Swamiji explains...
Yesterday we learnt the meaning of Shraadh and it was also explained that during the ritual we are able to invoke our ancestors with Vedic mantras. They are accompanied by Aryama the lord of Pitr Lok but we are not able to SEE them.
The entire life of Man is dependent on the grace received from the ancestors.
The doubt is sometimes raised that if they do intake the food offered to them, then why do we not see a decrease in the quantity of the food offered?
If a bowl of rice pudding is offered, we see that after sometime it weighs just the same and there is no decrease in the weight at all. If they do not eat, then how are they SATISFIED? It would be wrong to doubt the Brahmin, who says that after the invocation of Vedic mantras, the Pitrs are here to intake the food offered.
God has given this unique power to the ancestors as well as to certain insects.
We see that when an ant eats something, there in no increase in the weight of that ant!! An elephant swallows a fruit called WOOD APPLE and then defecates it JUST AS IT WAS. There is no change in it at all! If an animal has the power to do that, then why cannot our ancestors do the same?
As told earlier, the Lord says that all the manifestations in this world are indeed His Glory and thus the ancestors are also His Vibhuti (glory). Like the Lord they can also do anything! The Lord has used His powers differently in all His creations.
The Honey bee extracts the nectar from the flowers and gives us honey, BUT there is no alteration in the way the flower looks after the extraction.
The Bumble Bee also spends all day amidst the flowers and yet there is no change in the flowers. It is therefore important that we keep FAITH and accept the fact that indeed the PITRS are partaking the food that is offered to them.
If we ask how the Pitrs take what they want and leave the rest AS IT IS behind, we can take the example of an insect that stays in water. It has the power to extract the bad blood out off the human body and leave the good blood behind. In the case of the Pitrs, it is just the opposite, as they extract the goodness in the food and leave the rest behind.
Let us take another example of the HANS (swan) which has this exceptional quality of separating the milk from the water and drinking just the milk. There is no method by which we can do that! This world is indeed strange and we can speak of many such cases. We have to just know that the energy and power that the Lord bestows on his creations is unique to it. We should not have any doubts about it.
There is one plant which closes when we touch it as if it were SHY of the touch. The magnet has the power to even make a non living piece of Iron dance to its tune when kept close to it. No scientist has answers for all these unique properties. Hence we should not doubt the presence of the Pitrs during Shraadh ceremony.
By the word "Pitrs" we are invoking not only the ancestors but also their protector and presiding deities Vasu, Rudra and Aditya.When we address someone by his name for instance 'Girdharilal', we are calling out to the Jeevatma and to his physical form. After his death we cannot call him "Girdharilal, come here." He was Girdharilal only till his body was pervaded by the Jeevatma. The Jeevatma can be called by his name only till such time he identifies himself with his body.
A proper noun can be used for a particular person and not the same noun for all. In the same way when we say Pitr, that is not only OUR ancestors but also the presiding deities.
Thus there are two kinds of Pitrs:
- Those who are our father and forefathers.
- Those who are already there in the Pitr Lok.
(Eternal Pitrs-Vasu, Rudra, Aditya, etc)
When we offer anything during the ceremony and invoke the Pitrs, they come accompanied by these deities.
The explanations given earlier should not sound like a farce to you. We never speak of anything without giving proof.
In the olden days, the wise Rishis who had great wisdom INTUITED (sakshatkaar) these facts which are preserved in the scriptures. The teachings of the Rishis are Sanaatan (ever new) and yet people of today doubt their teachings, and do not follow the path they ordain. Therefore there is a need to illumine this light (knowledge) in the minds of people. When there is knowledge, man will never fail and is sure to achieve the highest goal in life.
In the Manu Smriti (3-284), it is mentioned that :
VASU is Father
RUDRA is Grandfather
ADITYA is Great Grandfather
First, the above Lords are satisfied and then our Pitrs.
One example to illustrate the above is:
A householder goes to the market and buys some food and gives it to his pregnant wife. The lady gets satisfied and also the baby in her womb is nourished. After 9 months the householder is happy to see the face of the healthy baby. In the same way those who offer Shraadh to their ancestors with Gratitude and feed the Brahmin are blessed by the ancestors and the accompanying Lords. Now we must think how do they get satisfied? Do they clean up the plate of ladoos and jalebis?
