| That part of
religion, which performs his vital function, is its ritual. Ritual has also another
function. It represents the traditional element in religion and ensures the continuity of
its form, from generation to generation. The importance of ritual and the part it plays in
religion will be described in detail in a later chapter. It is enough now to recognize
that ritual forms the very foundation of every established religion and that with out it
the other parts of the religious edifice would crumble and fall. Then, as our will is immediately at the back of all our conscious
activities, there must be something in religion which trains the will, so that we may
voluntarily go along the path of virtue and reach the infinite holiness of God. Every
established religion is therefore bound to possess its scales of moral values and its
systems of moral discipline. There can be no religion without its own system of ethics.
Again, as our emotions largely determine our will, there must be something
in religion,
which operates directly on the emotions and leads them along the sacred channel of love to
the infinite beauty of God. |
