QUES ANSW DIVINE 2-2022-21 Dear friends,
These are information compiledas QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s and stored in my computer. They are posted by learnt members. Some QA are based on concepts. These concepts vary between people. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, dated 21-02-2022 Q1 Which nampoothii families performyagya now? A1According to history, after Buddha and Jain periods, the deteriorated Vedadharma andYagna (Yaagam) culture were rejuvenated in Kerala, several years later, by Mezhathol Agnihothri, byperforming Yaagam ninety-nine times, one after the other. Only seven of the thirty twoNamboothiri Graamams (villages) co-operated with Agnihothri andaccepted the Yaagam culture again. Eventoday, only these seven Graamams (Thaliparambu, Alathur, Karikkad, Panniyur,Sukapuram, Perumanam and Irinjalakkuda) have families having right to performYaagams. It issaid that a person who performs 100 Yaagams will become god Indran. When 99Yaagams were over, Lord Indran feared that his power would be lost to theYajamaanan (leader) of this Yaagam. Indran personally arrived in the 99th Yaagasaala toaccept the oblations meant for each of them, and pleaded toMezhathol Agnihothri to stop performing the 100th Yaagam. The leader, Mezhathol Agnihothri, declinedthe request saying that he is performing it not for a better position but forretaining the culture of Yaagam among Brahmanans. Indran thenconceded Mezhathol Agnihothri and his seven colleagues, his equal status. It is now believed that Aazhvaancheri Thampraakkal performed the dutiesof "Brahman" in all these Yaagams. Vaidyamadham family members werethe Yaagasaala physicians Q2 Whether vararuchi offsprings families exist now? A2 Mostof these twelve families still exist in the southern part of Palakkad district(Shoranur, Pattambi and Thrithala areas). Recently, on 30-11-97, all of them met in Vemancheri Mana,the Illam (residence) of Mezhathol Agnihothri, near Thrithala. Q3 What happened tp Vararuchi afterthe birth of Vayillakunnilappan? A3 Afterthe "Prathishta" of Vaayillaakkunnilappan", Vararuchi is believed to have undergone Samaadhi at Mannoor Q4 Do sraadha is necessay after Badrisraadha? A4 Even after performing Pithru Karya at Badri,the performance of Annual Cermony of parents every year as usual is absolutely essential. Q5 What is the period of Shraadh for nampoothiries? A5 Thefifteen days of the dark half, the second half, of the Hindu month of Bhadarvois known as Pitri Paksh (shraadh period). Hindus pay obeisance to their ancestors through a religious ceremony. Manyfamilies organises religious functions like Shreemad Bhagwat Saptah during thisperiod. The secondhalf 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 anyday during this period. This period is sometimes also knowninauspicious month. Since during this fortnight, you were paying obeisance toyour ancestors - basically remembering the departed souls - it was consideredinauspicious to start something new, or buy something new during this period. Q6 What is death? A6 Death is separation of the soul from thephysical body. Death becomes the starting point and is not the endof life. Life is one continuous never-ending process and is only a passing andnecessary phenomenon, which every soul has to pass to gain experience for itsfurther evolution. According to the theory of transmigration, theindividual is to take another birth after his/her death. Shraddh (Kriya) is the name of theceremonies performed by relatives to help the departed soul. The performance of kriya adds to thatsoul’s happiness in the new birth. So it is the imperative duty of everybody toperform Shraadh ceremony for the departed soul. According to our puranic shastra, thesoul in its disembodied form hovers about its original and familiar places forten days. The soul isfully embodied on the eleventh day. It starts on its journey to the judgementseat of Lord Yama, the God of death. The sonperforms the Kriya ceremony on the twelfth or the thirteenth day offerings. Thesoul 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 thetwelfth 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 soulwhich passes out of the body after death is termed ‘Preta’, one that is bound on its onwardmarch to the Beyond. Thedifficulties can be removed and the journey is rendered easy and comfortable bythe 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 thedeceased (in the absence of son, a male who may act as a son) during the soul’sjourney and by feeding the pure, the poor, learned sant/swamis and feeding thesacred cows. (“The Ritual ofShraadh” From the Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, Section LXXXIV) Q7 What is the importance of kriya(sraadha)? A7 When theJiva (soul) undergoes transmigration and takes another birth after leaving thisphysical body, it is necessary that we should perform Shraadh ceremony. Theserites (performance of Shraadh, Tarpana and other religious rites) should not beneglected.The soul leaves off its Preta on this day. Soul is raised to thestatus of a Pitru or Ancestor. Pitrus are forefathers (Ancestor) who dwell inthe Pitruloka. There arethree stages in the ancestral life viz., father, grandfather and greatgrandfather, and mother, grandmother and great grandmother. A priest who isperforming the Shraadh ceremony may go back up to seven generations. He who hasdone good actions for a worthy cause on this earth-life becomes united with hisancestors in the Pitri-loka and lives with them. Shraadh ceremony should be performed withgreat Sraadha (faith). Faith is themain support for our Hindu religion. In olden days the question whether toperform Shraadh ceremony or not did not arise at all. Then people were full offaith