कल्पान्तरे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

“उत्तम-कलानुभूतिः→ तत्र भावः” इति दृश्यताम्
दैवावेशः कल्प्यतेतराम् कर्मसु। सहृदयरसिकोत्तम-साधकोत्तमयोर् अयमपि भेदो महान्।

“ज्ञात्वा कर्माणि कुर्वीत” इति आर्योक्तिः

Do an aesthetic study and understand the thought and feeling behind practices rather than following arbitrary looking traditional instructions - on the way to developing one’s own favored practice.
I do not wish to give up my freedom to sympathetically probe, understand and decide on what my practice should be - the freedom in particular to respectfully disagree in practice with the learned traditional practitioner when the explanation is unsatisfactory —and face the “consequences” from the deva-s.
The people who will tolerate this is a small minority, though my sincere interest in kalpa is apparent. With them, for example, I can discuss at length with XYZ about why I am put off by navya-nyAya in the light of modern science or why I think that my preferred svara system is superior or why some ritual usage in abhivAdana is justifiable by grammar. They may think I am wrong and they probe and let me explain my intentions (ie - there is some reason behind my investigation beside just being a smartass), but to a certain extant they engage and answer my questions.

रहस्यज्ञानम्

“Agnishad, the brāhmaṇa from Cerapada, was a notable somayājin. Having performed the agniṣṭoma he drank soma. But he apparently did not know the rahasya rituals. Hence, one day he was struck by the vajra of deva Rudra and was killed. I do not wish to go that way.”

भावना च समीचीना न चेद् शुष्कानुकरणेन न ह्य् अधिकं सिद्ध्यति - “य एवव्ँविद्वानग्निहोत्रञ्जुहोति …”, “एवव्ँविद्वान्दर् शपूर्णमासौ यजते परमामेव काष्ठाङ्गच्छति “, “य एवव्ँविद्वान्दशरात्रेण यजते …” इत्यादीनि वाक्यानि ज्ञानपूर्वककर्माणि प्रशंसन्ति।
Whatever we practice, it is important that we don’t reduce ourselves to becoming practitioners of a “cargo cult” (they built repilicas of airports and airplanes hoping for “goods” to start coming again). Rather, we should strive to reclaim the vigor and happiness of our forefathers, who were in perfect sync with Rta and the seasons, and whose dharma led them to victory and success everywhere they went (rather than becoming paralyzed by peripheri). Among other things, the darbhas should remind us of their life in the andhas, the bull-rib/ horse-rib placed next to the gArhapatya should remind us of their smashing cavalry, the darbhAgra-s we throw into the Ajya should remind us of indra’s vajra etc.. The thought of imbibing and emulating the thoughts and ways of our sagely forefathers should raise pulaka-s on our skin.
यदि ब्राह्मणाः “इन्द्रो ज्येष्ठाम् अनु नक्षत्रमेति” इति ब्रुवाणो ऽपि ज्येष्ठां नक्षत्रम् आकाशे न दर्शयितुं शक्नुवन्ति, यदि सोमदैवतकं साम “श्री”-शब्दयुक्तत्वाद् भ्रान्त्या लक्ष्मीपूजायां प्रयुञ्जते, यद्येवम् अर्थम् अनवगत्य विपरीतं वावगत्य रटन्ति, तेषां कर्माणि “cargo cult” कर्माण्येव। अल्पफलान्येव तानि भवेयुः।

Value of ignorant performance

Definitely, there is value in being the donkey that carries the sandalwood, a la - “यथा खरश्चन्दनभारवाही भारस्य वेत्ता न तु चन्दनस्य। एवं हि शास्त्राणि बहून्यधीत्य अर्थेषु मूढाः खरवद् वहन्ति ॥”. But it is not good if donkeys dominate true vidvAns in culture. Based on one’s circumstance and abilities, it is good to strive to be more than the donkey.

तपो-मद-वारणम्

तपोमदो नाम दीर्घानुष्ठानात् परम् कदाचिद् अहङ्कारवृद्धिर् व्यवहारेषु लौकिकेष्व् अधिका रूक्षता च।

कर्तृत्वम्

प्रातिनिध्यम्

उदाहरणानि

औपासनहोमे पतिर् भवति गृहस्य (विशिष्य पत्न्याः) प्रतिनिधिः।
सन्ध्यादीपज्वालने स्त्रीर् भवति गृहस्य प्रतिनिधिः

Structure vs feeling tension

The veda-s emphasize both proper and meticulous performance; and feeling (There is the story {TS 2.6.10} of shaMyu who to whom fruits of yajJNA are to be diverted, if it is performed without devotional feeling or without respect for prescribed structure).
“Of course, if we say “just pray from heart”, it becomes too open and possibly chaotic. Rules are there to enforce discipline and provide some structure. But, if there are too many rules, the same thing that is intended to provide structure to the ritual can become constricting and suffocating. The suffocation may eliminate all feeling from the ritual. Based on one’s desa-kala-patra, one has to find the right balance between rules (Pingala, solar channel) and emotion (Ida, lunar channel). One should follow some rules that provide a structure without suffocating one and allow one to add emotion to the ritual. Then one can make a connection.” NR_FB15.

Examples of “feeling” trumping:

In the veda-s

[TW17].

“kavaSa ailUSa who was expelled by the RSis from a sattra on account of his maternal heritage (she was a dAsa woman; I suspect druhyu heritage). Expelled to the desert & suffering from thirst he sees the aponaptrīya sūkta and in the desert, the waters of the sarasvatI run to him.”
“The innocent, naive devotee whose silly actions still please the deity: kaNNappa nAyanmAr’s spitting water on rudra as ablution to a creative mind, can be said to be prefigured in the story of apālā who chews the soma plant with her teeth to press out the juice for Indra.”
“The trope of the devotee who risks everything for his cherished deva: could be said to be prefigured in the story of Rjrashva who, seeing a she-wolf (and recognizing it as the divine animal it was; I.e. Sent by the ashvinau), offered a hundred sheep to satiate it and was blinded by his father as a consequence! However, the ashvinau, pleased with him, gave back his eyes.”

In the itihAsa-s and purANa-s

shabari giving rAma berries she tasted for sweetness.
Hunter kaNNappa spitting water on rudra as ablution.

अनन्त्यायासः

शास्त्रोक्त-क्रियाकलापा न विनाल्पायासं सिध्यन्तीति सर्वशिष्टसदाचारशीलविदितम् एव।
किञ्च तद् अत्यन्तं न स्यात्।

न प्राणाबाधमाचरेत् - मनुस्मृति ४.५४

शरीरं पीड्यते येन
सुशुभेनापि कर्मणा।
अत्यन्तं तन्न कर्तव्यम्
अनायासः स उच्यते॥
यद्-आरम्भे भवेत् पीडा
नित्यम् अत्यन्तम् आत्मनः।
तद् वर्जयेद् धर्म्यम् अपि
सोऽनायासः प्रकीर्त्तितः॥

बृहस्पतिस्मृति २.४९६-४९७

सुखमात्रम् इच्छद्भ्यस् त्व् अन्यद् एवोक्तम् -

देह-वाक्-चेतसां चेष्टाः
प्राक् श्रमाद् विनिवर्तयेत्

अष्टाङ्गहृदय १.२.३७

तच् च चित्त-प्रसादनम् अबाधमानम् अनेनासेव्यम् इति - योगसूत्रव्यासभाष्य २.१