Remembrance of ancestors

Q: "What if we had not fulfilled our duties to our ancestors. . . will remembering them serve as atonement?”

A: "Do everything selflessly. Otherwise it becomes a burden. And your duty is not only towards your immediate family but it extends to all of Creation. Are you fulfilling that?"

Q. "Will the food, clothes and money that we’re offering in their name, reach them?"

A: “The soul never dies. When it gets a bodily form as a vehicle it enjoys through senses but without the vehicle of body one enjoys the gratitude, emotions and conscious awareness. Conscious awareness is what it is all about Gaya also.

Many of the hurdles faced by any individual in modern times due to lack of respect and remembrances shown towards his ancestors. Absence of observations of rituals well designed by Masters aggravates the position. The dismal fact is that many suffer unknowingly the cause of their sufferings.

Pitra Puja or Pitra Paksha -We invited a pandit to our home to perform pitra puja. That elder and youngsters all participate in the ceremony as it is an exercise in collective remembrance. "Do everything selflessly. Otherwise it becomes a burden. And your duty is not only towards your immediate family but it extends to all of Creation.

You do come to know their likes and dislikes, how they dressed, what they ate, and so on. We make their best like foods and offer to them and the Priest.

Basically, we searched frantically for given names of ancestors – who we usually knew as grandma or grandpa, grand aunt or uncle; so we found ourselves sifting through diaries, calling up long lost relatives, and generally shaking the dust off the family tree. Strangely, the exercise brought home the truth that we do in fact tend to forget our forefathers and mothers, over the passage of time.

They are definitely part of our identity? The ritual makes us aware of our roots and generates a great deal of story-telling and remembering. These included scandals, tales of honesty and bravery, and peculiar situations such as the one when a member of the family confessed to craving for sweets even as his grandma was being attended to, following an accident! Recollecting memories made us somber; silent tears were shed. The pandit, however, pointed out that those who dwell in body have to go through their share of pain and pleasure and it is a reminder that the goal of human birth is to be liberated by loving God.

Any ritual is useless if done mechanically or in ignorance but can be illuminating if done lovingly and with awareness". "It's good that you observe such rituals. . . but did you love them (your ancestors) then (while they were living)?' We have still many who are left behind. Reminding us of our present family members that with them, our attitude should be that of showering love. Tu pyaar ka sagar hai -- You are an ocean of Love -- because you are made in the mould of God.