Result of not performing death rituals for parents by devotees!
A male devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“(1) It is understood that the various scriptural injunctions and procedures of pind daan etc help one provide a special body to the soul after death so as to complete the 348 days journey upto Yamaloka for further decisions of his future life. On 3rd day they get Vayu sharira and other parts by 10th day from death etc. But what happens if one’s family do not follow the procedures at all or do not follow the same properly as per scriptures?
Do they also get the same fate as those whose family do not do the pind daan etc?”
REPLY:
Yes, performing death rituals is good for the parents of the devotees also, until the devotees attain the perfection in devotion. Once they attain Prema state, he need not follow those rituals because those souls will also get liberated because we will go to Krishna and all the seven generations will also get liberated.
(If a son goes back to Krishna, will his materialistic parents also go? READ HERE!)
The rituals recommended to be done by the children of the deceased ancestors are meant –
(i) to give good treatment for the deceased by the Yama dhoothas;
(ii) to get relaxation of punishments in the Yama’s world and hells;
(iii) to get more term in heavenly planets and
(iv) to get a good next birth with the moderated karma.
(Death Rites & Rituals For Children & those who committed Suicide! READ HERE!)
Interestingly, it is said in the Garuda Purana that the negative accounts will be reduced by Siravanas when the accounts are submitted to Yama. So, Yama reduces his hell term and increases the heavenly term.
Bhagawan Says:
“Garuda, tied by the Yama Kingaras, the jeevan & the Kingaras (Assistants) have to travel about 247 Kadha distance (Kadha – a measure of distance those days like mile; One Kadha distance is equal to about 10 miles) per day, and they will travel day and night.
(That means, the Jeevan has to travel for about 4000 kms every day. Thus, they have to travel for one earth year to reach Yamapuri.
This shows that yamapuri is approximately 4000 x 365 kms, i.e., 14,60,000 kms (Fourteen Lakh and Sixty thousand kms) away from earth.)
Bhagawan continues: On the way, they have to cross a forest that has the trees having teeth-like sharp leaves that will pin all over their body! It is difficult even to cross a forest of ordinary trees! What about sharp leaved trees?”
“Garuda! When the life on earth ends, the yama kingaras would pull the micro sized & gas made Jeevan to the Yamapuri!
There are two routes to yamapuri! Those who had done dhaan, dharma, and lived a pious life will travel through a comfortable route to Yamapuri and they will be taken by Yama kingaras on a plane or on horse! No walking!
(What are the recommended Rituals for relief from Ghost body? READ HERE!)
Those who learnt Vedas & Puranas will be taken to the heavenly planets! All other sinners who never did dhaan and dharma will be taken by walk through uncomfortable route filled with dense forests, sharp leaves, hottest sand, etc, that makes the walking jeevan painful (with a temporary body as explained earlier)!”
Bhagawan Continued: “If that jeevan (man) had respected those 12 Siravanas (Children created by Brahma deva to help Yama) when he was alive, those Siravanas would have come now to help him and convey more of the good karma of that jeevan to the Yama and help that jeevan to escape from the severe punishments decided by yama! In fact, those who offer respects to these Siravanas will never get the courage to do sins!
Let me tell you how to please the Siravanas! When alive, One must take 12 pots of copper pot, and offer along with the food to a brahmana! If he does like that, all these 12 Siravanas will help when that person dies and they hide all his sinful activities to Yama!”
Thus, If the children were doing the rituals on earth for that deceased person, he will be taken to Yama’s world with good respects by the Yama kingaras and he will be given less severe punishments as recommended by Siravanas.
Thus, the travel will be smooth and respectful if the rituals are done properly by the children.
(If we can’t get genuine Purohits, how to perform Vedic rituals? READ HERE!)
If not, the deceased person faces tortures by Yama kingaras and he does not get any relaxation in punishments.
Therefore, the children fail to help the deceased parent to get less punishments.
As nicely said by the Lord to Garuda, all the recommended rituals are JUST TO PLEASE THE BRAHMANAS BECAUSE MORE GIFTS ARE GIVEN TO THE BRAHMANAS BY THE SONS OF DECEASED PERSON. So, the karma of the deceased person comes down. So, he gets good treatment from Kingaras.
Like the brahmanas, if you help the poor, it is also known to reduce the karma.
Who need not perform the Rituals for ancestors and family God? READ HERE!
So, the death rituals are just to reduce the karma of the deceased thereby giving good status after death.
Not performing death rituals by the sons of deceased does not reduce the karma of the deceased. So, he does not get any relaxation in punishments.
If a pious person dies, he is also treated respectfully though he has no children to perform the rituals.
In case a person is leading a pious devotional life with Hari Nama Japa and other devotional practices, but could not attain perfection in it, he too will be treated respectfully because Harinam reduces one’s karma stage by stage.
In case a person lives for the welfare of society, he too is given good treatment for his good karma.
(Knowing where our ancestors went after death! Some Tips! READ HERE!)
All these rituals after death are only for those who led an ordinary life without taking pains to serve the devotees or people. Those people would have lived a selfish life for him and his children alone and without following sufficient devotional practices.
In simple words, all these recommended rituals are meant for materialistic people only.
The devotees, if they attain perfection in devotion are taken by Vishnu’s messengers bypassing yama’s world.
The devotees who just practiced devotion, but could not attain perfection are given respectful treatments and also given a long heavenly life with reduced or no punishments.
(Where did the Kings killed In Kurukshetra war go after death? READ HERE!)
Understandably, the next birth will be comfortable for a deceased person whose son honestly and wholeheartedly considered performing death rituals compulsory and also followed it sincerely.
The next birth will be comfortable also for those who practiced devotion but could not attain perfection in it.
The next birth will be comfortable also for those who performed service to the society, ie, for the poor and needy people.
Others will suffer in their next birth and also get tough treatments by the Yama kingaras.
The Point is, the support of these rituals are necessary only for those who lived an ordinary life for himself and his kiths and kins.
For the devotees, social servants, etc., their public services are also considered as very big rituals and hence they will be given relaxation from the punishments.
The devotees who attained perfection in devotion to Krishna are not taken to yama, but they directly go to Vaikunta lokas taken by Vishnu’s messengers.
Hope you are clear about the result of not performing death rituals for parents by devotees!
(HOW CAN A SON LIBERATE HIS ANCESTORS FROM BIRTH & DEATH? READ HERE!)