2) Rituals do have importance. Like the Pitru Paksha and Pitru Tarpan rituals. Iske baare mein kuch batayiye: the science and importance behind it and some have pitru dosh in their astrological chart. Is it due to not performing the ancestral rites properly? Does that also affect the entire family, as the astrologers say?
Everything has its place, including rituals and everything else. Even atheism has its place in Providence. But if one wants the true spiritual life, then one has to rise beyond all this and turn to the One Divine who dwells in all. Astrology too has its place in normal life, but spiritual life is far beyond these things. They belong to the working of the cosmic forces in Ignorance.
Pitru dosh is said to be due to the karma of the ancestors. It is simply the energy formations passing down the generations or, more likely, in the atmosphere of the family. In the larger scheme of things, these things have very little value.
Affectionately,
Alok Da


