Are the Vedic rituals done by Imperfect Purohits effective??
A girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna prabhuji. Dandwat pranam. I had a question about pind Pooja being done in gaya which we have just got done last month. As it’s considered very important and auspicious to do the pind Pooja for all the ancestors there.
However it is very difficult to find a genuine pandit there who would do the rituals correctly without any greed for money. In that case how would we know if the Pooja performed was correctly done.
Also I was told it would take 1 year for the ancestors soul to reach pitru lok. Why is that so? Will the life be better after doing the Pooja?”
REPLY:
Performing Vedic rituals engaging Imperfect Purohits may also be effective to the extent of the purity of the purohits! But, some effects will still be there because we can’t get perfect purohits in kaliyuga.
After the athma (soul) leaves this body, the body is said to be dead. The athma leaves with the sukshma body that has all the recordings of all the thoughts and actions done in our existing body and even previous bodies.
After the soul is taken from the body, it is shown to the yama that the soul has been taken out of the body. Yama directs the Yama Kingaras (assistants) to leave the soul again at his house for 12 days so that he can witness the happenings in his house.
Then, the soul is left at his house again. After coming back to his house where he lived, the soul lives in the fire for three days; In water for three days and on the land for three days in his house.
On 12th day (This may vary between 10th and 12th days), the soul is permanently taken by the yama kingaras again to Yamaloka.
(What are the recommended Rituals for relief from Ghost body? READ HERE!)
This time, taking the soul to Yama loka takes one full earth year. The soul is given a temporary body and taken to the Yama’s palace.
According to the recordings of our karma in our mind (sukshma body), that Soul (athma) takes another body. The type of next body depends on the desires he had in his previous body. For example, if he had more desires in eating meat, the athma goes to the body of a male wild animal and take birth as a wild animal so that he can eat more animals.
Before taking the next body, the athma goes to heavens or hells or the both wearing a temporary body, based on its karma recorded in his previous life. The hells are many based on different types of sins. There are Separate hells for every type of sins. They can be read visiting the link given below:
(What are the available hells and who are sent there? READ HERE!)
Heavenly life is given for a certain period according to the level of good deeds he had done in his previous birth.
Thus, after the hellish and heavenly terms are faced/ finished, he is sent out of the hell and/or heaven.
Then, he is kept in the world of ancestors till he gets a suitable body.
Then, he takes a new body according to his wishes he had in his past life. He can remember what he did in his previous body in the world of ancestors, heavens and hells. But, he can’t remember them after he takes a new material body.
In the world of ancestors, he can meet his ancestors and discuss with them if they are still there. If they too are in heavens or hells, there too, he can meet them.
Can we meet our ancestors in other planets after our death?
If he was a sinful person on earth, you can meet him in hells. If he was good, but, materially attached, you can meet him in heavenly planets. If he is materially detached and genuine/ perfect person, you can’t meet him after death as he would have attained mukti (salvation) or gone to the Kingdom of Krishna. If he is a materialistic but a person with good/ pious nature, he would have gone to the world of demigods. So, you can meet him only if you too go to those worlds of demigods.
(What are the rituals to ensure good status of my deceased father? READ HERE!)
Materially detached persons are not kept in the world of ancestors because they have no relations with them. They directly attain mukti or world of Krishna if he had attachment to Krishna.
We can’t find which body we are going to take again because we would have limited knowledge only in the world of ancestors. However, we can guess our next birth if we analyze our activities in the previous body. For example, had we been wandering behind girls/ boys all the time and died without satisfaction, we can guess that we may take next birth as a dog to fulfill those desires.
Your next question: If we can’t get genuine Purohits, how to perform Vedic rituals? What to do if genuine brahmanas are not available to perform the rituals?
In the kaliyuga, we can’t get perfect brahmanas to perform vedic rituals.
However, we are in a position to make use of the available resources.
Though there are some defects in the rituals, Krishna accepts them and pass the benefits to the deceased soul.
(YAMA’s COUNTRY AND COURT PROCEEDINGS – FULL DESCRIPTION! READ HERE!)
This mercy is available only in this kaliyuga.
When we perform these rituals through brahmanas, we should offer good donation to the Vedic brahmana to his satisfaction. This donation is able to reduce or clear our pending karma.
So, this donation is important in all the rituals.
Once upon a time we were using the fresh milk to offer to the God. Now, we use treated & packed milk. However, Krishna accepts this milk also as He sees only the love with which we offer to Him.
So, just make use of available resources. Don’t worry if you can’t get genuine Purohits. Use the best brahmana available in your locality. That’s all we can do. In this kaliyuga, our rituals with some defects may also be accepted.
On this basis, the rituals done by you in Gaya would also have been accepted because performing the Vedic rituals done by Imperfect Purohits will give some effects to the level of the purity of the purohit. So, do not worry.
(Death Rites & Rituals For Children & those who committed Suicide! READ HERE!)