Aadi Amavasai Pitru Pooja At Home

On the day of Aadi Amavasai, Hindus perform Aadi Amavasya Tarpanam/Pitru Pooja for their departed ancestors. This is to appease their souls and enable them to achieve Moksha. Not all souls leave the world soon after death. Some may have unfulfilled desires, and they may wander in limbo, not knowing how to attain Moksha or liberation. When we do Tarpanam rituals or Pitru pooja for them, they will be pleased and satisfied, and it becomes easier for them to attain Moksha. So Hindus consider it a sacred duty to perform tarpanam. Also, we owe our existence to our ancestors. So tarpanam is also a thanksgiving ritual for them, a way of remembering and honoring them. Such rituals are part of many cultures and have been faithfully practiced by generations of people. Catholics have All Souls’ Day, for instance. So all cultures emphasize the importance of remembering and honoring departed souls.

Ancestors are believed to live in Pitru Loka, which is the ancestral world. It is also believed that the 64 generations of dead ancestors have the power to help you solve all your life problems quite easily if you know how to communicate with them. On the other hand, if you neglect to honor them, they can cause all kinds of problems related to money, health, relationships, etc. Hence devout Hindus make it a point not to skip such rituals for fear of incurring their ancestors’ wrath or curses. Vedic astrology talks about Pitru Dosha and its consequences. There are many types of Pitru Dosha, but one of the most common is the Dosha caused when the departed souls curse their own family because they have not done the tarpanam. 

The effects of this Dosha are manifold. They include :

1) Lung and nerve injury in accidents

2) Joblessness 

3) Long term disease 

4) Repeated miscarriages 

5) Weak teeth and gums of children 

6) Delay in marriages

7) Major health or mental issue in the child

8) Breaking of relationships

9) Poverty 

10) Lack of amenities for even a basic living 

11) Restlessness, confrontations, and disagreements 

12) A huge debt 

13) Nightmares of snakes.

So it is very important to perform Tarpanam rituals regularly for departed souls.

Apart from inheritance, land, houses, gold, and other kinds of wealth, our ancestors also leave behind a part of their karma, both good and bad. It is said that after they die, their souls have to overcome many hurdles to attain “Moksha”, or freedom from the birth-death cycle. It is our sacred duty to enable them to cross these hurdles. In return, they bless us abundantly.

When we perform tarpanam, the deceased ancestors’ souls are satisfied. They bestow long life, wealth, radiance, success, superior intellect (brahmavarchaswa), and foodstuff (ability to digest the food consumed) on the person performing the tarpanam and satisfies him too.

After a person dies, their body is destroyed. But the mind/ intellect/ awareness that activated the body does not cease to exist. It continues to exist as energy. This is called “Praetha-Atma”, and it is energized when we offer rice and sesame seeds on all Amavasai days. One day for the “Praetha-Atma” is equal to human 30 days. The Pretha-Atma will have an emotional bonding with us for 365 days (their 12 days). Only if this emotional bonding is severed do they get into the energy level called “Pitru”. For this reason only, the “Thithi” ritual is done for one year by the family of the dead person. After 365 days, the emotional connection is lost. A year after becoming a Pitru, they will accept offerings from any human being in the world. Once the Pitru state is attained, the energy vibration can be identified with a new human body.

“Punya” or meritorious debit should be present in order to be qualified for a human body of choice. If the person has not done any good deeds as a human, they can earn merit by doing a selfless act at the Pitru level. The only selfless act is to offer “Energy” to human beings on earth who are not related to them. Through this action, the Pitru can gain merit to attain a human birth.

People who may have energy debits that block materialistic and spiritual progress will be benefited by “Pitru’s” blessings. Men, women, and even children can do Pitru worship or tarpanam. If you do this every month on New moon day, it can remove many problems in life and help you to progress spiritually.

For all these reasons, it is very beneficial to perform Pitru Pooja. You can also do it at home with a few simple rituals. 

  How to do Pitru Pooja at home:

Keep a wooden stool in the southern direction and cover it with a white cloth. Spread barley seeds and black sesame seeds on the cloth. Place your ancestor’s photograph on it. Kusha grass can be used instead of the photograph, as it is said to contain Lord Vishnu particles. Next, invite the ancestor for whom you are doing the pooja. Call out their name (including surname) this way: “We, the whole family, invite you to come to our home during this Pitru Paksha period.” Then fill water in a bronze or copper vessel. Add some cow’s milk (raw), rice, barley, and sesame seeds. Place the vessel before the photograph. 

  Making the Sesame balls/Pinda 

Take some cooked rice. Add milk, honey, and gangajal. Make a ball of this mixture. Place it before the ancestor’s image. The rice ball must be placed on a leaf. This ball is called Pinda, and it’s used in the ritual called Pinda Daan. After the ritual is complete, the rice ball may be offered to a cow. It can be immersed in the river also.

Honoring ancestors on Amavasai day every month is one of the five duties of a human being. If one cannot do it for some reason, for all the 12 months, they can also do it on the most important day called Mahalaya Amavasya, the fortnight that is specially sacred for offering tarpanam to departed ancestors. The last day of this period is the new moon day and is the most important day in the year for performing tarpanam rituals.

Aadi Amavasya 2021 date is on August 8.