Narayana Bali Puja

(Offerings unto Lord Narayana)

  Lord Narayan

As a priest I take the Hindu rituals pertaining to death very very seriously. Many people contact me asking to help them in various ways and the first thing I ask “Has any member of your family died in an unnatural way?” And when the answer is yes then I would immediately recommend that the Narayan Bali puja be performed. It really saddens me, that as the years are passing by the funerals that I perform the deceased are getting younger and younger. I perform so many suicides, car accidents and so forth funerals. It’s very sad for everyone concerned when a life is ended in this way.

The Narayan Bali Puja means Narayan (Lord Vishnu/Krishna) Bali (offerings) puja (prayers). So this prayer is to appease Lord Narayana for an unnatural death. The 40^th chapter of the Garuda Purana is dedicated to the Narayan Bali Rites…

Lord Vishnu (a.k.a Lords Krishna/Raam/Narayan) said to Shree Garudaji in the Garuda Purana: “The Narayana Bali rites is performed in all cases of abnormal death which is defined as follows: death by fasting, one who is killed by animals, death by arson, death by a curse, death by cholera or any disease or great ailment, who commit suicide, fall from a mountain, tree or any height, who hang themselves to death, who are drowned in a tank, river or ocean, death by muggers or robbers, by snake bite, struck by lightning, murder and persons who are great sinners – for such persons O Garuda, the rite of Narayana Bali should be performed.” (Garuda Purana Preta kanda chapter 40 verses 4-12)

All these deaths are known as bad deaths where no rite of Aurdhvadehika (funerals rites) or pinda-daan is performed. The deceased sons should perform the Narayana Bali Puja, O bird. By that the relatives of the deceased are purified. This is stated by Yama. There are no other means. Except for the Narayana Bali, there is no rite for their purification.

(Garuda Purana Preta kanda chapter 4 verses 110- 116)

If the Narayana Bali is to be performed for the atonement of bad death, it should be done on the eleventh day. (Garuda Purana Preta kanda chapter 5 verse 39)

“Then the Rites for the release of the ghost should be performed with Vishnu in view. The Preta (the deceased) is then mystically discharged. (Garuda Purana Preta kanda chapter 40 verses 63-64). So what Lord Vishnu is saying here is once the prayers are completed the deceased who was a ghost (spirit/preta) is now released…

Lord Vishnu further states this in the Garuda Purana to Shree Garuda: - “Until the funeral rites are properly performed the dead man, ever hungry, roams about day and night in the form of airy matter. “ (Garuda Purana Preta Kanda Chapter 13 verse 23)

Having incurred sins they seek redemption in their progeny. Being bodiless as well as suffering from hunger and thirst they roam about here and there. They bolt doors on their ancestors, put obstacles in the way of the forefathers. Like thieves, they snatch the manes food in their way before it reaches them. They return home stay on the roof, and watch the activities of their kins. They cause disease and grief to their relatives. Having assumed the body of tertian {fever}, they cause disease due to cold or wind like headaches or cholera. The ghosts torment his family people through the enemy. (Garuda Purana – Preta Kanda, Chapter 20 Verse 5-37)

The Narayan Bali bedi set up. On the left is prayers to Lord Ganesh/Gauri, the Navagrahas and Lord Vishnu. On the right are the 5 Kalsa's (lota's) to Lord Brahma (on the far right), Lord Vishnu (on the far left) Lord Rudra {Shiva} (at the top), Lord Yamaraja (in the bottom) and  in the middle  the kalsa is for the deceased.

The following below from the Garuda Purana

is due to the negative intentions of Preta’s (Spirits/Ghosts).

* One is addicted to bad habits.

* One who gets sons who die young.

* One who is at daggers-dawn with his relatives/family.

* A woman who is barren or if she gives birth to children and they die at a very early age.

* If there is a sudden change in one’s nature.

* If one loses faith in religion or if he loses the means of his livelihood.

* If there’s regular quarrel at one’s home.

* When an incurable disease sets in, or when children suffer from pain or when the wife suffers immensely.

