Dharma Rathni Gati

A Land of Vrats and Rituals

In our tradition, there are countless Vrats, Pujas, worship practices, Yagnas (sacred fires), Anushthans (spiritual observances), and the Pauranik (ancient) stories woven around them. Whether it is Satyanarayan Puja, Santoshi Mata's Vrat, Vaibhav Lakshmi, or the Dasha Ma Vrat; whether it is the recitation of the Bhagavatam, Garuda Purana, Sundarkand, or the Ramcharitmanas — these and many other observances are performed with Shraddha (faith) by people across every region of India, and especially, by the women.

From Sacred to Political

In the twentieth century, public celebrations of Ganesh Puja, Satyanarayan, Navratri's Durga Puja, and Dussehra began as instruments of India's freedom struggle — meant to awaken consciousness and unity. But the form these festivals have taken since — increasingly public, increasingly political, increasingly commercial — and how they continue to evolve, brings both benefits and costs that deserve a separate discussion entirely.

Dreams Carved in Stone

As a matter of fact, Pauranik stories reflect highest aspirations of humanity. In the age of the Puranas, these Vrat traditions were given with clear purpose: to help elevate the spiritual life of ordinary people. Over time, the thought behind them departed and only the outer practice remained. The soul left, and the shell stayed. The snakes slipped, and the slither-marks remained. And we have faithfully continued to worship those marks as an unbroken sectarian tradition!

The Colonial Wound

When India was under colonial rule, foreign rulers — wanting to crush and diminish us — declared: your religion is blind, your worship of tree gods and monkey gods is primitive, everything the Brahmins built is nonsense, your history is dark, your Dharma is devoid of reason. They deliberately mingled history with mythology and inflicted tremendous damage on our self-respect and national pride. On the other side, patriotic scholars and researchers worked to uncover the science behind the Pauranik traditions and brought it to light.

Reform and Rediscovery

In the nineteenth century, a wind of religious reform and secularization swept through. Consequently, the search for the deeper meaning behind mythological stories began anew, and a fresh perspective for understanding the Puranas developed.

Pauranik stories have been called "sacred truth" and the dream of humankind. During this period, on one hand, intensive study and research into history, Puranas, epics, and culture was underway. On the other, poets and artists began expressing these ancient characters in new forms through poetry, literature, drama, dance, music, painting, and sculpture — rendering them with aesthetic beauty. These modern expressions of heartfelt devotion are, without question, welcome developments. These new creations and reinterpretations are themselves proof that the reach of human emotion and intellectual consciousness expands in every age.

The Uncomfortable Middle

And yet, our tragedy is this: none of this intellectual development has truly touched the common person. The progress of science has given us the dazzling objects of the modern world, yet we remain unable to free ourselves from deeply rooted Pauranik beliefs. We cannot bring ourselves to replace the recitation of the Garuda Purana at death ceremonies with the reading of the Bhagavad Gita. If a cat crosses our path, we may not actually cancel our errand — we cannot afford to — but the thought that "a cat crossed my path" and worse, "it was a black cat!" does strike the mind, even if just for a moment. When someone offers Prasad, instead of deciding that the sweet should be declined because of diabetes, we say, "How can one refuse Prasad?" — and we accept it reverently. (That is to say, we swallow it happily.)

On one side there is computerization; on the other, immovable ancient belief. And so, during the Chopda Pujan (book-worship) ceremony in the month of Ashwin, we end up performing Puja of the pen-drives and CDs we will use in April — complete with a kumkum chandlo (vermilion mark) and sathiya (auspicious symbol) on their covers.

The Chariot Needs New Horses

Because of this calcified mindset, the atmosphere of discerning, Vivek-filled thinking that ought to flourish simply does not. Pauranik (blind) beliefs may be mere beliefs for ordinary people, but in the hands of politicians they become weapons of war — sometimes toppling governments. The intellect says no, but the mind is compelled. As a result of this inner conflict, India's young and educated generation is dragged into a tragic and paradoxical partnership between "belief without reason" and "reason without belief."

In this twenty-first century, where the weight of rational thought, scientific inquiry, and research has grown so considerably, the demystification of Pauranik stories is both welcome and necessary. The rational truth behind the ritual will appeal far more to the scientific young minds of today. To prevent the twenty-first century from becoming a vasmi (bitter) century, it is essential to find thoughtful answers to rational questions. And it is we who must do this work.

To question Shraddha (faith) is itself necessary for true moral discernment to emerge. To give the chariot of Dharma its forward momentum, what is needed today is not the whip of authority or rigidity, but the horses of understanding and discerning vision.