Under Christianity, there are 7 Sacraments viz. Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Eucharist and Penance. These are ceremonies performed in the Church and they are believed to give guidance, Strength and God’s grace to the performers and fulfillers of the said ceremonies which are supposed to pass through the channels of churches, priests, etc. Sacraments with ceremonies are believed to be safe and sure escape measures from eternal unhappiness, punishments and miseries of a varied nature.
Baptism is the sacrament of infancy and Confirmation is the Sacrament when understanding dawns. It is supposed that all these sacraments invoke the blessings of the Holy Spirit for Christians. As explained under Mai-ism (page 25 of “Mother’s Message”), Holy Spirit is the masculine name of God as Mother. As stated in “Apochrypha”, Christ himself has said “My Mother, the Holy Ghost”.
The next Sacrament, common to all, religious or irreligious and as a natural and automatic one is the requirement of Matrimony which forms by itself a Sacrament. Matrimony has its own special elaborate customs, conventions and ceremonies in every religion. Under Christianity, when a Christian marries, the sacrament of (Marriage) Matrimony confers God’s blessings on individually the bride and the bridegroom and collectively the couple, because marriage is the eternal and holy union of a man and woman for the purpose of continuing the human race. Especially among Roman Catholics it is believed that marriage are made in Heaven and are indissoluble. Under Mai-ism, Matrimony by itself forms a very important subject matter of religious worship and ceremonial importance, and that is by way of a natural corollary because of the human instinct of sexual desire. According to Mai-ism, the union of man and woman in Mother’s Worship is the highest spiritualizing force (“Mother’s Message” page 6).
For the common mass people, while it is a great sin to estrange, disunite and separate married couples, it is a great merit to reconcile, unite, and bring together separated couples with a fair, reasonable and honorable compromise. With the blessings of God, marriage becomes an eternal, indissoluble, holy union of man and woman.
Mai-ism believes in spiritual, co-equal status of man and woman. If that principle were not accepted there could be no locus-standi for motherhood of God, side by side with the fatherhood of God till now practically holding finalmost supremacy in all religions. This motherhoodconception-acceptance is the perfecting of the hither-to imperfect one-eyed and one-legged religion “World’s Need & Mai-ism”. Both are like the positive and negative currents without the union whereof, no light, love and life is possible. Although in many matters, mentalities, inherent vices and virtues are quite different, they are inseparable and indispensable to each other, as forming the second supplementary part, each one to another, for self-development, especially religious and spiritual.
Mai-ism believes (as stated on page 658 of “Maiism”) that it is the highest and wonderful force of sex attraction, that makes a savage man and an ever-changeful emotional woman to be a He-Deity and She-Deity, in course of the religious development during their present and future lives,
If conceptions of the vast gulf between worship and ceremony, similar to that lying between devotion on a higher plane and worship be taken as non-existent, it is an important point to note, in connection with the subject matter in hand viz. ceremonies, that on higher advancement plane, Mai-ists that have declared themselves as Mai’s Adherents have to undertake “the mutual worship, practice” as between wives and husbands. This mutual worship is to be performed on so many days periodically and recurringly which again may be taken in the above stated broad sense, to be a ceremony connected with, and as a higher aspect of the matrimony sacrament.
Further, there is the sacrament of ordination which is given to purify man and woman and to prepare them for being fit and worthy to be efficiently serviceable to the Holy Church
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is given while ordination-initiated persons decide to put aside their daily, worldly life concerns and are prepared to dedicate their whole life to the services as monks, nuns or priests. Taking Holy Orders is considered to be a supreme life task of a Christian and that opportunities of salvation for them that have taken ‘Holy Orders’ are much greater than any other way of living the Christian life. It is a matter of joy for them that see the same essential principles and beliefs forming the basis of all religions.
Religiously, the most important sacraments are Eucharist and Penance, from the point of psychological and general applicability. There is again the practice of making confessions before particular priests from time to time, almost from very early life which again is a sub item of the Penance sacrament. Each Sunday, Catholics attend a service called ‘Mass’ for celebration of the Eucharist. It means the celebrating through remembrance of the ceremony that had taken place in the lifetime of Jesus Christ, when he took his last meal with his disciples, and practically repeating the same in the Church. It means developing the mood of meditations and gratitude in respect of Christ’s supreme sacrifice of death on the Cross in atonement of man’s sins. It is supposed that during the meal at Eucharist function, the priest performs a double miracle on wine and bread which are supposed to have been miraculously turned into the blood and body of Jesus Christ without changing their appearance. The priest then takes them both himself and finally distributes them among all present
Penance is naturally repentance of the sins and means confession to a Priest and undergoing all penalties prescribed by him and obtaining forgiveness for the same. The instrumentality through which all the sacraments are carried out is principally the prayer with burning of candles, etc. Many Roman Catholics revere Holy Mother Mary, Mother of God’s Son. To many devotees, Mary is nearer and more merciful in respect of their daily concern and miseries than either Christ or even God. Mary is also worshipped at the time of death.
It is not necessary here to remind all Mai-ists, what has so often been stated viz. that Mary is the individual aspect of Mai, to the Christians, and Mai is the most natural, universal aspect of the Universal Mother of true Mai-ists.
