[Advaita-l] shrAddha for the departed soul

[V Subrahmanian]

Dear Bhaskar ji,

This excerpt might be of use to you and that Kannadati. Especially the last
paragraph, the words of Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati Swamin are to be noted:

Quoted from the Book 'Yoga, Enlightenment and Perfection' p.27/28:

The context of this discussion in that book is:  Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha,
the 35 Pontiff of the Sringeri Peetham, before sannyasa, when he was 13
years, had posed some questions to a scholar in Sringeri.  One question is:

(iii) I have heard that when one is born, immediately a set of debts
accrue to one. Some of these are repaid by serving one’s parents,
some by worshipping the devas and yet others *by begetting progeny.* Is
this indeed the state of affairs?

In reply to that came the following clarification, although not directly
sought from the Jagadguru Sri Chandrashekhara  Bharati Swaminah:

loko nāputrasyāstīti śrutyāsya kaḥ prabhāṣito lokaḥ ।
muktiḥ saṁsaraṇaṁ vā tadanyaloko'tha vā nādyaḥ ॥14 (II.35)

(The Veda says that “loka” is not there for one bereft of a son. What is
that loka? Is it liberation or transmigration or another world? It
cannot be the first one.)

Paramacharyal then asked Vaidyanatha Sastry to recite the next two
ślokas of the Prabodha-sudhākara and give the meaning. The verses
are:

sarve'pi putrabhājastanmuktau naiva saṁsmṛtir-bhavati ।
śravaṇādayo'pyupāyā mṛṣā bhaveyustṛtīye'pi ॥15 (II.36)
tatprāptyupāya-sattvād-dvitīyapakṣe'py-aputrasya ।
putreṣṭyādika-yāgapravṛttaye vedavādo'yam ॥16 (II.37)

Sastry gave the overall meaning on the following lines:

It cannot be said that begetting a son confers liberation. This is because
not all people who have sons have attained the exalted state.
Further, if mere procreation were to yield emancipation, then the cycle
of transmigratory existence itself would cease since numerous people
do have children. A son cannot necessarily be the cause of
happiness in this world and the next. The reason is that to attain a
higher world, the Veda prescribes the performance of special rites,
such as the jyotisṭoma. It does not explicitly declare begetting of
progeny as constituting the means. The Veda clearly proclaims that
wealth, progeny and the like cannot serve to confer liberation. Only the
realisation of the Ātman, by hearing the Truth, cogitating upon It and
focusing one's mind on It, yields immortality.

*Utterances of the Śruti to the effect that a son is essential should*
*be understood as merely eulogising the performance of sacrifices, such*
*as the putreṣti.* The putreṣti-yāga serves to obtain a son. To induce
people who have a desire for children to perform it, its importance
is stressed. The Veda, which is like a mother, certainly does not intend
to compel one without desires to perform such sacrifices.

.......

Paramacharyal explained that shrāddha is an obligatory duty that purifies
the performer. He emphasised that the pitrus do no sustain themselves
exclusively on the pinda that is offered during the shraaddha ceremony. He
went on to add that the stories found in texts like the Mahabharata about
the necessity of offspring are not meant for advanced spiritual aspirants
who have strong dispassion.

Unquote

regards
subbu

On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 10:12 AM, Bhaskar YR via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> This is answered beautifully by Maha Periaval of Sri Kanchi in the book
> Deivathin Kural.You can acccess it by inter net also.
> you can ask that lady also to read this book.But it is in Tamil.
>
> praNAms Sri R.Krishnamoorthy prabhuji
> Hare Krishna
>
> Unfortunately I don’t have internet access at office and not able to read
> Tamil either.  And as far as I know that lady also pure 'Kannadati' :-) If
> possible kindly share what HH said on this ritual whether he addressed
> those questions in this Tamil Book.  Thanks in advance.
>
> Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
> bhaskar
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