* When one loses faith in sastras.

* When one abuses the Devi/Devas, guru and the Brahmins.

* When the women suffer from abortion / do not conceive / when the children die young.

* When one does not perform the annual shraddha in sincerity.

* When both husband and wife quarrel at meals.

If a person performs the holy rites for the redemption of a ghost, he will find his actions fruitful. The ghost shall be satiated permanently. When the ghost is satisfied he will wish his kinsmen (family) well forever. To rid oneself of ghostly afflictions one should devoutly pray to one’s manes (ancestors), perform the appropriate rites and offer oblations to Lord Vishnu. By means of japas (chanting), homas (havans), and danas (charity) he should sanctify his body. If this is performed, all obstacles and hindrances are dispelled. By performing the rites of oblations to Lord Narayana (Narayan Bali Puja) with the ancestors in view he shall be freed of all sorts of afflictions. This is My (Lord Vishnu) sworn statement. (Garuda Purana Preta Kanda Chapter 21 verse 11-34)

Bad dreams call for atonement. One should bath and give water oblation to the root of a Fig Tree (Anjeer – Hindi) or perform worship, offer gifts to a Vedic scholar, perform homa as far as his means can allow. Then the ghost immediately disappears from his vicinity. (Garuda Purana Preta Kanda Chapter 23 verse 13-15)

When a person dies unnaturally he is stuck between two worlds and he cannot transmigrate to another body. He is held back due to the circumstances he died. Thus he puts the family through lots of sufferings because that’s a way to get their attention. If the family goes about in their happy ways they won’t even notice him suffering in any way. So the only way to get their attention is to cause problems in their lives. Do you blame the spirit for that? Personally I think not. So when the family goes to a person (for example a priest or a medium, etc) to help to them, the spirit is hoping that the person (the priest or a medium...) will pick up that he (the spirit) is calling out for help…

So if you have someone in your family that has died in this way. Trace back from the time that person died and see if from that time if you have been going thru problems then you must know that this prayer should be considered to be performed as soon as possible.

So as you can read as stated above that when a person leaves his/her body untimely this can create a lot of suffering and problems for the deceased and the family members, - actually for everyone concerned. Even if all the proper rites were performed like the 10^th day, Sapindi puja (done on the 12-13^th day), 6^th and 11 ½ month prayers, still the deceased cannot transmigrate until this prayer is performed.

Of course the question will be asked by many why wasn’t this prayer performed before and was only now is this information coming out now. This is something to be honest I cannot answer… I am trying to make people aware of these prayers so that the public can now see why things might be going wrong in their life. This prayer is performed strictly in India.

 So below are some frequently asked questions which I tried to answer as simple as possible.

Is heart attack/cancer an unnatural death?

Lord Vishnu states in Garuda Purana chapter 4 verse 104-109 that “if a person dies with a disease, who die of hunger, a women in her menses, poison, cholera…” so this may be a grey area because the Lord don’t really specify heart attack or cancer because these things probably didn’t happen at those times. But heart attacks are cause mainly by bad diet, severe lack of exercise and lots of stress… Most people end up looking sooooo toxic by the time they are 30… so it’s no wonder that many end up with heart problems from such young ages. If you get continued dreams and things just are not going right in your life then you can perform this prayer.

Is there a need to do a 40-day ceremony after death?

Definitely not! There is no such observance in our scriptures. Once the Sapindi Puja (done on the 12-13^th day) is competed then normal prayers should commence… It’s common amongst the orthodox Hindus not to perform any prayers for a year. Please understand that the more pujas the family of the deceased performs the more beneficial it’s for the deceased.

You mention about the 10^th and 12-13^th day prayers... what happens when people don't perform the 10^th and 12-13^th day prayers etc and perform the 3^rd day havan?