This information, although referring to Christianity. has been incorporated here for so many reasons. First thing is that as detail fully stated before, the modern youngsters are under the wrong impression that the ceremonies and sacraments prescribed under Hinduism form an entirely new variety of compulsion by the Hindu priestly class. This delusion must go.
Secondly, the intellectual and psychological interests and influences of the different sacraments represent and principally depend on the prayers to God only, although accompanied with ceremonies on different occasions at different stages of life and changes of conditions, etc. It is also interesting to see how the Hindu sacraments bear similitude with the sacraments of Christianity, which is considered to be the most advanced modern religion, and to which all nations are usually referring to as the religion of the most modern, science. psychology, culture and civilization
The most important feature which has a bearing on the subject of Mai-ism sacraments, is what has been stated above regarding Mother Mary viz. that Christians in distress count upon the Mother of Christ through their prayers and prostrations. Yet further the fact has to be noted that prostrations and prayers offered to Mother are with much greater faith and hope of relief than to Christ or even God.
Thus, while Mai-ism simplifies and condenses all ceremonies, texts, etc. of different Hindu Sacraments to the principal soul element of the sacraments viz. the disciplined prayer worship of Mai, Mai repetition etc. the insistence about observing several sacraments remains to be in full fitness and easily acceptable and unobjectionable form.
The first greatest simplicity that Mai-ism introduces is that sacraments and ceremonies for all occasions are reduced to the simplest Mai worship. Mai repetitions in the same manner as what is being most usually and familiarly done on all Fridays and Saturdays, particularly in Mai Niwas. This reduces the mountain of scriptural works which are different for each case or occasion or ceremony. All the worries about hundreds of things to be kept ready in time, their costliness also is eliminated under Mai-ism. Thus, no particularly well-versed priest is required. Innumerable texts prescribed for various occasions or ceremonies often create great confusion and give room for the priestcraft fortified by God’s wrath and fear, which keeps the masses of the followers in its clutches. There is nothing Greek and Latin about any particular ceremony attached to any particular purpose in view. What is required is to give the simplest intimation to Maji and all nearest Mai-ists of the purpose, name, place, date etc. to invoke Mai’s and Maiji’s blessings so that Maiji may also pray at the said hour in his own place at Mai Niwas and according to one’s convenience. Either in the nearest Mai Temple or in one’s own temple, the same ceremony can be performed with prayers. The purpose for which the ceremony and the sacrament and the prayer is held is already fully known to Mai. Further Mai’s name repetition ensures particular symmetry and unanimity coupled with the easiest simplicity.
It is significant that all ceremonies performed for different purposes are eventually reduced to one most essential fact namely that in all cases we finally pray for the maximum grace of Mai. Therefore, Mother worship is fully adequate and efficacious. It is extremely evident that Mai fully knows for what purpose a particular celebration is being held and we need not resort to different methods, ceremonies and texts etc. for each case or separate occasion.
Yet further on the study of the texts on sacraments, it is found that every ceremony is utilized by priests as if to revise the whole religion and philosophy through the texts and through the names of all Gods, Deities, and a tangential reference to all traditions, mythologies philosophical theories etc. and so many other elaborate details which are paraded under the name of ceremonies as if the ceremonies were the only method of revising the scripture knowledge and mythologies of Hinduism.
It is true as also a psychological fact that there can be no concentrated influence over one’s mind and heart when the attention is directed to innumerable items details of duties, directions, arrangements, particular worshipping texts and ways and materials of worship etc. In a word the ceremony wherein hundreds of things are bound to be brought together cannot serve the efficient method for a concentrated prayer or worship or meditation or absorption as through Mantra repetition or meditations etc. And in practical life, what is stated above holds good invariably. In fact, ceremonies and religious functions are for pulling worldly-minded persons and men of worldly actions towards religion.
Few or none understand anything about the meaning of the details of the ceremony or even the meanings of the special scriptural texts mostly in Sanskrit. The funniest thing is that very few perhaps not more than five percent of the married couples know anything about what solemn pledges they are undertaking.
In a word the age of ceremony which has come down to us from centuries past had been the creation of ancient age when the simple pure religions and virtuous world had nothing like disbelief or absence of leisure or the difficulty of finding sufficient money etc. In fact that was the time when people wanted something that would keep them fully engaged in religious activities and thinking. Our present age is just the reverse and therefore it is natural that the occasions of such ceremonies have now degenerated into only merry-making with best dinners, dresses, social meetings, picnics. processions etc. Naturally enough, Mai-ism recognizes that an overhauling change is indispensable and the real purpose for which sacraments are meant should be revived in the most practical and efficacious fruit-bearing manner and to the extent that can be consistent with our modern life beset with worries, least leisure, faint belief, costliness of living, no great love between relations, long distances, foreign services etc. The question regarding the appropriateness of different Deities for different purposes etc. gets eliminated as soon as it is once fully realized that Mai is the Mother and origin of all incarnations and Deities. Rama. Krishna Shiva, Devi, Indra, Sun, Moon etc. All prostrations and prayers referred to Mai are most automatically accepted by the smaller entities as offered to themselves.
~ AUTHOR : MAI SWARUP MAI MARKAND
MAIISM 