Having understood that the spirits of dead people (so called ancestors) cannot return as, after discarding the present body, the soul gets cut off from all previous relations and starts off new relations entering into another body, the question is ‘how and why did the ritual of ancestral oblations (Shraadh) come into vogue.
As mentioned in the previous part, Sharaadh is essentially service of parents, elders, teachers and guests done with full devotion during their life time. This was the order of the day and was practiced probably in the olden times. In the modern times with increasing scientific and technological advancements and materialistic pursuits people have become more selfish, less considerate and self-centered.
Let us assume just for the sake that Pitru/Pitar would arrive with their subtle bodies. The question now is, how would they eat without their gross bodies as subtle bodies do not eat or do not need food.
Can the spirits of one’s ancestral fathers (pitrus) be summoned in the ritual of Shraadh? Who can be called an ancestral father? In fact, every one becomes ancestral, be it be son, father or grandfather. When a person dies, his ties with everyone in the family including the son is terminated.
Rituals play a major role in almost all world religions and cults. Most of such rituals appear or sound odd to others but perfectly in sync with the ingrained beliefs of the particular religion/cult. Many religions have ceremonies/practices/rituals to commemorate the milestones of life like birth, transition to adulthood, marriage, death etc., likely to appear/sound unusual or strange to non-practitioners.