QUESTION ANSWER DIVINE 87 Dear friends,
These areinformation posted by members compiled as QA by me in 1998’s-2004’s and storedin my computer. At this date I have no information of the members posted. For some QA areference book is mentioned. So such QA is framed by reading the book by medownloading from internet. Srardha topic is covered more in this QA. It is purely incidental. BEING COMPILATION THERE MAY BE ERRORS. Sincerely, R. Gopalakrishnan, 78, Former ITS, AGM Telecom Trivandrum dated 27-12-2021 Q1 Is there anyspecification to pluck moolikas? A1 Yes. Each moolika herb must be plucked on a specific horai, thithi, nakshatram, paksham, maasam, ruthucombination. Since these moolika herbs aredivine objects, they can't even be seen unless one has followed these rules. Q2 Do siddahs can do things by mere thought? A2 The Siddhas are beings who have perfectcontrol over their thought processes. They can do anything with the power ofthought alone. Q3 What is the speciality of music pillars in Chettikulamtemple ? A3 The Chettikulam temple is alsohome to divine musical pillars. These pillars produce soothing divine musicalvibrations when tapped. But these pillars should not betapped arbitrarily. Theyshould be tapped only using twigs from spiritually potent trees like vilvam,banyan and asvattha trees. If this rule is not observed, the gandharvabeings resident in sookshma (subtle) form in these pillars will depart andwe'll have to shoulder the karma for making them leave. The musical pillars in this temple areworshipped by gandharva beings. Thoseamongst us who want to scale new heights in music, those who want to make theirmark in the world of music, those who want to be great musicians, and those whodepend on music for their livelihood must visit this temple, clean thesepillars with panneer (fragrant water), apply sandalwood paste (that theyhave themselves ground), turmeric paste and kumkum on the pillars and worshipthem. It's ideal if this can be done on panchami thithi and svaathi nakshatram. Those musicians who have amassed wealth through nonspiritual music must atone for this error by performing physical work in thistemple as a selfless service. They should alsouse their wealth for the restoration, renovation and upkeep of this temple, forother temple projects and for selfless service to the poor. This is a Siddha prescription forgetting rid of the bad karma arising from the fortune made through nonspiritual music Q4 What is the speciality of Nandeeswara inChettikulam temple? A4 SriNandheesvara, the faithful servant of Siva plays the suttha matthalampercussion instrument expertly during the Lord's thaandavam dance. Thisforemost of virtuoso percussionists must be saluted by all percussion players,particularly those who play the matthalam and the mrudhangam. Before everysession with their instrument, whether it be practice or performance, they mustoffer their respects to Sri Nandheesvara by saying Om Sri NandheesvaraayaNamaha Q5 What is the correct pronouncing of Mantras in Sraddaha? A5 The spiritually potent mantrasthat are chanted during the ritual of Shraddhahave the subtle power of providing momentum to the subtle bodies of deceased ancestors therefore they can progress to a highersub-plane of existence after the ritual is performed The ritual of Shraddha is necessary so that their journeyafter their death is full of comfort and devoid of any distress and that theyacquire momentum, which allows them to progress to a higher sub-plane. If one performs Shraddha on aparticular day, date (as per the Hindu calendar) as per the position of thestars (nakshatra),then apart from one’s duty towards ancestors getting fulfilled, some specificbenefit can also be derived. Q6 Why do a son is called Putra? A6 Ancestors' soulbecomes satisfied only after receiving pindaand water from their son. The son protects his ancestors' souls from the Hell named'Puta'.Therefore Lord Brahma himself has named him as 'Putra'. Due to the nonperformance of ritualslike pindashraddha and offering water to deceased ancestors etc, the ancestors of suchpeople (who do not perform Shraddha) have to reside in the Hell region. This results in stagnation and no progress of thedescendants.(?) – Shrimad bhagwatgita 1.42 Brahmavaivarta Puransays, 'Activities related to deceased ancestors are more important than thoserelated to God'. Therefore every sacred ceremony begins with Nandi Shraddha. Brahma Puransays, 'One who performs the ritual of Shraddhadiligently and in accordance with ones financial state, he satisfies everyoneright from Lord Brahma to the insignificant blade of grass. No one in thefamily of the person performing Shraddharemains unhappy.' (4) Q7 What is an evil spirit? A7 If soul of a deceased personwishes that 'someone should perform Shraddhafor me' and if it does not get fulfilled from the expected descendant, then it becomes unhappydue to non-fulfillment of the desire. Such soul can transform into an evilspirit (atype of negative energy) and cause distress to its relatives for not performingthe ritual of Shraddha. By performing ritual of Shraddha