Shraddam, a Meaningless Ritual?
Today out of ignorance, many people consider Shradham as an unscientific and baseless ritual. Some even feel that instead of doing shradha rituals for ancestors, it is better to use that money for providing food to poor people or giving donations to schools. This is similar to saying that it is good to offer food to the needy or giving donation to a school, instead of conducting surgery on the needy patient. Performing shradham is a part of dharmacharanam, ie., following Dharma. When Lord Ram heard the news of His father's (King Dasarathan) death, He performed shradham for him, although He was in jungle at the time. In the mantras that are chanted during shradha rituals, there is a subtle energy which is capable of providing momentum to the ancestors, so that they move ahead. Hence performing charity or giving donations to the needy is only a supplement to Shradham and does not substitute the ritual.
This article is published so as to remove the ignorance and misconcepts about shradham, and to spread the scientific basis behind the same.
OBJECTIVES OF PERFORMING SHRADDHA
A. Providing momentum to the deceased ancestors present in the Pitru region so that they can progress to a higher sub-plane of existence, through the means of Shraddham.
B. Satisfying the wishes and desires of the souls of the deceased ancestors of one's family who are trapped in the negative regions due to unfulfilled desires. This also helps in providing momentum for their further progress.
C. Some deceased ancestors, due to their evil deeds, become ghosts and reside in hell instead of nether region. Through the medium of ritual of Shraddham, one can relieve them from being trapped in this form.
IMPORTANCE AND NEED OF PERFORMING SHRADDHA
A. Repaying the debt to ancestors is as important as repaying the debt to God, Sages and the society. It is the duty of descendants to respect their ancestors, make donations in their name and to undertake activities that will please them. Performing Shraddha is a part of obeying Dharma, as per science of Dharma.
B. Ancestors’ soul becomes satisfied only after receiving pinda and water from their son. In relation to this, following is a verse in the holy text Mahabharat which means :
– The son protects his ancestors souls from the Hell named ‘Puta’. Therefore Lord Brahma himself has named him as ‘Putra’.
As per the above verse, to enable the deceased ancestors to progress to a higher sub-plane, to relieve them from experiencing severe and everlasting distress and to initiate them to bestow grace on their descendants, every son should perform ritual of Shraddha. It is clear in the verse that the one who is believed to be a son, should perform these duties.
The Scriptures have also delineated what a person should do who is incapable of doing any of the above stated options. They are as follows:
Give a pitcher filled with water to a brahmin.
Give some food to a brahmin. Give sesame seeds to a brahmin.Give some money to a brahmin. Give food grains as per capacity to a brahmin.Feed grass to a cow. Forgoing rituals etc. merely do pinda-dan. After bathing release water containing sesame seeds (Pitru-tarpan). Observe a fast on the tithi of the shraddha. On the day of the shraddha, recite the shraddha ritual.
One might ask, why brahmin? Can't I do some donation to the needy? Through mantras, we invoke our ancestors in these brahmanas and through mantras we offer them these. If you give RM5 to a beggar, and think that this is to substitute the Shradha ritual, first, you need to consider if the beggar receiving the RM5 knows if you are donating in the name of your deceased ancestors. The objective and goal of the offering is emphasized only through the mantra. An initiated brahmana (one who truly knows the brahman) is able to digest this fact and is able to accept the offering on behalf of your ancestors. No one else will be able to.
Also, one might ask what my ancestors have taken a rebirth or they are well settled in Vaikundam or Sivalogam? As a matter of fact, we don't even know what will be happening to ourselves in the next second. How can we predict what happens to our ancestors who are long deceased? That's how limited our senses are. Hence, performing Shradha directs your offerings to suit the deceased current position and condition of their being. That is the value of Shradha and how it all manifests itself into various forms.
Yes, you may argue saying that when your ancestors were alive, they requested that you do not perform these rituals for them after their death. So you chose to obey. However, consequences of desires, unfulfilled wishes, Karma pala and attachments, whereabouts after death is not something that your ancestors could predict. Hence, no matter what, Shradha should never be disregarded.
Ultimately, for better living and fulfillment of worldly life, Shradha is prescribed as an important ritual for mankind.
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