Guru Gangeshwaranandji Maharaj

SHRAADH
THE EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE TO OUR ANCESTOR

Swamiji explains…

This is the story from the Upanishads where Maitreyi and Yagnavalkya are in conversation. Here they discuss that the route to liberation or moksha is Knowledge and not Karma (deeds). In the explanations of karma it is said that the one who does the karma is the beneficiary of the fruits of the karma and that the doer of the good karma is promised heaven.

Now the question that may arise is that if the above is correct, then how do our ancestors get liberation by the karmas performed by the person offering Shraadh? Why perform shraadh at all? Now that the Pitr Paksh is fast approaching, there is a need to explain the fruit of the karmas performed by the sons to reach their ancestors.

How does the food and grain presented to the Brahmin reach the forefathers?
What is the importance of ancestors in our lives?
Is there mention of this in the Vedas?
What good deeds (punyas) does one get and what harm if the shraadh rituals are not performed?
If someone does not have the resources, then how does that person perform Shraadh?

The first thing that needs to be discussed is -

"DOES THE FRUIT OF KARMA REACH SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE DOER OF THE KARMA?"

Usually we say that we reap what we sow. (JO KAREGA SO BHAREGA)
Good deeds done by a person reap good results. A person who has committed murder should be punished for his crime. No one else can be granted imprisonment on his behalf.
Then how can shraadh benefits reach our ancestors?

This term (Jo karega so bharega) is GENERAL and not SPECIFIC.
If it was such a binding statement, then most people would not be able to INHERIT any wealth of their fathers and forefathers since they have not earned it themselves or even worked hard for it. As soon as an individual passes away, the son immediately notifies the banks and claims ownership of the wealth. If the wealth earned by the father is used or inherited by the son, then in the same way the charities and the rituals performed by the son during Shraadh should reach the father and the forefather.

A cook prepares the meal for us and we generally savor the food before he does. If a guest happens to come, the food is then first offered to the guest. Neither the cook nor we partake the food. By the same token, a man applies for an insurance policy and pays for the premiums himself and yet the beneficiaries after his death are his wife and children!!

The statement then, is not necessarily applicable in all situations.
In some cases, the Jo karega so Bharega (We reap what we Sow.) has to be replaced by -"A deed done with an intention with someone in mind is sure to reach the intended person."

The truth is that the shraadh makes a person become worthy of the wealth of the father and forefather. The one who offers the last rites is usually nominated as the heir to the wealth of the deceased. The son inherits the wealth as he is then expected to carry out the shraadh ceremony of his father.

The fact that he is BORN of the father and mother is not the reason for the inheritance. From a man's skin lice are also born out of the sweat in his body. But obviously they cannot claim that they to have a right to the property.
Birth is then not the criteria. THEN why does the son claim the wealth?
Critics do not have a reply to this question!!

WHY CAN WE NOT SEE THE ANCESTORS WHEN THEY COME DOWN DURING SHRAADH?

Doubts are there in the minds of people regarding the above statement. The question then should be that, "Have such people who have these doubts ever seen GOD?"

We believe that no one can really see God !!!!
PRATYKSHA (Visible) vision of God is not really possible.
YET people of all religions believe that there is a force called GOD and believe that HE exists.
Critics take the reference of the scriptures to prove that there is GOD. In the same token Scriptures can also be the source for our belief and faith in the Shraadh Ceremony.

Actually it is the scriptures that are the source of information and proof regarding this ceremony.In the Manu Smriti, Manu Maharaj, who understood the essence of the Vedas says "Just as we pray to Indra and the other devtas during the Dev Yagnas with the help of Agni (fire), the devtas get pleased when we make our offerings to them through the medium of fire, in the same way in the Pitr Yagna, the Pitrs are pleased and satisfied when we offer food to the Brahmin."
The fire is replaced with the mouth of the Brahmin in this Yagna. We all have a JATRAAGNI (a fire that digests) in our stomach.
When we feed the Brahmins, the forefathers are happy and they bless us.
This ritual should be done every month during the dark half (Krishna Paksh) on Amavasya day.

The dictionary mentions the meaning of Shraadh as: Pooja and rituals done for the ancestors as per the dictates of the shaastras.

The Brahm Purana says-

Keeping in mind the place, time and worthiness of the person, the offering made to a Brahmin is called SHRAADH.

Just as there is a Dev Loka and other Lokas, there is also a Pitr Loka which is in the south direction above the earth near the moon.The ruling deity of this Loka is ARYAMA. Indra rules Dev Loka and Aryama rules Pitr Loka.

