Obsessed by Rituals

For some reason, I decided to go on the path of doing a doctorate. It is an interesting experience knowing and interacting with so many intellectuals. They all are good and sincere people. I am learning a lot about humans, their instincts and actions and reactions, and the so-called horizons of the human mind. In the process, I attended many defenses of many theses at various levels. The committees rejected some remarkable ideas (asked to come back with corrections) only because the one written paragraph was not indented at the same margin. One thesis was delayed because out of many references, one reference deviated by one comma from the suggested style. And there were so many other examples.

I learned: that it is not only religious people who get obsessed with rituals but any human mind - no matter how enlightened it is - over time, in any organized form, can quickly get consumed by rituals. The human mind has difficulty finding a fine line between discipline and rituals.

As Iqbal said in Saqi-nama of Bale-Jibril:

Byan Iss Ka Mantaq Se Suljha Huwa 
Lughat Ke Bakheron Mein Uljha Huwa

And

Haqeeqat kharafat main kho gai
ye ummat riwayat main kho gai

*