This is a concoction and not prescribed in our scriptures. If one performs the 3rd day havan for the deceased, the family members will incur the wrath of the deceased. When one offers pindas for the 10 days i.e. one for each of the 10 days then the new body is formed. “{On the first day by offering the first pinda the head is formed, by the second, the ears, eyes and nose are formed. By the third, the neck, shoulder, arms and chest are formed. By the fourth pinda, the navel and private parts are formed. The fifth pinda the thighs and calves are formed. The sixth pinda all the vital organs are formed. By the seventh pinda the nerves are formed, by the eight pinda the teeth and hair are formed. By the ninth pinda semen is formed. By the 10th day fullness is achieved and hunger is satisfied.” {Garuda Purana Preta Kanda Chapter 5 verses 31-37}

So by the 3rd day when one offers the daily pinda only up to the neck/chest is formed. The new body of the deceased is only formed in 10 days, thus by performing the 3rd day havan you are shant-ing (ending) the process but the new body is still incomplete. Now this is where the problem arises. This is when the deceased starts to worry and create havoc for his family. In the above I have already mentioned about the bad intentions of the preta (ghost) when the proper rites are not carried out.

How does performing an Amavasya (New Moon) offering to the ancestors affect the pretas (spirits). When we take out food for them, do these spirits benefit in any way even if the Narayan Bali puja was not performed?

Lord Vishnu said to Shree Garudaji in Garuda Purana Preta Khanda II 10.50-55

“On the day of Amavasya, the airy manes (the ancestors) stand at the door of their descendents in order to receive their food. They remain there till sunset. When they do not receive their food they fall in despair and out of suffering heave long sighs and go back cursing the descendents. Therefore, one should carefully perform shraddha (offer food) to your ancestors on the new moon day (Amavasya) every month.

Now to answer this question the offerings you make to your ancestors they will receive them if you offer it to them… but the members of the family that died in an unnatural way will as Lord Vishnu states “Having incurred sins they seek redemption in their progeny. Being bodiless as well as suffering from hunger thirst they roam about here and there. They bolt doors on their ancestors, put obstacles in the way of the forefathers. Like thieves, they snatch the manes food in their way before it reaches them.” (Garuda Purana – Preta Kanda, Chapter 20).

So the offered food does benefit the pretas (spirits) but it’s not food that was offered to them rather the mortal human beings are offering it to the manes (ancestors) but the food was high jacked by the spirits and it doesn’t reach its intended destination…

Should people be aware of using psychics and mediums as the spirits that come thru to them may not always be who they say they are. These may be spirits who are pretending to be a relative of the departed spirit so it is better for people to be safe and get the Narayan Bali puja performed?

I would advise that people should be very very very aware of so call spirits claiming to be your long lost relative… it’s a very fine line here so be careful of just using any medium or psychic for help… many of them are not light workers rather they work in the dark world… my advise ask your priest to perform the Narayan Bali prayers to release that lost soul.

Can I elaborate on the Psychic/Medium John Edwards T.V program “Crossing Over” and other psychic T.V. programs that deal with talking to and contacting the dead?

This question has been asked many many times and it’s quite a simple answer really. Shree Garuda asked Shree Vishnu in the Garuda Purana “My dear Lord why are there so many pretas (ghosts) in Kali Yuga.” (Previously to Kali Yuga there were not many ghosts). To which Lord Vishnu replied, “O Bird, due to the people in Kali Yuga not performing the prescribed funeral and shraddha rites the deceased remain a spirit”. This is true because how many people on this Earth these days perform the 10^th and the 12/13^th day prayers. This explains why when most people that die on this planet stay here for a very long time until Lord Bhootanath (a.k.a Lord Shiva - The friend of the ghosts/spirits) takes pity on them. And that can take a while. Lord Shiva is always accompanied by ghosts and the like. Getting back to the question is this a hoax by John Edwards in what he is doing? No not at all. All of us are psychic weather we believe it or not… it’s just some has a much much higher level of psychic-ness than others. John Edwards is totally open to the spirit world… but again remember any one can do this. It’s not a gift because everyone can do this. It’s a matter of training oneself. When John Edwards concentrates and then the voices comes thro to him and the spirit of the person starts to speak to him to give the family in the audience a particular message. Many of our family members even after doing all the Shraddha prayers remain with us for a certain amount of time helping, guiding us in our daily lives. They choose to do so. After they are satisfied they move on.

