[Advaita-l] Ritual/Garuda Purana; was Advaita-l Digest, Vol 51, Issue 6

[Ramesh Krishnamurthy]

On 19/07/07, viswanathan n <vishy39 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Till now I was thinking that Garuda Purana is mere ritualistic recitation in
> dwaitic tradition.

And what is a "mere" ritual? The entire universe is but a yajna (a
"mere" ritual). Our sense of individuality (ego-sense) is but a
ritual. The very performance of ritual yields this insight. Thats how
all our ego-denying philosophies arose.

Seeing through the mere ritual that the universe is, one realizes the
truth, and even this realization is but a mere ritual!

>
> But I didnt understand why you tried defending the rituals/ shastras in
> footnotes when things were so clear in the body itself. I always felt  those
> are mere means and once you understood "The Truth" even those are to dropped
> just as forgetting the boat after crossing the river. No point in getting
> attached to the boat and carrying it, isnt it?

But one has to learn to use the boat first, isn't it? Of course, its
all a ritual!

In praise of ritual
Ramesh