In each and every corner of the world there is some usage or other prevalent among the human race of that area regarding their duty to deceased persons, to the dead. This event, this observance, is known as “shráddha” in Saḿskrta. There are innumerable types of observances, but they all come under the same heading, shráddha.

What’s the meaning of shráddhá? “Shraddhayá diiyate yastu ityarthe shráddhah” – “that which is offered with shraddhá is shráddha.” And what is shraddhá? “Shrat satyam iti dhiiyata ityarthe shraddhá”, that is, when an idea or a culminating point is accepted as supreme, then that idea or culminating point is called “shrat”; and when the mind, with its propensities, moves towards that object, that movement is called shraddhá. Shrat + dha is shraddhá. Now let us see some of the prevalent usages of the world in connection with this shraddhá, or shráddha. When you offer something with shraddhá, it is shráddha. A priest may say that your father will die only once, and so after his death you should arrange for a sufficient quantity of food-stuffs, a sufficient quantity of edibles, a sufficient quantity of clothes, etc., for him. And that has been done in India for about five thousand years, since the time of the Atharva Veda. And people have generally offered rice and sesame, also honey and ghee, to be consumed by that person who has left the world.

Regarding these things, Maharshi Charvaka (he lived in India about 2500 years ago, during the time of Lord Buddha. He was a bit senior to Lord Buddha. Charvaka’s disciple, Ajit Kusum, was a contemporary of Lord Buddha) said “If you are in a room, and another man is in the courtyard a few yards away, and you offer rice and sesame for that man, he won’t get that rice and sesame, and his hunger won’t be satisfied. And if a man is in another world, Aparaloka, and you are offering rice and sesame for him, will he get them? Is it reasonable? No, no. All these things are exploitation by the privileged class.”

After offering rice, sesame, clothes, etc., what do you find? The rice is consumed by the purohita in his house. Go to his kitchen, and all that rice is being consumed by his family. That dhuti which is being offered by you for your late father is being used by the purohita, and the sháŕii by the purohita patnii; and the gamci, the towel, if it is surplus, is sold in the market. And the utensils are also sold in the market. So your deceased father, your parents, who are now inhabitants of Aparaloka, won’t get anything.

And the second thing you will see, or you will feel, is that they do not require these things. The microcosm, or unit spirit, does not require any food or clothes or sesame or utensils. All these ideas are scoundrels’ philosophy. And they have been doing this type of exploitation for the last five thousand years, since the time of the Atharva Veda.

In some other corners of the world, people wait for forty days, and after forty days they offer a particular type of prayer, and that prayer is supposed to make the position of the dead person secure. Is this logical? Certainly not. All these things done in the name of shráddha are nothing but a cheating business.

In prehistoric times also, those people of less-developed intellect used to think in this same way, that even after death people require worldly objects. So in prehistoric times also you would find, looking within the graves, that they used to offer barley (at that time wheat was not popular), wine, honey, such things. And even now in India during shráddha they use these things – barley, wine, wool – so that the dead person will wrap that woollen cádar⁽¹⁾ around themself, etc.

Now, as I told you, in all corners of the world this type of exploitation is going on. And why are the people being exploited? Because they are under the veil of superstition. They are superstitious people. They are less developed in intellect.

I remember a short story. In my town there was a businessman. Say his name was D́oman Sáhu. And his father was also a businessman. During the day he was a businessman, and at night he was a d́áku⁽²⁾ . Say D́oman’s father’s name was Mohan Sáhu. Now a big pańd́ita came from Kashmir to my home town and said that he had the capacity with the strength of his mantra, to arrange heaven for all pápiis, all degraded persons, all degraded souls. Then D́oman thought, “My father Mohan is a d́áku. Let me take the help of this big pańd́ita and arrange heaven for my d́áku father.”

So the pańd́ita said, “Yes, yes, yes. I will do everything, but I want fifty guineas as a fee for the purpose.” And D́oman agreed.

But D́oman’s friend was one Mr. Ravi Ghose, a very intelligent man. Ravi Ghose said, “You see, D́oman, that pańd́ita is a businessman, that is why he wants fifty guineas. You do one thing. Let there be bargaining. Tell the pańd́ita, ‘You see, pańd́itajii, I can offer only fifty silver coins, fifty rupees. Please agree.’”

Then the pańd́ita said, “Yes, it will be done, but had it been fifty guineas, your father would have reached just below the Párijáta tree of Nandana Kánana of heaven. If you give fifty silver coins, fifty rupees, he will reach the main gate of heaven, but not near that Parijata tree.”

D́oman thought, “Right near the gate. Then that short distance will be covered by my father on foot. Then let me spend only fifty rupees.”

Then again he went to Ravi Ghose, that crooked and intelligent fellow. Ravi Ghose said, “You see, D́oman, our first attempt has been a success. Now you just tell him, ‘Pańd́itajii, I will spend only forty rupees; not fifty.’”

Pańd́itajii said, “In that case, there will be a short gap.”

Then next day D́oman said, “No, I will spend thirty rupees,” and so on. And finally the settlement was for ten rupees.

So this is the commercial story regarding shráddha. There is nothing in it.

So what should one do? Haven’t we any social responsibility for dead persons? When the necessity arises, we should offer shraddhá for them, not barley or wheat or woollen clothes or wrappers or ghee or sesame. What can we do? As long as a man is here in our society we have a social responsibility for him. Human beings are social beings, we have a social responsibility for them. And when the leave this world and go to the other world, they go beyond the scope of our responsibility. We cannot render any service to them. Our social responsibility is over as soon as the cremation is done.

So what can we do? We can say “O Parama Puruśa, while that man was with us we tried our best to do whatever we could do. But now they are beyond our scope, they are beyond our jurisdiction, so please do take care of them.” This much of a request can be made by us, and nothing more than that. And the Ananda Marga shráddha is just like that. Here we require no edibles, no clothes or anything else. We offer our shraddhá, and we do nothing else, and we can do nothing else.

Footnotes

(1) Shawl or wrapper. –Eds.

(2) Dacoit, robber. –Eds.