Greetings: I understand the need to perform rituals according to the text in order to bring the philosophy to life. That is clear. And Dr. Timalsina explained that the drama and the rituals are the same, meaning that the rituals dramatize the philosophy again as in the story; that is, the rituals reenact the dramatic events of the story. That is the first time I have understood ritual in a very elementary way. Other schools of religion I have experienced do not use rituals, and I have wondered about the source of power of Tantric rituals and now would say that the rituals dramatize the philosophy, taking it our of the purely abstract realm. Is that accurate? A second question: Since the power of the Goddess can be used for good and bad purposes, like fire, then it means that her power is in some sense impersonal. We have good and bad intentions and use our will to accomplish them--the Goddess burns, as Acharya says. So it is not wise to think of the Goddess as a "good" Deity in the moralistic sense. Is that somewhat accurate? A third question is: Now that the doctor has explained the necessity of the rituals, the problem comes up that I should not do them without initiation. I will probably not meet the right teacher to get initiation as I am in Thailand and cannot attend the workshops that give initiation. I think I am left with doing mantras and simplified rituals that are in the general sphere, like OM NAMA SHIVAYA, but should not pretend try to do rituals from Agamas without a guru. If I just want to offer flowers to the Goddess or pour water on a Shiva Lingam, is that OK? Thank you. Anthony Billings