Jatin: Pranam Swamiji! My son is 3 yrs old. How do I incline him towards spiritualism and imbibe right values in him ? Most of current age formal schools do not have any concepts of Vedas or other spiritual practices. Any recommendations that you may have will be really helpful. I live in Gurgaon!
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you. Your views are appreciated as the main motto of human life is to worship and realise God. Otherwise human life is ruined. Secondly, Vedic worship starts from childhood. So, to educate your loving son in spiritualism, it is necessary that parents do daily worship and also study Vedas regularly. So, please try to perform daily hawan where your son also sits with you. Try to educate him in Vedic philosophy for which the parents must attend local Arya Samaj Mandir, along with the child to perform there hawan with ved mantras and listen to Vedic preach. In this way your loving son will sure get Vedic knowledge right from the beginning of his life and will sure be a learned person in future.
Abhishek: Guru ji ko mera pranam guru ji kya pitrapaksh m Jo pitaro ko pani de rha h vo bhagvan ki ya mandir jakar bhi Puja kar sakta h ya nhi?
Swami Ram Swarup: My blessings to you. Shradh ke Vishay ya pitra paksh mein pitaron ko paani dena ityadi vedon mein bilkul nahi kaha. Yeh Vishay hee vedon mein nahin hai. Isliye vedon ke vidwaan isko nahi maante.
After death
Yajurved mantra 3/55, says, “DEVAIYAH JANAH NAH PUNAH MANAH DADATU” i.e., by blessings (preach and true education of Vedas) may learned Acharya give us next birth of human being so that we may again be able to learn the truth of Vedas and to get salvation. So one must always adopt true path by which he gets rebirth of human being to continue the real spiritualism to get salvation etc., because Atharvaved mantra 9/10/16 further says that human being who has done pious deeds and adopted true path they get pious human body in the next birth, otherwise soul gets the lowest/contemptible body, like animals, birds etc. Mantra is APAANG PRAANGETI SWDHAYAA GRIBHITAH AMARTYO MARTYENAA SAYONIHI. TA SHASHVANTA VISHUCHINA VIYANTA NYA NYAM CHIKYURN NI CHIKYURNYAM.
Soul according to its good or bad deeds(APANGETI) takes bodies of animals, birds, insects etc., and (PRANG) bodies of Rishis, Munis, i.e., (uuch Yoni) best bodies after leaving the present body. The soul (SWDHAYAA GRIBHITAH) duly attached with its own power of taking birth according to pious deeds and sins, enters other bodies (AMARTAYAH) though the soul is away from death, being immortal but after death of bodies, takes new bodies. These ideas of Vedas has very well been mentioned in Bhagwad Geeta shlok 2/20 wherein Yogeshwar Shri Krishna says (AJO NITYAH SHASHWATOAYAM PURAANNO NA HANYTE HANYAMANNE SHARIRE ) i.e., the soul is (AJAH NITAYAH SHASHWATOH) never takes birth and is eternal (NAHANYATE HANAYMANNE SHARIRE) in fact after death of body too soul is never dead being immortal. (TASHASHVANTA) this process of death and birth of bodies and souls is eternal.
(VISHUCHINA VYANTA) soul and bodies go far away to different directions [soul goes to Savita etc., {given below} according to Yajurved chapter 39 and then takes birth and gets another body and five elements of body go to space and are mixed within air, fire etc., according to Yajurved mantra 40/15] (ANYAM NICHIKYHU) many learned know about this fact (ANYAM NICHIKYHU) another who lack knowledge of Vedas, do not know the fact, i.e., we mostly know our body but not ourselves, i.e., soul. Death is sure i.e., the body will have to be cremated one day.
In Atharvaved mantra 8/8/11 ‘Yamdut’ means = ‘YAM’ means God, and ‘dut’ means storm, cyclone, flood, earthquake, heavy rains, etc., etc., in mantra the air is Yam. So when a soul is to leave the body then by the power of God, sutratma air enters the body and takes the soul out of it then goes to Savita, etc.
