25 Jun 2023
[Smt. Chhanda asked: Padanamaskaram Swami! In STATUS OF WOMEN IN HINDUISM discourse, You said that rituals after death are done by a son for his benefit only and not for the benefit of the departed soul. You are also saying if the property of the departed soul is spent in such ritual, the departed soul can also be benefited. How can the departed soul be benefited by such rituals as it is having its own karma chakra for which it has to enjoy? Are we changing its karma chakra by doing such ritual? Please clarify this confusion. At Your divine lotus feet, Chhanda.]
Swami replied:- The departed soul is not benefited in the sense that it doesn’t eat the food offered by you to a deserving receiver in the ritual. I spoke about this direct benefit. If the property of the departed soul is given to the son and if the son spends it directly or indirectly (indirectly means that the son spends his money and compensates it from the property of his father), the departed soul also must be benefited as per the rules of justice. This benefit is that the soul is comforted if it falls into difficulties either in the upper world or in this world. This is not disturbance to the cycle of deeds of fruits. Since the money of the departed soul was used for the ritual directly or indirectly, the departed soul is justified to receive the good fruit as per the justified rules of the cycle of deeds and fruits only. The most important point is that the receiver of food and dakshinaa (offering of money) must be highly deserving. If the receiver is undeserving, not only the doer of the ritual but also the departed soul are harmed by the bad fruits of the sin that is based on wrong charity.
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