Navayāna, or Ambedkarite Buddhism, does recognize specific rituals and practices, yet it consistently seeks to simplify and rationalize them in light of its emphasis on equality and social transformation. Central to its ritual life is the act of taking refuge in the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha—together with the observance of the Five Precepts as ethical foundations for lay followers. A distinctive feature is the recitation of Ambedkar’s “22 vows,” which explicitly reject caste-based and Hindu ritual structures while affirming commitment to Buddhist principles and social equality. These vows, along with the refuges and precepts, function as a kind of ethical liturgy, continually reorienting practitioners toward a life grounded in dignity, fraternity, and rational reflection.

Communal observances are also an important part of Navayāna practice. Regular gatherings in viharas or community halls often include collective chanting, group meditation, and the reading and discussion of both canonical Buddhist texts and Ambedkar’s work, especially *The Buddha and His Dhamma*. Major commemorative days such as Buddha Purnima and Dhammachakra Pravartan Din—marking Ambedkar’s own conversion—are observed with processions, public recitations, and talks that link the Buddha’s teaching with the struggle against social oppression. These occasions tend to blur the line between “religious” ritual and “social” action, as they consciously integrate messages of anti-caste resistance and human equality into the ceremonial framework.

Beyond these more formal observances, Navayāna communities often cultivate practices that embody the dhamma in everyday social life. Weekly meetings, Dhamma study circles, and group meditation sessions are structured to be accessible to new practitioners, frequently using local languages and simplified methods. Life-cycle ceremonies—such as naming, marriage, and death rites—are conducted in a Buddhist idiom rather than a Hindu one, thereby reinforcing a new collective identity grounded in the rejection of caste hierarchy. Community meals and social service activities are not merely ancillary; they function as lived rituals of equality, where sharing, mutual care, and the absence of ritualized hierarchy become concrete expressions of the path.

Underlying all of this is a deliberate restraint regarding ritualism itself. Practices associated with superstition, magical efficacy, or priestly mediation are generally set aside, and the lay community is placed at the center of religious life. In this way, Navayāna treats ethical conduct, social activism, and communal solidarity as the heart of Buddhist practice, with ceremonies and symbols serving primarily to support and deepen that commitment. The result is a ritual culture that is recognizably Buddhist yet consciously reshaped to serve the liberation of those historically oppressed by caste, making spiritual practice and social emancipation two sides of the same coin.