Last month, we gave coverage of the significance of the holy ‘shravan’ month – Raksha Bandhan, Shri Krishna Janmashtmi and Shri Ganesh chaturthi. The celebration of Ganesh Utsav ended with the finale – the farewell to Lord Ganesh on Ananta Chaturdashi. Lord Ganesh idols were immersed in a river or the sea symbolising a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of all man.
 

Now with all the celebrations and the summer wedding season over, we are now in the month of “Bhadarvo” which normally falls in September / Ocotober

Period of Shraadh

The fifteen days of the dark half, the second half, of the Hindu month of Bhadarvo is known as Pitri Paksh (shraadh period).  Hindus pay obeisance to their ancestors through a religious ceremony. Many families organises religious functions like Shreemad Bhagwat Saptah during this period.

New ventures are put on hold during Shraadh period

The second half of the month of Bhadarvo, by the Hindu calendar was observed as Pitrupaksh (literally a fortnight devoted to the ancestors). People could perform the Shraadh rites on any day during this period.

This period is sometimes also known inauspicious month. Since during this fortnight, you were paying obeisance to your ancestors - basically remembering the departed souls - it was considered inauspicious to start something new, or buy something new during this period. It should, however, be noted that no sacred Hindu text actually calls the period inauspicious. It was more a folk tradition, than a religious rule.

The tradition continues to this day and strangely enough not just the Hindus, but several people from other religions have tended to observe this restraint on buying anything new during this period.

Shraadh, Tarpana and other religious rites after death

Death

Death is separation of the soul from the physical body. Death becomes the starting point and is not the end of life. Life is one continuous never-ending process and is only a passing and necessary phenomenon, which every soul has to pass to gain experience for its further evolution.

After Death

According to the theory of transmigration, the individual is to take another birth after his/her death. Shraddh (Kriya) is the name of the ceremonies performed by relatives to help the departed soul. The performance of kriya adds to that soul’s happiness in the new birth. So it is the imperative duty of everybody to perform Shraadh ceremony for the departed soul.

Soul after death

According to our puranic shastra, the soul in its disembodied form hovers about its original and familiar places for ten days. The soul is fully embodied on the eleventh day. It starts on its journey to the judgement seat of Lord Yama, the God of death.

The son performs the Kriya ceremony on the twelfth or the thirteenth day offerings. The soul is sustained on its onward march to the judgement seat by the libations (an act of pouring water) offered to it by the son. In the Ramayan, Bharat did it on the twelfth day of Dashrath's cremation ceremony

Death is certain for those who are born, and birth is certain for the dead. This is inevitable. The soul which passes out of the body after death is termed ‘Preta’, one that is bound on its onward march to the Beyond.

The difficulties can be removed and the journey is rendered easy and comfortable by the oblations (tarpan) One should offer oblations of water unto one's Pitris, naming them all of the deceased relatives and offerings given by the son of the deceased (in the absence of son, a male who may act as a son) during the soul’s journey and by feeding the pure, the poor, learned sant/swamis and feeding the sacred cows. (“The Ritual of Shraadh” From the Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, Section LXXXIV)

When the Jiva (soul) undergoes transmigration and takes another birth after leaving this physical body, it is necessary that we should perform Shraadh ceremony. These rites (performance of Shraadh, Tarpana and other religious rites) should not be neglected

The soul leaves off its Preta on this day. Soul is raised to the status of a Pitru or Ancestor. Pitrus are forefathers (Ancestor) who dwell in the Pitruloka.

Ancestor-worship is one of the fundamental doctrines of Hinduism. There are three stages in the ancestral life viz., father, grandfather and great grandfather, and mother, grandmother and great grandmother. A priest who is performing the Shraadh ceremony may go back up to seven generations.

He who has done good actions for a worthy cause on this earth-life becomes united with his ancestors in the Pitri-loka and lives with them. Shraadh ceremony should be performed with great Sraadha (faith).

Faith is the main support for our Hindu religion. In olden days the question whether to perform Shraadh ceremony or not did not arise at all. Then people were full of faith and had reverence for the scriptures.

Doubts about performing shraadh ceremony

In these days some people entertain the doubt  when faith is almost-dwindling into an airy nothing and when the list of non-performers of Shraadh  has increased, others of wavering faith begin to doubt whether it is necessary to perform Shraadh or not, and whether any good will accrue out of it. This lack of faith in the Shastras has degraded us to the present deplorable condition.

The man of faith attains knowledge and thereby immortality and eternal peace is the declaration of the Gita. Those who have given up the performance of Shraadh, Tarpana and other religious rites on account of wrong influence, ignorance and egoism have done great harm to their ancestors and themselves.