To understand this he has to take the proof from the Shaastras. Devtas do their work in a different way. They neither drink nor eat. They merely see the food and water and are satisfied. Pitrs too do the same as they are a part of the devtas.
The next DOUBT that arises in the minds of people is maybe there is confusion in the oblations reaching the Pitrs. If the rituals are performed in a systematic way then there will be no confusion and the Pitrs are sure to receive the oblations.
We drop a letter in the mailbox and it reaches the addressee in any part of the world. The Postmaster sees to it that it reaches the proper destination. He takes the responsibility of the registered letters, money orders and insurances also. In the same way, the food offered in the name of the Pitrs reaches them as ARYAMA takes the responsibility for that. There could be human errors in our world BUT there is no error in Pitr Loka. The devtas of Pitr Lok keep proper accounts.
The all powerful JAGDEESHWAR only makes them take care of all the matters concerning Pitr Lok. BUT if we do not put the proper address or mail the letter or hand over the money order to the wrong person, then it is surely not going to reach the destination. The fault would be of the performer of the Shraddh, if the oblations do not reach his Pitrs. The devtas of Pitr Loka are not to blame.
These are some of the small doubts raised by people which occur because Shraddh is not performed in the right manner. Similarly, the Rishis raised doubts and they were eventually removed by establishing the facts so that there would be no room for doubt in the minds of the coming generations.
NOW LET US NOTE THE DOUBTS
There is a quotation from the MATSYA and the PADMA PURANA where the following doubt is raised:
The doer of the Shraadh offers articles (HAVYA) and food (KAVYA) to his ancestors --------but who delivers these to them?
The Devtas are offered HAVYA and the Pitrs are offered KAVYA.
The devtas who accompany the Pitrs are spoken about here in the Purana.
The second doubt is:
If by feeding someone, the other gets satisfied, then why does a person who is traveling carry food with him? Can his relatives not feed someone at home and expect the traveler's hunger to be satisfied? The traveler is on this earth so it would be easier to do that than satisfy the Pitrs who are in a different world.
The third doubt is a quote from SKAND PURANA
If a deceased person is satisfied by the food offered to the Brahmin then why can't we light a lamp by merely adding oil to it? The lamp will only light if there is FIRE in it. We may add litres of oil but if there is no AGNI, the lamp will not light. So, it seems very doubtful that the dead receive the food.
The fourth doubt is as quoted in the SKAND PURANA (Naagar Khand)
Why is the Shraadh offered on Amavasya (No Moon day) and other specific days?
The Deceased would have taken rebirth in different species as per the karmas done by them. How do they come to the site when Shraadh is performed from the place of their NEW BIRTH?
NOW I SHALL REMOVE THESE DOUBTS ONE BY ONE-
The question is
how do the havya and kavya reach those whose names we affirm at the time of the shraadh?
The Brahmin says a few sentences and we repeat after him.
The name of the year, month, day, gotra, name of the person performing the ritual and the name of the deceased and his relationship with him and the name of the devta of Pitr Loka and lastly the person affirms:
THAT I OFFER THIS TO MY PITRS (Samarpayami)
If this did not make any sense, why would it be said?
The MATSYA and PADMA PURANA have proof regarding this claim.
By saying the name of the Pitrs and their Gotra with Vedic Mantras, the articles and food reaches them.
But when will it reach?
It will reach when it is done with faith and in a proper method. For example our letter will not reach the destination if we put it in a Charity box. It has to be put in a mailbox with the correct address.
Nowadays, Shraadh is also done by Christians, Muslims, Jains, Hindus and other religions, but in different ways. The Christians build huge mansions in the memory of their forefathers. The Sikh and Muslims also donate money or build a memorial in the name of the deceased.
The DIFFERENCE between their Shraadh and ours is that we do it METHODICALLY and thus also receive the fruit for it.