A person from another religious faith said to me once “but I find it rather offensive by what you said” (I said the same thing as above). My answer to him was when Srila Vyasadeva (the literary incarnation of Shree Krsna) compiled the Puranas for the people of Kali Yuga which was over 5000 years ago there was only Sanatanists (also known as Hindu’s) existed in this world. Of course the other religions didn’t exist at that time and thus there were no issues like we have today. This is the reason why if one don’t follow what’s said in the Garuda Purana by Lord Vishnu then one will be in serious problems… we take Lord Vishnu’s word as final. Of course as Hindu’s we don’t convert and try to make others believe in our sastras. Hinduism is such a diversified, beautiful and extremely tolerant religion. Jai Hind.

The Narayana Bali Rites is performed at the riverside and is approximately 2 and half hours long.

Many have requested me to include some tips on how to protect oneself from negative forces like spirits that want to cause harm. Below is some advice which you can use accordingly… Of course faith is the key to your success here… but a word of note if things are not going according to what you expect there could be many reasons for this and don’t immediately start blame negative forces like black magic… Be positive first and remember that these spirits can only harm you if you are weak and allow them to harm you. They feed off your fears.

Recite this Mother Kali Mantra whenever in danger or when you feel uncomfortable of something evil is going to happen. It helps ward away black magic, evilness of people and negative forces.

Jai Thwam Devi Chamundi

Jai Buthar Diharini

Jai Sarva-gathe Devi

Kala Rathri Namo-stute

Jai Ma Kali! Jago Ma!

English translation: Salutations to Chamundi, Destroyer of Demons, Mother of all Creations, I salute you in the dark eerie night. Salutations to Ma Kali! Wake up Ma!

This very powerful mantra glorifies Mother Kali/Durga

Om aim hreem kleem chaamun daayai vich chai namah

Chant this mantra 108 times in front of a picture of Mother  Kali/Durga and as you are chanting the mantra visualize that Ma  Kali/Durga is embracing you and thus protecting you. Imagine that Mother Chamundaa has a thousand heads. So this means that she has 2000 eyes and 2000 hands. Imagine that she is embracing you with her 2000 hands and remember that nothing can penetrate those 2000 hands because no magic can defeat Ma. And in that embrace you are sitting protected… By doing this Mother Kali/Durga will protect you from all harm and evils. Jai Mata Dhi…

Purchase lobhan, googal/guggal, hing… Smash the lobhan and guggal into powder and mix with the hing powder. Also purchase Raaz lobhan. At night break the Raaz lobhan into half and place one half on a stove or light it with match. When the Raaz lobhan is hot add a ¼ tsp of the mixture on the Raaz lobhan and smoke the house. This should stop these things from causing any distress in the short term.

Chant/play Hanuman Chalisa daily. In the morning after taking a bath, play the Hanuman Chalisa. It clears any bad /negative vibes in the yard/house. When you driving in the morning when you start your car play the hanuman Chalisa and pray to Shree Hanumanji.

In a water pot add water, some rough salt, a pinch cow dung, a drop of cow urine, few drops of sheep dip, a pinch of turmeric (hurdi) and a few drops of Ganga jal. Mix well and then sprinkle all over your yard.

The Last few words of note: - My aim in compiling this article was to bring my fellow Hindu’s to the reality of the problems that we are experiencing in this day of age. I compiled the 3^rd day havan article recently and some people were not happy about it. Remember that I don’t compile articles to please anyone. I just state the facts which Lord Vishnu Himself is stating and if this doesn’t satisfy one then please don’t email me because I don’t have the time to start a debate or the like. Please read the above article open mindedly and whatever I write it is up to you to accept it or not. We live in a crazy world and I do not want to get embroiled in something that’s going to waste my precious time. If the info in this article does upset you kindly delete this email… we cannot satisfy everyone…

Compiled (for the upliftment of Sanatan Dharma – The Eternal Religion)

Narottam Das