|| Shri Hari ||

Duties in a Household Life

 continued

Question -  What should the parents do if their sons don’t serve them in their old age ?  

Answer -  continued......

In every sphere there is a need for renunciation.  Peace immediately follows renunciation.  It is a great austerity to remain pleased in unfavorable circumstances.  Austerity rather than comfort or convenience purifies the heart.  The desire for comfort or convenience makes the heart impure.   Therefore, instead of a desire to get comfort,  a man should provide comfort to others with his mind, speech and body.  

Question -  What should the members of a family do in order to provide peace to the departed soul and to do away with their bereavement ?

Answer -  1)  They should offer ‘Narayanabali’  and obsequious oblation for departed soul.   2)  Whenever there is the memory of the dead person,  the members of the family should behold him at the feet of God.   3)  In his name there should be recitation of the Gita,  the recitation of the Bhagavata (in a week),  the recitation of the Ramcharitamanasa (in nine days),  loud chanting of the divine name of the Lord.    4)  Sweets should be distributed among the poor children in the name of the dead person.  Children are pleased with sweets.  Their pleasure provides peace to the departed soul, as well as, to the members of the family.  

Bereavement should not be an obstacle in attending divine discourses, programmes pertaining to the Lord’s divine tales, chanting the divine name, going to temples and going for pilgrimage;  they should certainly perform those divine ceremonies.  Out of them,  there is great glory of the divine discourses as they remove all kinds of sadness.   

Narayan !     Narayan !! Narayan !!!

From book "How to Lead a Household Life" by Swami Ramsukhdasji