2024-10-03 16:49:52
Went: Pitru Paksha is ending today (2nd October). This aspect of ancestors happens every year till Amavasya date. According to tradition, this day is set for unknown abandoned people. On this day, Tarpan Shraddha ritual is performed for every person whose death date is unknown. Talking about Pitru Paksha, according to the Hindu calendar, the first fifteen days of Ashwin month are important for Pitru Karma.
Gayaji is the only city of Pitritirtha
During this period, devotees from all over the world come to Gayapuri. This is the only city which is famous as a place of pilgrimage for ancestors. There are beliefs related to the arrival of Lord Shri Ram and Bhagwati Sita. According to Sanatan culture, rituals related to ancestors have been taking place here for generations. There has never been even an iota of change in its laws. In such a situation, the general public is in anger due to a decision of the Bihar government.
Protest against e-Pind Daan
Actually, Bihar State Tourism Corporation has started the facility of e-Pind Daan. In this, you can get the Pitrakarma rituals done sitting at home by paying a fixed amount. This complete package is around Rs 23 thousand including GST charges. Such information is also available in the advertisement issued by the Tourism Department and on its website.
Before understanding these reasons for opposition, there is a need to be well aware of the beliefs. There is a tradition of connecting with one’s deceased relatives in every culture of the world. Legislation related to this is more or less present in all religious beliefs also. If we talk about following the rituals after death, then it is considered much more in Sanatan culture. Because death here is not the end of life but only a transformation.
In such a situation, such activities are said to be necessary for the salvation of the deceased relatives and good fortune in one’s life. Puranas consider it to be the factor for longevity, wealth, knowledge, health and increase in children. According to this, these rituals are the desired medium to fulfill the unsatisfied wishes of ancestors and wishes like salvation in heaven.
Shraddha rituals for every occasion among Hindus
In Hindu beliefs, it is also a spiritual process to appease the minds of ancestors and purify one’s mind and intellect. Due to this, it has been said to be one’s own action done by one’s own people for one’s own people out of self-love. Twelve such types of Shraddha have been described. These include Shraddha rituals ranging from daily to special occasions. Water offered in the name of ancestors at the time of bathing and cow grass taken out before meals is a daily Shraddha. Not only this, there is a tradition of performing Shraddha here before every auspicious ceremony like marriage etc.
After all, what is the need for e-rituals in a society that bathes and offers offerings to ancestors in every pilgrimage? In this government advertisement it has been addressed as Pind Daan. Whereas in reality Pind Daan is just a part of it. The name of this entire process is Shraddha which is completed by offering Pind Daan and Tarpan. It is absolutely necessary for the wife to participate in this.
Mundan, making of Pind with one’s own hands, lamp donation and tarpan are essential parts of it. In the ritual resolution, names and clans of relatives of many generations are required. In this legislation, along with the paternal clan, the name and Gotra of the deceased relatives on the maternal side is also required. Here, in a single ritual, rituals are performed for several generations of these two clans.
Pitru Paksha is considered very special
The entire process takes place at many places. Therefore, this is not possible without physical participation. Along with this, it is also absolutely necessary to be in contact with the pilgrimage priests. Because some rituals and information related to name and clan are not possible without them. According to Hindu religion, there are ninety-six days in the year for activities related to this. But Pitru Paksha is most important in this. In this, the date of the related ritual is determined by considering the date of death.
Even in Mahabharata, there is talk of Shraddha Tarpan.
If we talk about the pilgrimages that perform rituals related to these, there are many such pilgrimages in other areas of India. Shraddha was performed by Pandavas in Brahma Sarovar of Kurukshetra. There is mention of the collective resolution of countless casualties by Dharmaraja Yudhishthir after the Mahabharata war. But according to mythological beliefs, Gaya and Badrinath have the most importance.
