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Hindus memorialize the dead, pray for blessings

Millions of Hindus throng holy Hindu places to perform the shradh ritual
Hindus memorialize the dead, pray for blessings

The Sisodia family from Sirsa district of Haryana performing the shradh ritual in Haridwar. The ritual is a way of remembering deceased family members. (Photo by Bijay Kumar Minj)

Published: October 09, 2015 09:48 AM GMT
Updated: October 11, 2015 05:10 PM GMT

With his head shaved and towel around his waist, Ram Bahadur Baduthak and his brother are busy performing a religious ritual for their dead father along the banks of the Ganges river, considered sacred to Hindus.

Baduthak has travelled all the way from Nepal to Haridwar district of the northern Indian Uttarakhand state to perform the shradh ceremony for his father.

"It is to keep him happy so that he keeps on showering his blessings on us even when he is not with us," Baduthak told ucanews.com.

The word shradh is derived from a longer Hindi word, shradhaanjali, meaning tribute.

In the Hindu religion, shradh is performed for the peaceful repose of the souls of departed family members. It is an annual 16-day period for remembering, mourning and expressing respect for the dead.

This year that period ends Oct. 12. The period is generally not considered auspicious to start anything new, or for weddings or any celebrations.

Every year, millions of people across India and Nepal, another neighboring Hindu-majority country, throng holy Hindu places on the river to perform this ritual.

"It is a way of remembering our forefathers, parents who have died and also donating food and clothes in their name so that wherever they are, they remain happy, content and will always bless us," Surinder Kishan Bhardwaj, a Hindu priest, told ucanews.com.

 

Performing the ritual

For the prayer ceremony, small balls made of rice and barley are prepared and immersed in the river so that those for whom the ceremony is being conducted receive it.

Families who conduct the ritual for their forefathers also prepare delicacies and invite priests to eat these at their home.

It is believed that by feeding priests, the family is actually feeding ancestors, Bhardwaj said.

Those whose parents are alive cannot perform this ritual and if they do, it is considered a sin.

It is believed that those whose parents have died should perform this yearly ritual. "They might be in need of food or clothes or anything else. And it is our duty to perform this annual ritual to make sure they have everything," Bhardwaj added.

People who do not perform the yearly ritual suffer from one problem or the other in their life because the ancestors are not happy with them, he said.

Mrityunjay Panday, another priest, told ucanews.com that the last day is especially important because it is the day when we see off our ancestors.

He said those who die during the shradh period go straight to heaven "because during these days the doors to the heaven remain open."

Ram Bahadur Baduthak performs shradh for his dead father by immersing small balls of rice and barley in the Ganges river. (Photo by Bijay Kumar Minj) 

 

Receiving blessings 

Hindus believe that the shradh ritual helps ancestors feel satiated and in return will bless family members with wealth and health.

Yashpal Singh from Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh state, who was performing the shradh for his uncle who died 35 years ago, told ucanews.com, "He recently started coming in my dreams and asked for clothes … I consulted a priest and he asked me to conduct a shradh ritual and donate some clothes in his name."

Somkali, Singh's wife, told ucanews.com that the family was not doing well financially and "maybe because the uncle was not at peace all this time."

She said that she hopes that things will change now and "he will be pacified as we have donated clothes and conducted the required shradh ritual."

Sushila Sisodia, who came to Haridwar from Sirsa district of northern Indian state of Haryana to perform shradh for her mother, said the ritual is a way of remembering those who are not with them anymore.

"Shradh makes us take out time from our busy schedules. We can at least do this much for the departed family members," she said.

People who cannot visit Haridwar or any other holy city to perform shradh can do it at their home. They invite the priests and feed them.

Bhardwaj said that those who cannot immerse the rice or barley balls prepared can leave it under a tree or at a temple or feed it to the cows as they are considered sacred in the Hindu religion.

Kiran Devi from Nainital district of Uttarakhand state said that she performs shradh for her father-in-law every year at her home.

"I cannot take out time to go to Haridwar and perform it. I make the required things at home, pray and feed it to the cow. Then I invite the priests and feed them too," Devi said.

She added that shradh, besides being part of the Hindu religion, is necessary for the well-being and prosperity of a family and that "we cannot ignore it."

According to the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu holy book, the body is destructible but the soul is "eternal, ever existing."

Hindus believe the shradh rites liberate a soul from the vicious circle of life and death and helps it in attaining salvation.

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