Designing Own Rituals

I remember, I used to observe one Guruji, who would close his eyes and say something very softly before taking any part of a tree.

- Shri Soham Vinita Shamkant

It made me curious to know more about rituals, so I asked him, “What do you say?” He replied, “Words are not that important; the intentions and emotions hold the spiritual value.”

The same can be related with Metta (loving kindness) meditation. In this practice we learn an ability to cultivate a particular emotion. We start with designing three to four phrases that are universal needs of every living creature, like, “May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease.” Then we visualise a benefactor, then a neutral person and at last a difficult person with whom we might have differences and dedicate the above phrases to them.