According to tradition, first Gaya followed by Badrinath darshan has been explained. Gaya is the city famous for the footprints of Lord Vishnu where Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. The most famous temple here is Vishnupad Temple. Nanakdev, the founder of the Sikh sect, once performed Pitra Tarpan here. His son Baba Srichandra Maharaj, promoter of the apathetic opinion, has also come for this purpose. Whereas the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji had given the message of his values through Pind Daan here.
The manuscript bearing his handwritten seal is safe with the Panda Committee here. You can also see the account books of the last Hindu families of Ghazni Jalalabad.
The tradition of patriarchy in western countries too
You can find genealogies of kings and princely states from every part of the Indian subcontinent. Despite the very dilapidated system, government apathy and government neglect, this city still stands with its glorious past. Where even now people from all over the world come to the garden for their ancestral rituals.
People are disappointed after coming to Gayaji
Among these, a large number are also people from western countries. Because this city is the initiation ground of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the patriarch of Hare Krishna movement and organizations like ISKCON. The shining stars of Bollywood and Hollywood also come here for the rituals of ancestors.
But due to lack of infrastructure they also return within a few hours. There is a need for the promotion and development of this pilgrimage. But on the contrary, the government of Bihar is hurting the traditions. If we talk about the issue of e-Pind Daan, the government’s efforts to popularize it are continuing. But while devout Hindus are hurt on this issue, experts in tradition are considering it as unnecessary and inappropriate interference.
Vishnupad temple also against e-Pind Daan
On this issue, the famous Vishnupad Temple Management Committee along with the pilgrimage priests of Gaya city are also against it. Despite this, the government is bent on arbitrariness. According to Sarkar Bahadur, this is an issue related to crowd control and facilities. Whereas Gaya is the ancestral pilgrimage where ancestral rituals are performed throughout the year.
After Pitru Paksha, this happens only in Gaya and Badrinath Dham. According to the rules of Gaya Tirtha, people come here only after the death of both their parents. Because of this, in many families someone has to come for this purpose after many generations. The existence of GST on this also hurts a lot. This is also an ethical question, should a ‘tax’ be levied on this? Because in India, there is a tradition of mass cremation even of strangers. There are countless examples of this around.
Tradition of Pind Daan for strangers
After the horrific tragedy of Kedarnath, mass Shraddha rituals were organized. It has also been organized for the unnamed dead souls on the completion of 100 years of Moplah Genocide in Kerala. Similar rituals have also been performed by some groups for the martyrs of the country’s freedom struggle. If we consider according to the mythological stories, then Shri Ram performed the Shraddha of Jatayu, an unknown person, while Shri Krishna performed the Shraddha of a barbarian from outside his family. Not only this, there is also a story of the ritual performed in Gaya city for the liberation of Maharaj Dasharatha. If we talk about Gayapuri, then forty-five places have been mentioned for it.
Before this, there is a tradition of performing rituals at Jamhore and Kijar Ghat on the banks of river Punpun. One of these places is located in Aurangabad of Bihar and the other in Arwal district. It was at these places that Lord Shri Ram had once come to this city along with Bhagwati Sita.
The names of many of these places are now in their memories. In such a situation, the idea of e-Pind Daan completing the entire process at only three places in Gaya city is definitely unfortunate. Bihar is the land of knowledge of Gautam Buddha and the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh.
You can visit Gayaji at least once in your entire life.
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth Guru of the Sikh sect, who founded the Khalsa sect. He was born in Patna, the capital of Bihar. Bihar is the land of both the birth and nirvana of Mahavir Swami, the last Tirthankara of the Jain tradition. Not only this, this has also been the workplace of many Tirthankaras of Jain tradition. Does the government interfere in the internal affairs of Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs or any other non-Hindu religion?
Is there any government interference on their festivals, worship method and place of worship? Can such an initiative be taken with religious traditions of any other sect and religion? At the same time, this is also a question for this society whether our sensibilities and values have really died! Otherwise, can we not spare even one full day in our lifetime for our deceased relatives?
Author: Amiya Bhushan (Indian Cultural Tradition Scholar)