In 39th chapter of Yajurved the process of this cremation is mentioned. This process is also called as “NARMEDH YAJYEN”, “PURUSH MEDH YAJYEN” and “DAH KARAM” and “ANTEYESHATI KARAM”. Atharvaved mantra 10/8/26 says “YEH CHAKAR SAH JAJAR” means He (God) who makes the body, He destroys the same one day. Sense of Yajurved mantra 39/5 is that when the soul leaves the body then the soul wanders in so many places, takes another body according to its previous deeds (karmas). Yajurved mantra 39/6 says that the soul after leaving the body, on the first day goes to Savita (sun), second day agnihi (fire), third Vaayu (normal air), fourth Aditya, fifth chandrma (moon), sixth ritu (seasons), seventh marutah, eighth brihaspati (tiniest air), ninth mitrah (breathing), tenth varunah (udan air), eleventh indrah (electricity), twelfth Vishvedevah (in all divine qualities). Then, after wandering in sky, gets body according to previous deeds. So these twelve days are completed, then after 13 days the soul takes another body. Rigved mandal 10 sukta 135 says that normally soul after getting body faces the result of its past lives’ deeds and under influence of illusion (duly attracted towards illusion) does sins and again gets birth to face the sins. The soul is immortal and always separate from body. When an aspirant meets with a learned Acharya and gets spiritual education, then the fourth mantra says that the soul gets salvation.
QUALITIES OF SOULS (JEEVATAMA)
Soul is alive. Soul has to face the result of his deeds. Soul takes body of human beings, animals, birds, trees etc., according to deeds of past lives. Soul feels sorrow, happiness etc., through body. When soul leaves body, it feels nothing but carries all karma to be faced in next birth through his chitta’s (chitta) vritti (vritti).
Souls are innumerable but are constant in number having similar qualities like being pure, immortal, alive etc. Soul is infinitesimally small, is invisible. The bodies of all living beings contain souls.
Not God but soul has desire, hatred/malice, merriment, sufferings, attachment etc. While attracting itself towards materialistic articles made of prakriti soul forgets his original form. As a result, soul recognizes himself as body. This is the stage of soul being unwise.
“NA TAM VIDATH YA IMA JAJAANANYUDYUSHMAKAMANTARAM BABHOOVA,
NEEHAREINN PRAVRITA JALAPYA CHASUTRIP UKTHASHASCHARANTI.”
(RIGVED MANTRA 10/82/7)
(TAM) that God (NA) not ( VIDATH) known (YAH) who (EMA) all worlds (JAJANN) creates and (YAT) from you (ANYAT) separate from other souls(YUSHMAKAM) from you (ANTARAM) with in all (BABHOOVA) is (NIHAREINN) fog like smoke (YAT) that God (PRAVARITAHA) covered (JALAPYAHA) baseless discussion (ASUTRIPAHA) satisfied only in Prann [breathing system] (UKTHASHASAHA) only paying lip service (CHARANTI) deals or behaves.
Meaning: Like an invisible matter which is covered with fog similarly dealing in only lip service and indulging in baseless discussion and are satisfied in their breathing system, Oh! Man-woman, you do not know the God who creates the five matters/universe and the God who is separate from other souls and who is within all.
Offerings to departed soul
According to Yajurveda mantra 40/15, the last religious deed is daah karma (cremation) i.e., when dead body has been placed on pyre and burnt thereafter only the ashes are to be thrown in a flowing water. After that no deed is left to be done. However, Vedas tell that one should perform Yajyen. So, for the departed soul, we can only perform Yajyen every year which gives pious result and which is even the best worship of God. Next birth is totally based on our good or bad deeds as is also stated in Rigveda mantra 10/135/1 to 6. We are free to do good or bad deeds but the result is awarded by God as per Yajurveda mantra 7/48.
There is no other way to provide any offerings such as water, til, food, etc. to the departed souls as per Vedas. You see soul is totally dependent. Soul eats with mouth, sees with eyes, listen with ears, etc., and when whole body of the departed soul has been burnt on pyre and soul has taken next birth according to deeds then how the water , til or food can be taken by the departed soul. As stated above, after cremation, no deed is left to be done.
So pitr pooja, etc. is not according to Vedas. However, amongst five Yajyen –a daily Yajyen named Balivaishvadev Yajyen is performed in married life by the family. In the said Yajyen, a small portion of prepared food is placed on paper and is placed in open space where any bird/animal takes the same easily.
