Prasadam on graves of departed

[Guest guest]

Is there any benefit for departed souls if I were to offer prasadam on their graves? These would be non-vaishnava relatives. If this is okay, what would be the procedure? Any mantra or song? I wasn't particularly fond of one of them,but I feel I should do this. The others were people I hold dear to me.

[Guest guest]

"Sraddha is a ritualistic performance observed by the followers of the Vedas. There is a yearly occasion of fifteen days when ritualistic religionists follow the principle of offering oblations to departed souls. Thus those fathers and ancestors who, by freaks of nature, might not have a gross body for material enjoyment can again gain such bodies due to the offering of sraddha oblations by their descendants. The performance of sraddha, or offering oblations with prasada, is still current in India, especially at Gaya, where oblations are offered at the lotus feet of Visnu in a celebrated temple. Because the Lord is thus pleased with the devotional service of the descendants, by His grace He liberates the condemned souls of forefathers who do not have gross bodies, and He favors them to again receive a gross body for development of spiritual advancement."

 

Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's purport SB 3.20.43

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Burial is not a Vedic or at least Hindu tradition, except in the case of pure devotees - whose body is pure and is entombed as an object of worship by the devotees. Indeed Shiva wears the bones of Vaishnavas around his neck as a garland.

 

If you want to help the souls of departed people who are your relations, then the best thing is to make some offering to the Deities of Sri Radha Krishna on behalf of the departed people. In fact the very best thing is to distribute prashad to the Vaishnavas on behalf of the dead people, so sponsoring a feast (on Sunday at a temple, for instance) is a very great benefit for the dead people, if you do that offering with a prayer in your mind to the Lord to help those people who are gone now.

 

But also remember, the soul is not the body, and souls do not live near their graves when they are dead. They go to another birth, in another body.

 

[ShegavichaRana]

is to do Shraddha ceremony for the departed soul, with the help of a Vedic scholar, who knows procedures as well as mantras to be chanted. This ceremony is done on a grand scale on the first anniversery on the exact day (Tithi, as per the Hindu calendar and according to the usual calendar). On this day, the Vedic scholar not only gives oblations for the departed soul but even does Pindadanam. This is the correct procedure. After Pindadanam, all the invited brahmins are first fed, then offered Dakshina and thereafter, the family members partake the remaining food as prasadam. Anybody can do anyone's Shraddha, without the precondition that the departed soul and the doer must have any blood relation. It is said in GarudaPurana that, the water and food offered during oblation gives the departed soul water and food when Yamadootas are dragging them towards Yamaloka. If Shraddha is done every year on the same day the departed soul never lacks food and water, in whichever yoni (body) it might reside.

You can do the Shraddha for the departed soul as per the above procedure.

[Kulapavana]

just pray for them to Krishna. being at their grave may help you focus. if you are sincere, it will help. as to prasadam on the graves - it is too complicated... just eat it yourself /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

1.Prepare the Krishna prasadam.

2.Place it outside.

3.Birds should eat it up.

 

This is what my mother does every year. To the dear departed. Although I doubt very much this is done for Vaishnava's but I may be wrong.

 

Anybody know? /images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

jai sri NITAI

[Guest guest]

Thank you for all the info. My plan was to go to L.A. Rath Yatra & afterwards bring prasadam to offer at the graves of my parents, 2 brothers & sister. They are all in the same graveyard. I do realize they are not there & that the birds were going to get most of the prasadam but it was a focal point. I attended once a fire yagna for a departed devotee & they offered prasadam at his picture. My biological family were not Vaishnav. I just wanted to help their souls if possible, in some simpler way. I can not afford to hire a full fire yagna ceremony or anything. Thanks again.

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Yes, do it as many living entities will benefit by the process. The forefathers eat through the mouths of the animals (or the results are transfered through the animals partaking the prasadam).

 

Most important is to pray to Krishna and perform some japa on the occassion, as the chanting of Krishna's name corrects all defects and faults performed during Vedic rituals.

[Raghavan]

Whether you are able to perform the "Divesam" ceremony to (forefathers and to the departed) in proper form or not, one can still liberate the souls and make them reach Shri Vaikuntam just by reciting the 11th chapter of BagawathGita everyday. By reciting this, one not only liberates the departed souls, but also he gets purified in his mind and finally he also reaches Vaikuntam to serve Shree Hari.

Whenver anybody die in my family circle or anyone known to me or if there is a mass murder or killing due to accidents or natural calamities, I invariably read the 11th chapter and pray to Lord to give moksha to those souls. To do this one need not even be a blood relative. All that he or she needs is to be totally devoted to Lord in his mind and actions.

[Guest guest]

By reading the 11th chapter of Bhagavatgita, not every departed soul will get Moksha. It is Lord Hari who decides whether they r eligible to be given Moksha. But definitely some good will happen to those souls if you read the 11th chapter.