BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT RELIGION, and they cannot be religion.
I am against rituals, but that does not mean that a religious person cannot go into a ritual.
But when a religious person goes into a ritual, it is not a ritual at all. His heart is in it; then his words have wings.
So remember it: I am against the ritual when there is no heart in it. Then it is a ritual!
But if there is a heart... just remember those three mystics, those three Russian mystics, praying to God: ”You are three, we are three – have mercy on us!” This too is a ritual, a simple one, of their own invention; this too is a prayer – but their heart was in it.
A famous story about Moses:
He was passing through a forest.
He saw a man praying. But the man who was praying was saying such absurd things that he could not go further. He had to stop the man.
What he was saying was profane, sacrilegious. He was saying to God: ”God, you must be feeling sometimes very alone – I can come and be always with you like a shadow. You can depend on me You need not be alone.
Why suffer loneliness when I am here? And I am not a useless person either – I can be of much use, I can be handy. I will give you a good bath. I can massage too. I am a shepherd.
And I will take all the lice from your hair and your body...”
Lice? Moses could not believe his ears: ”What is he talking about?”
”And I will cook food for you. And do you know what? – everybody likes what I cook. It is delicious.
And I will prepare your bed and I will wash your clothes. And I can do a thousand and one things!
And when you are ill I will take care of you. I will be a mother to you, a wife to you, a servant, a slave – I can be Al kinds of things. Just give me a hint so I can come .”
Moses stopped him and said, ”Listen!
What kind of prayer is this?
What are you doing?
To whom are you talking? Lice in God’s hair? He needs a bath? And you are saying ’I will rub your body and make it absolutely clean’? Stop this nonsense.
This is not prayer. God will be offended by you.” Looking at Moses, the man fell at his feet. He said, ”I am sorry. I am an illiterate, ignorant man. I don’t know how to pray.
Please, you teach me!”
So Moses taught him the right way to pray, and he was very happy because he had put a man on the right track. Happy, puffed up in his ego, Moses went away.
And when he was alone in the forest, a very thundering voice came from the sky and said, ”Moses, I have sent you into the world to bring people to me, to bridge people with me, but not to take my lovers away from me.
And that’s exactly what you have done. That man is one of the MOST intimate to me.
Go back! Apologize.
Take your prayer back!
You have destroyed the whole beauty of his dialogue.
He is sincere. He is loving. His love is true. Whatsoever he was saying, he was saying from his heart.
It was not a ritual.
Now what you have given to him is just a ritual. He will repeat it but it will be only on the lips; it will not be out of his being.”
I am not against prayer, I am against the ritualistic prayer – BECAUSE IT IS NOT PRAYER, that’s why I am against it.
Don’t learn empty gestures.
Let your gestures be alive, spontaneous. Otherwise, deep down you know that this is a ritual, deep down you know that this is just a formality you are performing.
And if that is your feeling inside, what is the point of going into it?
But that’s what your rituals are. Deep down, you know that they are rituals.
You yourself don’t believe in them.
They have been taught to you, you have been conditioned for them. You go on repeating them mechanically, robot like. If you don’t repeat them, you feel something is missed; if you repeat them nothing is gained.
And there is no understanding behind them
Osho
