Death: Before, During & After... Death: Before, During & After.. | Page 28

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Death
thinking has been ruined. People carry out such rituals and before
they do so, they give alms to the Brahmin priest who performs the
ritual. The Brahmin priest used to be worthy of receiving alms at
one time, and the people of the household would bind merit karma
in doing so. But now everything has become a farce. The Brahmin
priest will have already made a deal with a shopkeeper who will
buy the bed, the blankets and everything else from him! How do
people think these things are going to reach the departed soul?
Questioner: Dada, nowadays people will tell the Brahmin
to bring all these things to their homes and they will pay him a pre-
agreed amount.
Dadashri: It is not just now days. They have been doing
this for years. The priest will bring a bed given to him by someone
else! Even then people believe in such rituals, and they continue
to practice them. The Jains on the other hand do not practice
such rituals; they are very shrewd. They do not believe in such
things and in reality these rituals are bogus. As soon as the soul
leaves the body it goes straight to its destination; it acquires its
place of creation, the womb.
The Dead Are Not Affected With Rituals
Questioner: Should we sing devotional songs or say
prayers for the dying? What good does it do?
Dadashri: The dying person has nothing to do with it.
Questioner: So are all the religious rituals carried out during
the time of someone’s death right or wrong?
Dadashri: Nothing about these rituals is right. Those who
are gone are gone. People do these rituals without much thought.
When asked to do something that is meaningful for their spiritual
progress, they would complain about lack of time. They would