Dear Friends,
 Friday begins the first day of Pitru (Mahalaya) Paksha, a special 15 day period reserved for ancestor worship. I am writing to share my experience recorded last year:
At about 9:00 am this morning I started the ceremony. To tell the truth, I do not really understand how the ceremony works. It involves a lot of changing the direction of one's thread, and offering of black sesame seed, rice, and chandanam, and lasts about 40 minutes. Offerings were made to my father and his father (I do not know the name of my great grandfather), and my mother and her mother-in-law.
At the end of the ceremony, I felt a wave of my mother's love and surprise, as if I had just given her a precious surprise birthday gift. She passed more than thirteen years ago, so I felt a wonderful joy on her part that I was remembering her. It is hard to describe, but the feeling in my mind was just right for who she was. It was a perfect gift for her (also on her birthday that day).
Next, we performed the ceremony for Jill's parents and ancestors. Jill had a beautiful vision of her father and his ancestors, and then later her mother and her ancestors. They all looked radiant with big smiles on their faces and bright light around them!
The western materialist view is once someone is dead, they no longer exist. The Hindu philosophy is that their souls still exist, but perhaps on a different "loka" (plane). My parents just gave and gave, and never asked anything, except for me to be a good man in society. This was a wonderful ceremony to do for them, which brought freedom and happiness to their souls.
If you would like to schedule Hiranya Shraddham (which is performed during these special 15 days, or on the tithi of passing), please contact Balaji Atyam at (512) 297-3746, or at BALAJI. He will schedule a priest time to perform this ceremony at your convenience.
Pitru Paksha lasts from September 16-30.
With loving regards,
Craig Sastry |
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