for adeceased person, the give-and-take account that exists with that person getsfulfilled, e.g. if we owe something to a person and he dies before we could repay him, thenby the virtue of performing Shraddhathe loan can be repaid. Q8 What are the symptoms appear in a family on account ofdisconted ancestor souls?What is the atonement for it? A8 The following problems can beassumed to be caused by ancestors' souls – regularclashes between the family members, unable to cope up any family member,unemployment, unable to save any money, serious illness, unable to get marriedin spite of all favorable conditions, unable to cope up with the partner aftermarriage, unable to conceive,abortion, giving birth to a physically or mentally handicapped baby anddeveloping addictions. By performing Shraddhaone gets relieved from the distress caused by the deceasedancestors since the deceased ancestors get satisfied andif they are trapped in a particular region, they get momentum to progress to ahigher sub-planes and in turn the descendents are able to obtain their blessings. The benefits derived after performing the ritual of Shraddha arementioned in Smrutichandrikaand other holy texts My note- These are all the versions of amember after reading books. There is a view ancestor’s souls only wish for the well being of the members,irrespective of performing srardha or not. Q9 Do the sraddaha performed on eclipse day is beneficial? A9 Yes Yes If the ritual of Shraddha is performed on the day ofan eclipse, the host derives benefit similar to the one obtained after donating a pieceof land to someone. (5) Q10 It is told deities are associated withSraddaha.Who are they? A10 Pururav-Aardrav and Dhurilochan are deities of ancestors’souls. They are referenced in the ritual of Shraddha. ‘Shraddhais associated with the benevolent deities Vasu,Rudra andAditya of the ancestors’ souls. The mantras chanted during the Shraddha and the rites performedenables one to connect to these deities.’ The deceased person for whom theritual of Shraddha isbeing performed, is considered as a follower of Vasu, his parents areconsidered as followers of Rudra and his grand parents are considered asfollowers of Aditya. Therefore during Shraddha, thenames of father, grandfather and great grandfather (or mother, grandmother andgreat grandmother) are pronounced as representatives of Vasu-Rudra-Aditya respectively. Q11 What is Bhimashtami Shraddha? A11:If one is not able to conceive or is facing problems of abortion, then for thewell being of the fetus, Shraddha is performed oroffering of water is made to Bhishmacharya,on the eighth day of the bright fortnight (Bhimashtami) in the Hindu calendarmonth of Magh. Q12 What is Nandi Shraddha?. A12 The ritual of Shraddha performedduring the start of any joyous ceremony and performance of any of the 16religious rites,(samskaras) and recitation of specific mantras for successof the ceremony is called NandiShraddha. Mynote- Mantras are different. Invited persons themselves washes the feet. There is no order of sitting or serving. Q13 What is Parvan Shraddha? A13 Once the deceased ancestors get listed as Parvans, thenthis shraddhais performed for them. Ekparvan(single Parvan),dviparvan(double Parvan),triparvan(triple Parvan)are the three varieties of this shraddha. Mahalay Shraddhaand Tirtha Shraddhaare the types of Parvan Shraddha. 1. Mahalay Shraddha (fortnightly): It is a Parvan Shraddhaperformed starting from the eleventh day of dark fortnight of Bhadrapad (Hinducalendar month) till the no moon night. 2. Tirtha Shraddha: The ritual of shraddhaperformed at Holy places like Prayag or at the banks of a sacred river istermed as TirthaShraddha. While performing Tirtha Shraddha,all the Parvansof Mahalay are invoked. My note- What is meant by pravan is notclear. Learnt members can write about it Q14 What is GoshthiShraddha ? A14 The Shraddha performed by the group ofpriests (Brahmins)and scholars at a holy place with the intention that, ‘Deceased ancestors’souls should get satisfied and let happiness and prosperity preside’, or whilediscussing the topic of Shraddha,if one gets inspiredall of a sudden and performs Shraddha,then such Shraddha istermed as GoshthiShraddha. Q15 What is Ghruta Shraddha (Yatra Shraddha) A15 Shraddhaperformed using ghee (clarified butter), in remembrance of deceased ancestors,before embarking on a journey to holy places with the objective of completingthe journey without any obstacles is called GhrutaShraddha. Q16 What is Dadhi Shraddha? A16 Shraddhaperformed after returning from a journey to holy places is termed as Dadhi Shraddha. Q17 What is Ashtaka Shraddha A17 Shraddhaperformed on 8th day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu calendar month.Ashtaka means the 8th day of bright fortnight of any Hindu calendar month. During the era of Vedas, the Ashtaka Shraddhaused to be performed specifically on the 8th day of bright fortnight ofMargashirsha, Poush, Magh and Falgun months. It was a practice to offervegetables, meat, bondas, sesameseeds, honey, rice kheer,fruits and underground vegetables