Nowadays we have many vows, particularly taken on the death anniversaries of some popular political leaders (like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi etc.) I don’t remember if people ever take any vow on the birth and death anniversary of great leaders like Gandhiji and Nehruji. However, suddenly in the post-Independence India, taking vows in public become part of our social activity. For example, almost in every marriage a kind of vow is taken both the by the boy and girl. But as those vows are chanted by the priests (mostly) in Sanskrit and people only need to say ‘tatastu’ to it, people performing those sanskars neither know the meaning nor take it seriously, as it too has become part of the ritual. Almost every religious cum social sanskar (ritual) has its own sankalpa to make. Well my point here is not to discuss the merits and demerits of such vows, but to point out the need to take them seriously. However, in a worldview where pluralism and relativism are dominant, these sankalpas also could be violated according to the need-based on time and place. Taking a vow is called ‘sankalp’ in our land. But without having any moral conviction and commitment, when we take any vow, then it becomes worse than a ritual and sheer hypocrisy. Taking a vow is both a spiritual and moral commitment.
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