Yesterday, I caught myself overthinking — again. But in that restless spiral, I stumbled upon something that felt absolutely right to me.
I was born a Brahmin, and like most Indians, I grew up surrounded by rituals, traditions, and a culture of worship. We are often told to bow before gods that are essentially decorated stones, placed in shrines and temples, draped with flowers, and revered as sacred. But here’s my honest confession: I can’t see the divinity in rocks.
Nobody has ever seen the so-called “creator.” Yet, countless people surrender their lives to rituals, festivals, and traditions that claim to connect us with this invisible power. I find myself asking: isn’t there science behind everything we see? Isn’t the world around us explainable without mystical stories?
To me, free will feels like an illusion. Our choices, our beliefs, our “devotion” — most of it is shaped by conditioning. From childhood, we are told what to worship, what to believe, and how to celebrate. Where does the questioning mind fit into this?
That’s why I’ve decided something important: I will never again worship rocks in the name of gods.
Look around. India celebrates countless festivals, each with its own unique set of rituals. While diversity is beautiful, I can’t help but wonder — why don’t we channel the same energy, money, and time into something more productive? Why do we remain stuck in cycles that don’t really move us forward?
I know these thoughts might sound rebellious, maybe even offensive to some. But they are honest. They come from a place of searching — searching for meaning beyond rituals, beyond rocks, beyond the illusion of traditions.
Maybe, just maybe, true spirituality lies not in worshipping what we’re told to, but in asking the difficult questions no one dares to.
I respect your honest questioning it shows you’re truly searching. But I feel it’s important to remember that not everything in life needs to be backed by science in a laboratory sense. Some truths are experiential.
ReplyDeleteIn Hinduism, every ritual has a deeper meaning. For example, going to a mandir is not just about worshipping “rocks.” The atmosphere of the temple, the sound of mantras, the smell of incense, the sight of the deity all these stimulate our subconscious mind, calm our thoughts, and fill us with positivity. Science today calls it “neuroplasticity” and “mind training,” but our rishis knew this long ago in their own way.
Idols are not the final truth they are symbols, tools to focus the wandering human mind. Just as a flag represents a nation, the murti represents the divine. When you bow, you are not bowing to stone
you are bowing to the infinite consciousness that stone reminds you of.
And yes, blind faith is dangerous. People can get brainwashed. But rejecting everything is also not the answer. The middle path is to understand the meaning behind rituals, practice what uplifts you, and let go of what doesn’t.
God is there not just in temples, but in every atom, in every heartbeat, in every sunrise. Rituals are simply ways to remind us of that higher reality