Source: TW
A friend posed a good question. I keep repeating that Shakti puja, durga upasana etc is the key to dharmic revival. Well, maximum Durga pujas happen in Bengal and we can see where the state has landed with 30% ROP followers, matter of few decades when they will take over, and the Hindus specially Kolkata aantel types are all secular dhimmified suicidal maniacs who are beyond reason and arguments. For example when idols are broken in B’desh you find people protesting even in the USA, but Bengali Hs of Kolkata are clueless, like ostrict with head inside sand, singing secular mantras to carry on their self inflicted brainwashing. So why this condition, inspite of so many durga pujas?
Because there is a huge different between a puja and an upasana. The average 90% crowd spends the puja like festival time, only engagement with any upasana is just that small two mintues anjali and nothing more. Obviously no positive results can come from this kind of a system. You will enjoy the aesthetics and the grand displays and dress and the food and lights - except there is hardly any concentrated upasana of the goddess going on. It is true that the puja happens exactly as per vidhi of the katyayani kalpa, but it is being done by professional priests, rest of the people are enjoying festivities. It is not TMC which converted the pujo into utsava, people had already done it themselves, TMC merely cashed in on the opportunity.
The rituals once diluted then it is a matter of time it will lose its capacity to bestow protection and then in less than a century the culture will fall to some other culture. This is precisely, IMO, how Iranians lost to Islam too apart from the obvious material reasons.
The reverse problem is in North India, lot of bhakti and no idea of rules. Or the belief that only fasting is enough, too many people have such simplistic idea and remain proud about it that they are fasting and abstaining from non-veg etc and rest of the time spend in decorating the ghat or listening to all night songs etc and that is enough. No, not by a long shot.
To activate the protective power of the Great Goddess sufficient number of peoople have to do uapsana in this time and I am not saying complex tantric processes, even things from pouranika system will work. Take the argala read it 108 times daily, or take 32 names of durga read it 1000 times in these 9 days, or do 1 lakh japa of navarna etc (with upadesa) etc.. THAT is sadhana. And that is what is completely missing in Bengal in this time, and that is why so much of Durga puja has not produced any effects like curbing adharmic influences in this geography. And it won’t change until people take up actual upasana in this period. OTOH the celebration angle will eventually dilute the riuals too, just a matter of time, and then nothing will be left.
A religion (not just philosophy but living breathing religion) needs rituals as a language of communication between those realms beyond the ken of the ordinary senses, and average human being. These are set in place by the great rishis or rishi-like beings, or exceptional caliber upasaka-s, and by that ritual process for centuries after centuries people attain to the highest results which the ritual promises to deliver, all else being constant. In that situation who has the authority to tamper with it? Almost no. Any unnecessary dumbing down eventually leads to weakening of the system and things tend towards chaos and collapse. This orthopraxy lies at the very heart center of dharma. It cannot and should not be changed for anything.
You will observe ROP never dilutes its rituals, ever. That is one of their primary strengths.