Rituals are Props

Spirituality is about connection. Connection with yourself, connection with nature, connection with people, and connection with the divine.

Religious rituals are props to help us to connect - therefore all the bowing downs, kneeling, standing up etc (Islamic prayer, yoga practice etc) are there to help us to connect. Reading scriptures in public or private is also a form of ritual but that may only connect the mind, not so much the body. The ultimate goal in all spiritual practices is to have union with the divine.

Therefore, performing rituals is not performing magic. Rituals are props, like props in Iyengar yoga, to aid us to do poses we can't do, until we are able to do them without the props. Once we have connected, we should discard those rituals.

Rituals are aids and means, not end, to our spiritual goals.

BLISS