"The body is mortal, but he who dwells in the body is said to be immortal and immeasurable" The Bhagavad Gita 2-18
The above photograph shows the rice balls offered as 'pinda' to my father-in-law who died the day after christmas, and to all the ancestors who passed on before him as we celebrated his remarkable 95 years of life. All the ceremonies emphasized our connection to the elements and to all of nature and once again reminded us the underlying unity of all.
Digital Photography
10 comments:
A beautiful photo and a wonderful way of remembering a loved one.
Thank you Kathy.
Wonderful words and photograph. There is a once a year celebration here in California and is part of the Mexican culture that I think has a similiar sentiment. It is Dia De Los Muertos or Day Of The Dead...a tribute to those that came before us and upon whose shoulders we stand.
David, Thank you. I will read up on it -- it sounds very interesting. I have been thinking about miracle of life a lot lately.
Dont the Chinese & Japanese also have some similiar remembrance rituals?
Yes, you are right -- here is a link for article on ancestor veneration in various cultures around the world :
www://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/veneration_of_the_dead
Meera,
Chpater 2 of Gita is always so soothing. One of my favourites
nainam chindanti sastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na cainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah
"weapons cleave It (The Self)not,fires burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not"
Bhagavad Gita 2-23
Thank you for comments!
Chapter two is wonderful as B noted:
Jaathasya hi dhruvO mrithyudhruvam janma mruthasya cha
Thasmaad aprihaaryaerthae na thvam s Ochithumarhasi
Your picture and note brought back memories - and tears - every year my dad (and us) remembered his parents and ancestors with a simple ceremony that concluded with the pindam offering...
"For, certain is death for the born, and certain is birth for the dead; therefore, over the inevitable you should not grieve."
Gita 2-27
-- Except if we can achieve moksha or nirvana and get off the cycle of samsara :)
Thank you for that sloka. Chapter two actually has the essence of the whole Gita. Because Arjuna didn't /couldn't understand all those teachings, Krishna elaborates it and we have 18 chapters to help us make sense of it too.
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