Rituals and Austerities are Not Enough To Please God

Rituals are items like doing pujas, Deity worship, and chanting of mantras.

Austerities are items like fasting, going on pilgrimage to holy places, living simply, walking to temples, not eating certain foods etc..

Rituals and austerities must be accompanied with performing our prescribed duties and being righteous (being truthful, compassionate, charitable, clean). Simply doing rituals and austerities and neglecting our duties will not please God and is simply a waste of time, energy, and life.

“Kṛṣṇa told the women that while one can develop transcendental love for Him by seeing His Deity form in the temple, meditating upon Him and chanting His glories, one cannot achieve this result simply by being in His physical presence. He advised them that since they were housewives, their particular duty was to help their husbands perform sacrifices. He therefore instructed them to return to their homes.” (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 10.23, introduction)

The whole purpose of Lord Krishna speaking the Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna was to get him to do his duty of being a soldier. Our duties are religious and thus to please God and engage in religion, we must perform our duties. By neglecting our duties, we incur sins.

“If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 2.33)

Arjuna was a soldier in the military and thus his religious duty is to fight in wars authorized by the King (or government).  Arjuna was physically present in front of Lord Krishna, but this was not good enough to please Him. Arjuna had to do his religious duty, which was to be soldier and thus fight in the war.

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