Propitiating the Ancestors

In earlier times, children would perform the shraadh of their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers as a mark of gratitude as well as for the benefit of the deceased by performing acts of charity in their name and chanting specific mantras.

Propitiating the ancestors or pitri-yagya is one of the panch-mahayagyas prescribed for a human being. The other four yagyas include – propitiating the creator or brahm yagya through study of scriptures for understanding the process of creation as well as teaching others, propitiating the energies that run creation or dev-yagya by making oblations to the fire with specifc chants, manushya-yagya, which is feeding fellow human beings and bhuta-yagya, which is feeding all living creatures. As a human being performs these yagyas, he is able to free himself from the karmic ties that bind him to the physical creation and ensure a smooth exit to the next dimension.

Often the young generation tends to discard our ancient culture and practices as being redundant and superstitious, failing to identify the deep rooted science behind them and the phenomenal understanding of workings of creation as possessed by our ancestors. They were well aware of the continuous nature of life and birth and what a soul goes through during the transition from one birth to the next. The Vedic Indians performed the rites of Shraadh, while the ancient Egyptians embalmed the bodies and stored food and supplies in the pyramids for their final journey. Ancient Greeks put coins under the tongue of the deceased and buried them from where they would be ferried to the underworld, the place where souls lived after death in their culture. While the dimensions to which souls differed according to the lifestyles of people, all ancient civilisations across the globe knew of life after death and provided for the onwards journey of the soul in different ways.

Life is a constant journey, the body that we see in the mirror being the suit that wear in this birth. The destruction of this suit is called death, and as we take on another suit, it is called rebirth. The suit could be that of a human, or an animal, or even a deva. For an animal, evolution is natural. It automatically gets the next higher body. In case of a human being, the next body is determined by the karmas performed and there are also those who not having sufficient karmas are unable to afford a body and remain suspended in a body-less existence as ghosts and spirits or enter another dimension called the pitr lok or dimension of the ancestors. These ancestors then depend on their children and grandchildren to perform the tasks left unfinished by them to aid their release and approach them in several ways. These are not myths or fables, at Dhyan Ashram we have come across plenty of cases where the ancestors have approached their kith and kin for their release.

To quote a recent example, a young girl was reported having severe problems of stomach and throat. The family tried all kinds of treatment but to no avail. When the clairvoyants at Dhyan Ashram scanned the little girl, they saw that a skeleton was inclined to her skeleton. They also felt the presence of an elderly lady – short hair, sharp features, stern-looking, well-groomed and wearing a pearl necklace – right next to the girl. When this was shared with the mother of the girl, she jumped in shock. She revealed that the description matched her mother who always wore a pearl necklace but who had passed away when she was six months pregnant with the girl. A yagya was performed for the lady’s mother and healers cut her connections with the little girl. The little girl was healthy overnight.

Shradhs are an important part of our culture and cater to needs of the ancestors who are stuck somewhere in the journey of the spirit. On these days the constellations are such that the gateways to the other dimensions open and they are allowed to visit the earth to meet their near and dear ones. Acts of charity done in the name of ancestors along with chanting of specific mantras and performing of yagyas, free the souls from bondages of these not-desired-yonis or levels of existences.

Daily yagyas will be conducted at Dhyan Ashram Yagyashala for Pitra Paksh from 26 September to 10 October. For more information, reach us at [email protected]

Ashwini Guru ji is the guiding light of Dhyan Ashram and an authority on Vedic Sciences. His book, 'Sanatan Kriya: The Ageless Dimension' is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing. Log on to www.dhyanfoundation.com​