Decoding ritualistic actions

Now we come to the premises of power in ritualistic actions. Many ritualistic actions may seem quite silly and farfetched. However the reality is not so simple.

It depends on the language. For example, in feudal Malayalam, such simple actions as not getting up when a senior enters the room, sitting with legs crossed over each other, stepping over the legs of a senior person to move forward etc. are actions that propose powerful messages of disrespect.

Now disrespect in itself is not a solitary issue. It is a code in feudal languages, with specific standard meanings and power. It is powerfully connected to social power, command strength, speed of action from others, promptitude and much else. In other words, a disrespected person loses his command, his power of propelling others to action, social action and such. So that if the disrespect is allowed to be asserted, it soon diffuses into others, who were respecting. They all would more or less spontaneously start placing the disrespected person at a lower pane, from where his total personality is less effective.  In other words, he is less effective and thus less efficient. 

I have seen this phenomena extending to the domain of inanimate objects. For example, I have seen Malayalam-speaking carpenters getting angry if anyone steps over their tools like the chisel. That is, they treat their tools and gadgets with respect. It is an action that may not find an equal in English. For in English, such level of respect is not given to anyone or anything. For, the language does not have codes for disrespect in it. However, in Malayalam, there are powerful codes of disrespect. If one fails to display respect, it naturally goes into the ambit of disrespect. 

Now, what does the respecting of a tool or gadget mean?

To examine this issue, one needs to see what happens when one lends respect. In English, such a code is not there, and nothing much happens. However, in a feudal language, when one respects or disrespects, there are specific codes for each. The object gets encoded with the codes of respect or disrespect, as per the specific case. This encoding is there and it is a reality.

In a Malayalam social setting, doing an action of respect does encode the chisel with a powerful, divine aura. If an action of disrespect is lent, then a code that is negative and powerful enough to erase the finer aspects of that chisel is encoded into it. It really has an effect.

Even though I am not in a position to currently quantify  the exact levels of inefficiency, inaccuracy and such other discrepancies encrypted into the chisel, in the world of virtual codes, a specific level of negativity, lowering of quality and quantum of errors have entered into the codes. It may or may not have significant effect on the total personality and quality of the chisel. And what it makes.

I can debate on this by talking about another ordinary every day event. Persons who eat using their bare hands do usually wash their hands, more or less perfunctorily. Scientifically speaking, in most cases, it has no meaning in terms of effectiveness in removing microbes and other dirt from the hand. For the washing is superficial and not done with earnest diligence.

Yet, it has an effect. There is the reality that the hands have been washed, as against the knowledge that the hands have not been washed. This very superficial action and information has an effect. I am not sure of what significance; yet, it has a significance, in terms of the feeling of wellbeing in the person. And also in the way others see him or her; especially, if he or she does not do the ritualistic washing of hands before eating. Moreover in the world of virtual codes, the codes of having washed, at least perfunctorily or ritualistically, is created and encoded into the person’s attributes. 

Every human action does create a corresponding change in the codes. Some have significant effect, depending on the language of the social system. For instance, I have understood that the action of circumambulation has some specific codes in certain feudal languages, that do built up some positive values in the being, entity or inanimate object that is the focus of the circumambulation.

Similarly, sitting positions, backgrounds, room and wall settings and such things can create certain changes in the virtual codes that can add to or subtract from the values of leadership.

This brings us the concept of Brahminism.