As Lord Sri Krishna has said in Bhagavad-gita, performance of ritualistic ceremonies is not actually religion.

Ritualistic Religion

Spiritual success depends on shelter of the great soul, the spiritual master

The perfection of transcendental life can be achieved simply by touching the holy dust of the lotus feet of a holy man. In the Bhagavatam it is said, mahat-pada-rajo-'bhishekam, which means to be blessed by the holy dust of the lotus feet of a mahat, a great devotee. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, mahatmanas tu: those who are great souls are under the spell of spiritual energy, and their symptom is that they fully engage in Krishna consciousness for the service of the Lord. Therefore they are called mahat. Unless one is fortunate enough to have the dust of the lotus feet of a mahatma on one's head, there is no possibility of perfection in spiritual life.

The parampara system of disciplic succession is very important as a means of spiritual success. One becomes a mahat by the grace of his mahat spiritual master. If one takes shelter of the lotus feet of a great soul, there is every possibility of one's also becoming a great soul. When Maharaja Rahugana asked Jada Bharata about his wonderful achievement of spiritual success, he replied to the King that spiritual success is not possible simply by following the rituals of religion or simply by converting oneself into a sannyasi or offering sacrifices as recommended in the scriptures. These methods are undoubtedly helpful for spiritual realization, but the real effect is brought about by the grace of a mahatma. In Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakur's eight stanzas of prayer to the spiritual master, it is clearly stated that simply by satisfying the spiritual master one can achieve the supreme success in life, and in spite of executing all ritualistic performances, if one cannot satisfy the spiritual master, one has no access to spiritual perfection. Here the word akritatmanam is very significant. Atma means "body," "soul," or "mind," and akritatma means the common man, who cannot control the senses or the mind. Because the common man is unable to control the senses and the mind, it is his duty to seek the shelter of a great soul or a great devotee of the Lord and just try to please him. That will make his life perfect. A common man cannot rise to the topmost stage of spiritual perfection simply by following the rituals and religious principles. He has to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and work under his direction faithfully and sincerely; then he becomes perfect, without a doubt.

Ritualistic ceremonies not actually religion

Any person who desires the fruits of the four principles religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, at the end, liberation, should engage himself in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for worship of His lotus feet yields the fulfillment of all of these.

PURPORT
In Bhagavad-gita it is said that only with the sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can the demigods offer benedictions. Therefore, whenever any sacrifice is offered to a demigod, the Supreme Lord in the form of narayana-shila, or shalagrama-shila, is put forward to observe the sacrifice. Actually, the demigods cannot give any benediction without the sanction of the Supreme Lord. Narada Muni, therefore, advised that even for religiosity, economic development, sense gratification or liberation, one should approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, offer prayers and ask for the fulfillment of one's desire at the lotus feet of the Lord. That is real intelligence. An intelligent person never goes to demigods to pray for anything. He goes directly to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the cause of all benediction.

As Lord Sri Krishna has said in Bhagavad-gita, performance of ritualistic ceremonies is not actually religion. The real path of religion is to surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord. For one who is actually surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord, there is no question of any separate endeavor for economic development. A devotee engaged in service to the Lord is not disappointed in the satisfaction of his senses. If he wants to satisfy his senses, Krishna fulfills that desire. As far as liberation is concerned, any devotee fully engaged in the service of the Lord is already liberated; therefore there is no separate necessity for his liberation.

Narada Muni therefore advised Dhruva Maharaja to take shelter of Vasudeva, Lord Krishna, and engage himself in the way that his mother had advised, for that would help him fulfill his desire. In this verse Narada Muni has especially stressed the devotional service of the Lord as the only way. In other words, even if one is full of material desires, he can continue his devotional service to the Lord, and all his desires will be fulfilled.