Are the rituals only customary ?
Three years have been passed, little did we realize before we went for the small ritual yesterday. As part of this ritual we call brahmins who perform all the puja as per our traditions and offer them prasad and seek their blessings with a belief that, the soul will rest in peace and will let us live peacefully. In the first ritual that happens 11 days after the death, minimum 50 brahmins are called to do the mega rituals, given prasad, clothes, money and in subsequent years, the number reduces. I have been closely associated with every ritual. Here are few pictures of the first ritual, from three years back.
The team of 50 brahmins came in and did everything that was supposed to be done, there is a big community of brahmins and we have to prebook them.
Yesterday only five brahmins were needed to do the rituals. After doing the puja, they were offered the prasad, brought from a temple.
And then the blessings, enchanting all the mantras.
After they departed, our turn came - the prasad is super tasty and from last few days, I was thinking to go to a temple and eat it. There is an app now also, which delivers only prasad, someone was telling. Need to figure out for future needs.
While I was eating, a thought came in my mind - these rituals are for what ? It's because they are in our tradition or culture ? Letting the soul rest in peace and doing these rituals is to remind ourselves about them ? And does the soul calms down as time passes and that is why the size of these rituals reduce ? Should we do them ? Will our future generations will also do these rituals?
Life is an very interesting experiment - when you are alive, everyone in your family loves your presence for various reasons. But if you are really a good soul, then your family members as well as other people will love you forever and even wish, you take rebirth. And what determines if you are a good soul or not ? Well, people can have varied answer , but my answer is if One has not done anything evil and is true to his conscience to not do any damage to anyone, helped wherever or whatever he can, then he is a good soul. And uncle was one of them. For that reason, he will be always with us in our memory. He was a rich person - rich in heart, though not wealth - helping many people in every possible way he could.
Coming to these rituals, its all about our belief in our culture. Some says, they are necessary to prevent the soul to trouble us, but hey, if he is a good soul, then would he trouble us ? Instead is it not like, inviting him to see how much we miss him ? And he loves to be with us ? What do you think ?
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