Patna: A septuagenarian man has conducted his own last rites in Bihar in the hope that it will free him from the recurring cycles of life and death and get him a berth in heaven.
Banke Bihari, a resident from world-famous Taj city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, conducted his last rites on the dry sand beds of legendry Falgu river in southern Bihar’s Gaya district yesterday with the help of local Gayawal priests who are known to be ensuring salvation to the departed souls. During the occasion, the desperate man, himself lit the funeral pyre of his effigy made of straw and threw a feast to the priests.
Gaya is a city where millions of Hindus descend every year during fortnight-long Pitripaksh Mela held shortly before the Durga Puja (nine-day worship to deity Durga) to conduct rites so that the departed souls of their ancestors rest in peace permanently.
In Hindu tradition, such rites are normally conducted by the persons who have no children. Here in the case, however, the Agra resident conducted his last rites himself to get a berth in the heaven in advance although he has a full family of grand children and daughter. Normally, such rites are conducted by the children after their parents are dead.
“Such rites are rare since the persons have to stay away from his family, sleep on the floor, cook food himself and not participate in any auspicious function after they have conducted it,” said a local priest Nishikant Pathak who conducted the rituals. According to him, the persons concerned turn into a live ghost after they have conducted such rites.
Earlier a rich 80-year-old widow from Vaishali district of Bihar had spent thousands of dollars on a feast for 100,000 people with the similar hope that it would please the gods and open the doors of heaven for her. The widow who had no family members or relatives had reportedly spent around Rs2 million to feed different varieties of tasty dishes to the local villagers over the two consecutive days. She spent lavishly on the meal because she had no one to whom she could bequeath her property, as per the report.
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