The assistants of Aryama are ASHTVASU (the 8 winds), EKADASH RUDRA (11 Rudras) and DWADASH ADITYA DEV (12 Sun Lords).They keep a track of a person after he dies and find out in which YONI (birth) and in which country has he gone and whether his heirs have done the necessary rituals after his death.

During Shraadh when the sons of the deceased offer their prayers with Vedic mantras then:

Vasudev accompanies the father
Rudradev accompanies the grandfather
Adityadev accompanies the great grandfather

All of them are present during the shraadh ceremony and partake the offerings of food and other things in ESSENCE (Sookshma roop) and bless the doers of the shraadh. Thus, with the blessings of the ancestors the clan flourishes with children and wealth.

Those well versed in the rituals know that during the ceremony, the ancestors are invoked to be present through Vedic mantras and at the end of the ceremony they are again asked to depart back to where they came from with the help of Vedic mantras.

During Yagnas, Indra and other devtas are similarly invoked and if Indra and the devtas can come down then why not the PITRS? Now that we have stated that the ancestors DO come down when invoked, then the next question is, "Why are they not visible?"

In Yoga Darshan (3-22) there is a sutra which says:
The "worshipped" becomes indebted to the "worshipper"

Patanjali in Yoga Darshan has taught the Art of invoking the Lord with certain meditation techniques.

A yogi with efforts and perseverance is able to make himself invisible and would only be visible to those he wishes to show himself. Some Mahatmas (Great Souls) are known to have just disappeared. If a yogi can do that, then it is also possible for the deceased ancestors to also be INVISIBLE when they come down with Rudradev and the others.

In the Bhagwat Geeta (ch. 10 sh. 24) the Lord, while speaking on his Vibhutis, has mentioned ARYAMA also to be his VIBHUTI (Glory).

The Pitrs choose not to show themselves for they fear that the attachment may continue or that the sons and family members may become scared to see someone who is dead. This could become an obstacle in the performance of the ritual.

In Padma Purana it is mentioned in the "Paatal Khand" that when Lord Rama was performing shraadh for His father, Seeta suddenly covered her head as she could see her father-in-law in the body of the Brahmin.

The Pitrs arrive in the body of the Brahmin just as wind can pervade anything says Manu Maharaj in Manu Smriti (3-184). To see them, we need Divine Vision, not the mortal vision. There are many facts that prove this ritual and even in the Geeta and Mahabharata, which are recognized and revered books, there is ample proof of Shraadh.

In the Geeta 1st chapter, shloka 42, Arjun says that he is worried that if there is war, our clan would perish and there would be no one left to perform Shraadh and do the Pind Daan, etc.

"Not only will our clan perish and be destroyed, but our ancestors too would perish" -says Arjun.

We have cited many examples to illustrate the importance and validity of the Shraadh.
Hence there should be doubts in our mind regarding the necessity of performing the ceremony. And yet if someone is still doubtful, may our DIVINE LORD Banke Bihari enlighten them.

It is necessary to mention here that the ritual HAS to be performed with total BELIEF and in a SYSTEMATIC way. One should not be a miser while doing the rituals and should also spend according to their capacity.

If the above mentioned rules are not taken care of, then the fruit of doing the ritual is not obtained. These days we see that the charity offered to the Brahmin is of poor and cheap quality. A grocery store usually has to 2 varieties of his commodities-one for charity and one for personal use. Those who give food, clothes and vessels of the low category are actually showing their INGRATITUDE to their father and forefathers.

Then there are some with DOUBT, can anything done with gratitude be called SHRAADH?
Shaastras mention that there are 3 kinds of words:

1. YOGIC
2. ROODH
3. YOGROODH

Yogic words are symbolic of something or a union of words e.g. cook is someone who cooks.

Roodh words indicate a specific meaning and may not have a link with any symbol nor can we analyze them. GAU is another word for GAAY (Cow) in Hindi. We cannot make a general statement, that "one which has 4 legs is a cow" as even a horse and all other animals have 4 legs.

Yogaroodh words are those that have a union of 2 words, are both SYMBOLIC and INDICATIVE of a meaning. SHRAADH is a Yogaroodh word. It is indicative of the ceremony and the emotional gratitude. It is both a verb and a noun.

In the next chapter, we shall explain how the food reaches the ancestors and who takes it to them and how?

18TH OCTOBER 1938.