Sunanda Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Haribol, my aunt passed away last year, and i'd like to know if it is good to do something for her with a photo. I mean, is this important to do it on her 1 year anniversary ? i'm thinking about offering incence and food to my deities and then to her in front of the photograph and the Shanti mantra. I did this 11 days after her passing last year. Also i planted some mint seeds in her name to cook for Krsna, but the plant died as i was living in an appartment. Now i have a little garden, do you think i can do it again now ? She was a cyco and suffered a lot in her last human life. It is also strange, because my daughter was born the day before. Seems like her birth gave liberation to my aunt. Any experience, sharing could be nice about that ! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Sunanda, wherever she is Krsna has accompanied her as the Supersoul. Not sure about any rituals you may want to engage in but a prayer to the Lord for His grace to reach her as spiritsoul could never go in vain. As to your faith so shall it be. It is obvious that you love this soul. She has touched you in that way. I am a believer in the idea that whatever impressions/influence we have upon people will effect the impressions/influence they have with people they meet along life's way and that the results of this chain, for good or bad, find their way back to the appropriate link in that chain. The more you can accept the love she had for you and turn it to Krsna the more blessing she will receive. So we should love Krishna more for ourselves sake and the sake of those we may know in the future as well as those from the past. IMO of course. It seems right to me. Hare Krsna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pankaja_Dasa Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Says in gita about offering food (prasadam) to ansesters. Somewhere.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhaktajan Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 This is what I know about offering Tarpana: Offer Krishna-Prasadam [veggy food that has been offered to Krishna or obtained from Temple] remnants to a picture of the ancestor on the date of the ancestor's passing. This is to be repeatedly done yaer after year. Key word References: Putra [son who delivers ancestors from 'Put', a hellish planet]; Pinda; shradha; Tarpana; also, Manu samhita speaks of this. Also, The Boston, Mass. ISKCON Temple offers a program that will perform tarpana for a fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vedesu Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 I believe this to be a very important topic. Devotees have a chance to help their departed loved ones who may be in dire situations where there is no other hope than the "living" relative. We may not be able to save the world, but if we can help save a few loved ones, that is wonderful seva. It's also our duty. This is what I know about offering Tarpana: Offer Krishna-Prasadam [veggy food that has been offered to Krishna or obtained from Temple] remnants to a picture of the ancestor on the date of the ancestor's passing. This is to be repeatedly done yaer after year. Thanks for this. Very interesting. When you mention the date of the ancestor's passing, should this be calculated astrologically according to the Vedic calendar? That might be difficult for some of us to do. Also, Sunanda prabhu, if you have any connections with devotees who travel to India for Karttika or Gaura Purnima, usually there are Maths that regularly do shraddha ceremonies for the pilgrims who request them. Last year I sent a photo of a departed relative along with a small donation for the priests who do the cooking preps and fire yajna to a disciple of Srila Narayana Maharaja and a ceremony was performed, then the photo placed into the Jamuna River. I'm guessing that devotees of other Math affiliations also have similar ceremonies. It does give one a little peace of mind to have this done for one's loved ones. The devotee who arranged this for me said she had the ceremony performed for her Dad the previous year and some very mystical things took place, feeling the presence of her Dad. Other participants at the yajna also experienced mystical occurrences with regard to the forefathers they were benefitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunanda Posted April 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 I believe this to be a very important topic. Devotees have a chance to help their departed loved ones who may be in dire situations where there is no other hope than the "living" relative. We may not be able to save the world, but if we can help save a few loved ones, that is wonderful seva. It's also our duty. Thanks for this. Very interesting. When you mention the date of the ancestor's passing, should this be calculated astrologically according to the Vedic calendar? That might be difficult for some of us to do. Also, Sunanda prabhu, if you have any connections with devotees who travel to India for Karttika or Gaura Purnima, usually there are Maths that regularly do shraddha ceremonies for the pilgrims who request them. Last year I sent a photo of a departed relative along with a small donation for the priests who do the cooking preps and fire yajna to a disciple of Srila Narayana Maharaja and a ceremony was performed, then the photo placed into the Jamuna River. I'm guessing that devotees of other Math affiliations also have similar ceremonies. It does give one a little peace of mind to have this done for one's loved ones. The devotee who arranged this for me said she had the ceremony performed for her Dad the previous year and some very mystical things took place, feeling the presence of her Dad. Other participants at the yajna also experienced mystical occurrences with regard to the forefathers they were benefitting. Thanx Prabhuji I'm also a disciple of Srila Narayana Maharaja ! nice to meet you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vedesu Posted April 5, 2008 Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 Thanx Prabhuji I'm also a disciple of Srila Narayana Maharaja ! nice to meet you Very nice to meet you too, Prabhu Ji! Thank you for your kind words. I would probably classify myself more as an aspiring disciple, receiving siksa. It's been a few years since I attended one of the annual Festivals. Last summer was very nice as the Festivals were filmed live in Houston and Badger, and I could observe many devotees that I knew who were in attendance, some of whom participated in the entertaining plays after the lectures. My condolences to your Aunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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