The other religions do not do it in the prescribed way and hence do not receive the benefit in the present or future. The purpose behind the ritual is that we pray that our Pitrs are happy and contended wherever they may be. The intent of the other religions is also the same, only the method is different.
Another very important point is that the VEDIC MANTRAS chanted at the time of Shraadh are indeed very powerful. These days people chant mantras that are not from the scriptures but it does not bear the same fruits.
By reciting the gotra and names of the people, the Havya and Kavya with the correct address reach the destination.
The SECOND doubt---
How can the hunger of one be satisfied by feeding a Brahmin?
In the VISHNU DHARMAUTTAR PURANA, there is a shloka that says that Vasu, Rudra and Aditya and the deities are all satisfied by the food offered by the doer of the shraadh. In the mortal world it is difficult to trace the whereabouts of a person but to trace the Pitrs in the Pitr Lok is not difficult as we only have to invoke them and they are there.
In several of the Puranas listed below, there are enough instances given to endorse the ritual.
AGNI PURANA (163)
MARKANDYA PURANA (30-33)
BRIHANARADIYA PURANA (26)
VARAH PURANA (13-14)
MATSYA PURANA (16-22)
KARMA PURANA (20-22)
LINGA PURANA (45)
There is a detailed description in the above scriptures.
There is a text called CHATURVARG CHINTAMANI consisting of 1717 pages with elaborate details.
The THIRD doubt
regarding the lamp being lit:
The requirement for a lamp is not only oil and cotton but also FIRE and thus, even if we pour oil, the lamp will not be lit until the cotton is lit with fire seeped in oil.
Can we cook food with only firewood?
No, the firewood needs fire and other ingredients to light.
Thus it is not appropriate to compare a lamp with a dead person.
The father or grandfather maybe dead but the JEEVATMA is still there in the Pitr Loka. In that world he gets a new form and is able to enjoy all that is possible in that Loka.
The FOURTH doubt is explained by Deval Muni in a shloka where it says that wherever the deceased is reborn, the shraadh reaches him in that form according to the food he can consume.
- If the man becomes a devta due to the fruit of his good Karma, then ARYAMA and the other deities deliver the food in the form of nectar to him.
- If the man becomes a GANDHARVA, he receives the oblations through the medium of fragrance like chandan.
- If he becomes an animal, he receives the oblations of the shraadh through the grass that he eats.
- If he becomes a snake, he receives it through air.
- If he becomes a Yaksha (a kind of Demi-God), he receives it through matter (DRAVYA) that can be consumed.
- If he becomes a Demon or a ghost, he receives it through the matter that is suitable for those YONIS (births)
- If he is born again as a man, then he receives it through grains, rice, etc. through the help of ARYAMA.
When we send a money order, it is not necessary that the very same notes reach the person in whose name the money order is sent. The currency can also change when we send it to a different country.
In the same token, if someone is studying in Bombay and his father sends Rs.100 every month to his friend to buy all the things his son would need then, the friend can buy clothes, books or any other thing with that money. The money was sent, not the things and yet the son receives THINGS and not the MONEY.
Thus it is not necessary that the receiver gets the ITEM sent in the same form. The only rule is that it will reach for WHOM it is meant although in a different form.
We therefore should be convinced that the deceased receive the food during the ritual of Shraadh.
Summary of the Chapter -SHRAADH:_WHO DELIVERS IT AND HOW?
Now you all must have understood that Pitra Loka is an independent world by itself. ARYAMA is the ruler of this world and AGNI, RUDRA AND VASU are his helpers. Our ancestors go to this world after their death. To liberate and to give them peace and nourishment, the descendants offer charity of grains etc.
This is what we mean by SHRAADH.
Pitrs stay in that world under the guidance of the devtas mentioned.
Wherever they maybe the fruit of the ritual performed does reach them.
In return, they give us abundance of everything.
Sage Yagnavalkya says the Pitrs, on being happy, give the following:
Long life
Obedient Children
Abundant wealth
Different types of knowledge
Rajya (Governance, High level posts)
All the material happiness
Heaven and
Moksha
19
TH OCTOBER 1938