Death: Before, During & After... Death: Before, During & After.. | Page 30

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Death
has been established in this life, they will take birth in situations
where they may meet again.
Questioner: So are all these rituals created to remember
the dead?
Dadashri: No, they were not devised for remembering
the dead. They were devised because people were not otherwise
prepared to spend a dime on charity and that is why they are told
to do something in the memory of their late father. They are told
that whatever they do in their father’s name will benefit their father.
It was a way to pressure them into spending money in their father’s
name. If it were not for their father, they would not spend a single
penny. This is all done in blind faith.
When people fast, it is done for health benefits according
to Ayurveda. The practice of fasting is established for the benefit
of everyone. Even fools will benefit from this. That is why several
different days have been established for fasting, one of them being
the Shraddha. So the ritual of Shraddha is for a very good reason.
Questioner: Dada what is the purpose of the ceremonial
offerings of vaas - dinner with kheer (rice pudding) etc. on the
anniversary of the death of a relative? Is this done out of ignorance
also?
Dadashri: No, that is not ignorance. There is a long history
behind this ceremony of vaas. Shraddha lasts for period of sixteen
days, beginning on the eleventh month from the bright half of the
lunar month. Now, why did people start such a ritual? These people
were indeed very clever! It is a very scientific ploy and this was
discovered many years ago.
In India the rainy season occurs during the eleventh month
of the Indian calendar. During this time, malaria is widespread