanas standing around him with their faces filled in tears. Lifting the palanquin, which had been decorated with colorful flags & flowers and taking up blocks of wood, all demons with Vibhishana in front, proceeded with their face turned towards south

The sacrificial fires were ignited by Adhvaryu priests, performers of sacrificial act. Those fires were contained in earthen pots and were placed in front of Rāvan's body. All the women of gynaecium, while weeping, followed with quick paces, stumbling as they were, on all sides. Keeping the body of Rāvan on a consecrated spot, Vibhishana & others, very much afflicted with grief, piled up a sacred pyre with logs of sandalwood, moistened with perfumes called Padmaka & Koshira and covered with the skin of black antelopes. They performed the rites in accordance with Vedic method in honor of the king

They performed ancestral oblations, constructed an altar in southeast & placed sacred fire. They poured ladle full of clarified butter mixed with curd on his shoulders, placed a cart at his feet & a wooden mortar at his thighs. Placing all the required paraphernalia, they circled around funeral pyre. They then dampened the body with ghee & poured parched grains of rice. Vibhishana then set fire to Rāvan according to the rules in scriptures. He offered in wet clothes, according to scriptural ordinance, sesame seeds mixed with water, blades of Kusha grass & paid obeisance by bowing his head

He then entreated the wailing women to return, consoling them again & again, to Lankā

Rituals in our scriptures have been defined for us to be in sync with nature. They are essential part of expressing our inner emotions to appreciate people, elements & spirit. All the rituals either material or spiritual have deep meaning in our lives and if they are disconnected with underlying emotion, they become superficial and even hypocritical

We need to understand these practices in the light of our scriptures & culture. We follow various rituals in our lives for eg a handshake, which if coupled with a smile, could be warm else could be dry. The rituals also are a precious means to connect with the Supreme Lord for eg mantra meditation

Let’s not discard but understand them to elevate and connect

Thoughts? #gameoflife