and had reverence for the scriptures. The man of faith attains knowledgeand thereby immortality and eternal peace is the declaration of the Gita. TheGita and the Upanishads clearly bear testimony to the fact that the performanceof Shraadh is very important. In the ninth chapter of the Gita, Lord Krishna has made it very clearthat those Good persons who perform sacrifices to reach out to heaven willattain the world of enjoyments. Q8 Why do the ashes of the dead are immersed in the sea? A8 Since the river moves constantly towards the sea whereall the waters of its various tributaries mingle, it is believed that it willalso carry the ashes of the dead to their final resting place,reintegrating them once again with the creator, the ocean from which all lifebegan In Hinduism,the river Ganga is personified as a goddess. People travel from distant placesto immerse the ashes of their kin in the waters of the Ganga; this immersionalso is believed to be deemed worthy. This tradition is dating back thousandsof years. Apart fromRiver Ganges, ashes are also scattered on the waters of many India's sacredrivers, like Yamuna and Godavari, Brahmputra, etc. at places like Nasik,Vridavan, Somnath, etc. According to the principal of Hinduism, followed by theKrishna movement, the immersion or scattering of ashes on thesacred river is a symbol of the soul's journey towards uninterrupted journey tosalvation. As the Ganges brought to life the ashes of Bhagiratha’sancestors, soall 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 thecycle of death and rebirth Q9 Which place is called Gangadwar? A9 Hardwaror Haridwar ( Vishnu's gate) is an important pilgrim centre of the Hindus andone of the seven holy places ( Sapt Puri ) that promise 'moksha' or salvationto the devout. At this place the Holy GangesRiver emerges from the Himalayas. It is therefore, also known as 'Ganga Dwar'or the Gateway of Ganga. Q10 What is the importance of Leicester inEngland,? A10 In Leicester in England, morethan 30 funerals a week are being carried out on the River Soar afterit 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 ritualscattering of ashes of loved ones. Thus the Soar has now become an alternativeto the Ganges in India. The River Thames one of three rivers to be designatedas the ‘Ganges’ However,British authorities have allowed the use of certain rivers where the ashes ofthe dead may be scattered, instead of travelling to Haridwar in India. The Soar, the Thamesand the Wye are among such rivers officially designated as the 'Ganges'. Leicesterhas a large population of Gujarati Hindus, whose request to the EnvironmentAgency to use the river Soar for post-death Hindu ceremonies was approved sometime ago. A spokesman for the Environment Agency said thatceremonies in the Soar had been authorised. "Wehave designated a secluded place on the river, so that ashes are disposed ofwith due consideration for other river users. We have forbidden offerings suchas photographs and metal and plastic items, which could litter the riverbanks. Q11Do there is death fo the soul? A11 Even though the soul isseparated from the body of an entity in this materialistic world, the soul is neverdying existence. The soul is either benefited or made suffered as per theactions it did alongwith its materialistic entity As we have different forms of diets (foods),souls are survived and revived by the diets. Their form of diet is withchanting by the successors who still exist in the materialistic existence. They are called as SraadhaaKarmas or Pithru Karyas With stipulated intervals and anniversaries theperformances of Sraadhaas will give a boost to the souls of eternal world. A common human may not be in a position to understand theset up of soul-creative explained in Vedas but scholars understand and getconvinced with every logic of system. In Vedas it is clearly mentioned that gratitude is in theform of Sraadhaa Karmas and rituals. Not only eternal souls are benefited withSraadhaa Karmas and rituals performed by their successors but also all thesuccessors along with kith or kin and their successors will also beprospered. An eternal soul’s one day is equivalent to ourone-year time. That is why anniversary (in our terms) is taken as dayfor Pithru karyas i.e.Sraadhaas enabling the soul to have food (as discussed). Q12 Do performing Pithru karyas by thesuccessors is very important.? A12 By performing Pithru karyas, one getPunyam, not only for themselves and also for one’s Pithru Devata’s (eternalsouls). So performing Pithru karyas by the successors has become very veryimportant. When a kartha cannot be present because of hisemployment, foreign trip or any other reason for performance, a representativecan take the responsibility and arrange for performance on behalf of the userby giving Karthrikam (suggested by Vedas). Pithru Yagnya gives phalaquicker than Deva Yagnya.Dakshina should be four timesof the value of the Bhojana offered. Q13 What is BRAHMA YAGNYA? A13 BRAHMA YAGNYA is a daily item. Thisis just to offer one Uddharni of water in the name of late parents who hadsacrified so much for our sake in our childhood. Q14 Who is a true son? A144Heis a true son who respects the words of his parents, One who offers sumptousfood to as many persons as possible on the annual cermony day, And the one whooffers Pinda in Vishnu Paada at Gaya and kiberate pithru to go to heaven from the pithruloka. Q15 From which direction pithrus come? A15."APA - HATAASURA RAKSHAAH". -Chanting this sloka, Tila (gingelly) issprinkled at the start of the sraadha cermony. This should be done facing the southbecause Pithrus come from that direction. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/2127423231.507457.1645450621721%40mail.yahoo.com.