Even in Germany and other foreign countries many persons perform Tarpan and Shraadh. They have scientifically investigated the beneficial effects of such oblations. The Gita and the Upanishads clearly bear testimony to the fact that the performance of Shraadh is very important.

It is only the deluded souls with perverted intellect who misconstrue things and neglect to perform the sacred ceremonies or perform ceremony without ‘bhaav’ and consequently suffer. They are misguided by false reasoning and logic. Satanic influences affect them very easily. Ignorance is the root cause for this state of affairs.

In the ninth chapter of the Gita, Lord Krishna has made it very clear that those Good persons who perform sacrifices to reach out to heaven will attain the world of enjoyments.

People of some communities spend money enormously and indiscriminately on the Shraadh ceremony. This is mere wastage. Money should not be spent on luxury. It is a delusion to think that the Pitrus will get more peace by spending money. Money does not count for the ease of the Pitrus, but the intensity of faith (Bhava) with which the Shraadh is performed counts

On such occasions the poor and deserving persons are to be fed sumptuously. Their necessities of life should be attended to. Study of Hindu religious books and scriptures should be done on such days. The performer of the Shraadh ceremony should observe spiritual discipline like Jaap, Meditation, Moun (silence), etc. He should not spend his time in idle pursuits but should pray to God for the whole day. Recitation of appropriate Vedic hymns should be done.

Ashes Immersion

Since the river moves constantly towards the sea where all the waters of its various tributaries mingle, it is believed that it will also carry the ashes of the dead to their final resting place, reintegrating them once again with the creator, the ocean from which all life began. So it was and still is the normal practice to scattering cremated ashes over the sea. In India, immersion of the ashes of the dead in the Holy Rivers of India to grant their soul eternal peace is the most popular belief.

Hardwar or Haridwar ( Vishnu's gate) is an important pilgrim centre of the Hindus and one of the seven holy places ( Sapt Puri ) that promise 'moksha' or salvation to the devout. At this place the Holy Ganges River emerges from the Himalayas. It is therefore, also known as 'Ganga Dwar' or the Gateway of Ganga. 

In Hinduism, the river Ganga is personified as a goddess. People travel from distant places to immerse the ashes of their kin in the waters of the Ganga; this immersion also is believed to be deemed worthy. This tradition is dating back thousands of years.

Apart from River Ganges, ashes are also scattered on the waters of many India's sacred rivers, like Yamuna and Godavari, Brahmputra, etc. at places like Nasik, Vridavan, Somnath, etc.

For Hindus, nothing can be holier than dying by the bank of the Ganges - and if that is not possible, sprinkling one's ashes on its waters. From India's leaders such as Gandhiji and Nehru to ordinary citizens, the last rites of millions of Hindus have taken place along the Ganges and the Yamuna.

According to the principal of Hinduism, followed by the Krishna movement, the immersion or scattering of ashes on the sacred river is a symbol of the soul's journey towards uninterrupted journey to salvation.

Ash Immersion at UK River Gains Popularity

Many Hindus in UK believe that all rivers merge together and flow into the sea so the ashes will eventually end up in the Ganges as it also eventually ends up in the sea.

There are many families who cannot afford the journey to India and would prefer to say farewell to their loved ones with grace and dignity in the UK’s rivers.

Hindus are also seeking permission from the UK Government to turn the river into a "symbolic" Ganges — India's holiest river, which is believed to wash away sin and release the soul from the body for its heavenward journey. And it is believed to be the first time that Indians living overseas have tried to create a Ganges substitute.

In Leicester in England, more than 30 funerals a week are being carried out on the River Soar after it was blessed with water from the sacred Ganges. Many families from America, Italy, Germany and France are now coming to Barrow-upon-Soar for the ritual scattering of ashes of loved ones. Thus the Soar has now become an alternative to the Ganges in India.

Similarly River Thames and the Southampton seaside are also gaining popularity where the families hire a boat and perform immersion rites. Hindus in America and Canada also use local rivers or seas to immerse ashes. However many prefer to save their family's ashes to later scatter them in holy rivers when they return to their homeland.

To conclude, it is not important where one immerses ashes. That decision should be left the bereaved family. Whatever the decision the ceremony should be done with Shraadha (faith)

References - “Understanding Hinduism” by Swami Sivanand

and information gathered from the Pandits and Sants during my visit to India

Pran C. Arjan - Editor

As the Ganges brought to life the ashes of Bhagiratha’s ancestors, so all Hindus believe that if the ashes of their dead are deposited in the river, they will be ensured a smooth transition to the next life, or freed from the cycle of death and rebirth. Hindus may travel great distances to scatter the ashes of loved ones in the Ganges. Hindus also believe that the Ganges’ divine waters purify those who immerse themselves in her. It is even said that a single drop of Ganges water, carried by the wind over a great distance, can cleanse a lifetime of sins.