Why Are Death Prayers Chanted?

Q: Prayers chanted when someone dies,

are they for the well being of the departed soul or for the relatives of the departed, to give them strength to deal with the loss?

A: Dear R

When a soul leaves the physical body it has 72 hours to move into the Light through which it travels into the heavenly planes. Almost all souls with the exception of a few highly evolved or enlightened ones hover around their loved ones or their earthly abodes or homes for some time before entering the Light. This marks the beginning of their journey in the afterlife.

This is also the time when the soul feels

the earthly pull of emotions, attachments, incomplete or unfinished business, unfulfilled or over powering human tendencies that it enjoyed or suffered in the life just departed.

Prayers are chanted for the benefit of the hovering

soul as a reminder to it that it should not get enmeshed in these earthly aspects but rather seek the Light and take the onward journey where it will unite with the creator and continue with its spiritual evolution.

This is also the reason why loved ones

are often advised to maintain a sense of peace and calm in the days following the demise because grief and crying distracts the soul and makes the emotional and earthly attachments harder to let go of.