to deceased ancestors. Vishvedev, Fire (Agni),Sun, Prajapati, Ratri, Stars (nakshatra),season (rutu)etc. were considered as deities of Shraddha. Q18 What is DaivikShraddha? A18 Shraddhaperformed with the objective of obtaining the grace of God is termed as Daivik Shraddha. Q19 What is Hiranya Shraddha A19 This Shraddha is performed withoutoffering food and only by offering money (dakshina)to the priests (Brahmins). Iffood is in scarcity, then gold, equivalent to four times thecost of the food grains,should be offered. My note- So the conclusion is Hiranya srardha has to be performed only when food isin scarcity. Sasthrikals and Kartha suitably forget the condition- Foodis in scarcity Q20 What is Hasta Shraddha? A20 Shraddhaperformed by offering food to the priests (Brahmins)designated for Shraddha.If cooked food is not available then the Shraddhais performed by offering money or dry food grains. Q21 A very important question- whether one can performsraddaha for himself? A21 Yes .He can do subject to certainconditions.This type of sraddaha is called Aatma Shraddha Those people who do not have children orwhose children are atheists,they should perform Shraddhafor themselves when they are alive. The rites for such Shraddha are explained in thescience of spirituality. Mynote- My aunt’s son performed atma srardha. Q22 Which are the commonly practiced sraddahas? A22 Even though various types of Shraddha arementioned above, based on the calendar days, the Shraddha performed for a dead personfrom the first day to the eleventh day, monthly shraddha, Sapindikaran Shraddha,Shraddhaperformed on one-year completion, Shraddha performed every year from thesecond year and MahalayShraddha are the only ones that are commonly practiced. Reference: Shraddha (importance and scientificexplanation) - Volume 1 Q23 Who has to perform sraddaha? A23 Pitrutrayi (Trioin Pitars):Generally son of the dead person has authority to perform Shraddha for thedead person. In his absence, other options are explored. Theterminology of Shraddhahas been prepared assuming the son as being the person who performs the shraddha.Therefore the soul of dead person for whom the Shraddha is being performed, isinvoked as ‘father’ (father of the son performing Shraddha). One generation before, i.e. the father of deadperson is referenced as ‘Pitamaha’(grandfather of the son performing Shraddha). The grandfather of the dead person is referredto as ‘Prapitamaha’(great grandfather of the son performing Shraddha). Q24 Why do other than father,grand father and great grandfather referred in Sraddahas? A24 The earlier generations thanthese are not counted in trios of Pitars(Pitrutrayi),because it is assumed that they are liberated. My note- So texts on srardha itself saysabout liberation of souls Q25 Which are the three ways of offering thread(Upaveetham)? A25 Three ways of wearing the thread(janve)are Savya, Apasavya and Nivit: The thread should always be worn onthe left shoulder. This style of wearing the thread is known as ‘savya’. When it is worn on the rightshoulder it is known as ‘Apasavya’.When worn as a necklace, it is known as ‘Nivit’. Q 26Do Tharpanam is for ancestors only? A26 NO is the answer. Significance and meaning:‘Trup’means satisfying others. The word ‘Tarpan’has been formed from the root word ‘Trup’. Offering water toGod, Sages, ancestors’ soul and human beings and satisfying them through it iscalled tarpan. Objective: Theobjective of performing tarpanis that God, deceased ancestors’ souls etc whose names are pronounced whileperforming Tarpan,should bestow happiness on us. Q27 Can we perform Tarpan in the house? A27 No is the answer for everybody’s astonishment. Bodhayan hasmentioned that ‘Tarpanshould be performed at the riverside’. While performing Tarpan at theriverside, one shouldstand in the river so that the water level touches the belly button or one should perform tarpan by sittingon the banks of the river. Q28 Why do Sesame seeds are used for Tharpan and during Sraddaha? A28 Sesame seeds are the favoritesof deceased ancestors’ souls.By usage of sesame seeds, the demons do not obstruct theritual of Shraddha. Q29 Can one perform sraddaha for his parentswith out inviting sasthrigal if he know to perform himself? A29 Yes Yes It is ideal.‘Ideally, the host should perform the ritual of Shraddha by himself. However, since we do not know howto perform it, we get it done through the priest (Brahmin). Nowadays, it hasbecome difficult to get priests for performing Shraddha. Q30 When should one perform sradha separately from hisbrothers?What is the benefitof doing sraddaha separately? A 30 In case of a joint family, theeldest and earning male person should perform Shraddha. In case of the unit family, everyone shouldperform shraddhaindependently. Each andevery dead person the shraddha canbe performed so as to give momentum to that person to progress to a highersub-plane(However the ParachipettaPanthirukulam Pakkanar story is not favouringthis point) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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