by Gurani Anjali
In the beginning of any spiritual undertaking, many rituals are needed. Why are these rituals important? Some know and some don’t. And some don’t care either way. Some are hearers of the truth, some are listeners; some are just bored, don’t know what to do, or don’t care. There are all kinds of seekers. Some are very ardent, some just do things because they are supposed to do it. Some think maybe if they do the rituals, they’ll get there. But, they don’t care either way. The Guru has to deal with all kinds of personalities. Just because an individual is in an ashram, monastery or a temple, it doesn’t mean that he or she is a seeker of truth. They may be just window shopping, or have no other place to go, some are very sincere and some are very insincere. This is the karma of each individual. So watch who may appear in front of you. But more important, you have to see the you that appears with you all the time. And that is a little difficult to do.
The seeker of truth is the individual who has gone through much suffering, who has seen the illusions of life, and doesn’t want to play games anymore. That is the seeker of truth. There are many rituals, which must be performed by the seeker of truth. One has to do the rituals to develop humility. But first there has to be the seeker. If there’s no seeker, you can’t break the habits of the past, you can’t develop humility, and you can never embody the truth. So first, you have to find the seeker. The seeker is steadfast through rain and shine.
The rituals are there to help the seeker to focus, to become one-pointed, to bring the mind to the place through which the seeker may journey further into the realities of the ritual. The rituals are offering some fruit; igniting agni (fire, the light of consciousness); burning the incense; offering flowers; attending to the sunrise and sunset; doing tapas (lit. heat, austerities); doing the yamas (abstinences) and niyamas (observances); practicing silence; practicing and observing fasting and cleanliness; doing so many things—asanas (Yoga postures)—all these are rituals. So that the seeker may focus.
Some may be on the path for years and have never focused once, but attended to all the rituals. So first we have to find the seeker, the true seeker, the one that is really seeking. You must come away from your wandering mind. You cannot continue to be a vagrant all the days of your life, going here and there, and begging for every little pleasure you want. When you become a true seeker, then things change. Then the rituals begin to speak to you, and they open up to you.
Om shanti,
Gurani Anjali